The BCRA Has Deferred the Implementation of the Interoperability of QR Codes for Credit Card Payments

The term for merchants to be able to charge customers' credit cards from any e-wallet with interoperable QR codes has been deferred until February 1, 2024, as established by the Board of the BCRA. The objective of this regulation is to improve the payment experience learned by users and stores, to boost the interconnection of payment systems and to prevent monopolistic practices.

Since 2022, an exponential growth rate has been observed in the use of e-wallets to make payments by transfer (pagos con transferencia, PCTs) under the Transfers 3.0 program thanks to the joint work between the BCRA and the ecosystem of payments. At present, PCTs are higher than payments made by credit and debit cards, and this is mainly due to interoperability. Users with any e-wallet lodged at the registry of the BCRA can pay from their accounts via any QR code.

Interoperability, however, does not apply to credit cards payments made through e-wallets. This leads to confusion, causing both customers and stores to get bad experiences. As a result, people end up paying with an e-wallet belonging to the brand of the QR displayed by the store.

To address this issue and take a step further towards full interoperability of e-wallet payments, the BCRA issued Communication A 7769, establishing that credit card payments made through QR codes should also be interoperable. By virtue of such regulation, the ecosystem of payments has been making adjustments over the past five months for QR codes to be interoperable with credit cards.

This regulation establishes that stores displaying a QR code to charge their customers' credit card must accept payments from any interoperable e-wallet (bank or payment service provider), regardless of the QR code brand.

This enhanced interoperability and the implementation of instant pull transfers are some of the BCRA's efforts to improve and expand electronic means of payment. This calls for fair competition among electronic payment providers offering instruments for payment and collection to stores and customers.

November 30, 2023