MercadoLibre brings Apple Tap to Pay to Argentina

Apple enabled Tap to Pay on iPhone across Latin America, and MercadoLibre's fintech unit Mercado Pago became the first and only initial platform to launch the service in Argentina on September 22. The feature allows merchants and independent professionals to accept contactless credit and debit cards from American Express, Mastercard, and Visa, as well as digital wallets, directly on an iPhone without external card readers.

The service requires an iPhone XS or later running the latest iOS version and the Mercado Pago digital account app. Mercado Pago previously launched an Android equivalent called Point Tap in 2025, which is now rebranded alongside the iOS rollout as Tap to Pay. Apple launched the technology simultaneously in Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and Peru, partnering with different providers such as SumUp, Geopagos, Symbiotic, and Visa Acceptance Solutions across those markets.

The SoftPOS rollout allows MercadoLibre to scale its acquiring business and reduce hardware distribution costs for its Point readers. According to Juniper Research estimates, global payment volumes processed through SoftPOS systems will rise from $23.9 billion in 2025 to $540 billion in 2030, an increase of roughly 2,150%. The research firm also projects the number of merchants using SoftPOS will surpass 34.5 million in 2027, up from six million in 2022.

A Mastercard study cited in the report found that 79% of people in Argentina have incorporated digital payments into their daily lives, while 70% used digital wallets over the prior six months, exceeding cash at 52% and debit cards at 51%.