Argentina’s Reign of Cash Tips Nears Its End Amid a Fintech Boom

[Finance Prof]

Mercado Pago is allowing local Argentines to leave tips now digitally. Not available yet for foreigners and tourists but it's coming soon.

Argentina’s Reign of Cash Tips Nears Its End Amid a Fintech Boom

Buenos Aires feels timeless with its Parisian architecture downtown, cobblestone streets and sea of packed cafes. Its postcard charm, however, has always had an archaic counterpart: cash.

www.bnnbloomberg.ca

 

[Betsy Ross]

Let's just hope that Argentina doesn't turn into a mass tipping culture like the USA has turned into where everyone expects a tip for doing nothing.

 

[Vince]

Let's just hope that Argentina doesn't turn into a mass tipping culture like the USA has turned into where everyone expects a tip for doing nothing.

Agree. When I go to NYC every year every single place even when you pick up they have a screen with default tip at 18%. Some at 20%. It is a good thing they are giving an option to tip with card in Argentina. It's annoying to carrying around cash. Things will go the digital route here eventually. Already only 17% of supermarkets in May were made with cash which is very low.

 

[Digital Nomad]

Also many people are using their local credit cards because of the option to make multiple payments with no interest so that increases payment with card too. And many places give their customers discounts to use card certain days of the week which can add up.

 

[Uncle Wong]

I was surprised in that article to read that people run out of cellphone data at the end of the month. Don't most locals just have data plans that are unlimited? I thought prices were crazy cheap for cellphone data and service. I couldn't believe how cheap unlimited data was. Do people mostly not have those plans there?

 

[tylerx]

It's official, in three months, the digital tipping system will be implemented. It will apply to restaurants, hotels, gas stations, and delivery services.

Propina digital: cómo funciona y cuándo empieza a regir

Se aplicará en gastronomía, hoteles, expendedores de combustibles y actividades de reparto y entrará en vigencia en tres meses

www.infobae.com

 

[Betsy Ross]

It's official, in three months, the digital tipping system will be implemented. It will apply to restaurants, hotels, gas stations, and delivery services.

Propina digital: cómo funciona y cuándo empieza a regir

Se aplicará en gastronomía, hoteles, expendedores de combustibles y actividades de reparto y entrará en vigencia en tres meses

www.infobae.com

This will be great. I have a feeling digital payments will become the norm soon. I just hope the tipping culture doesn't get too extreme like in the States.

 

[Nasdaq]

This will be great. I have a feeling digital payments will become the norm soon. I just hope the tipping culture doesn't get too extreme like in the States.

I doubt Argentineans would ever allow tipping culture to get out of hand. For one, they just don't have the extra cash to spare. Any time I leave more than 10% my local friends get angry with me as they say it will fowl things up for them. So I just stick with the 10% there for the most part. However, many times I just round up as they don't have change in many taxis. Now I mostly just use Uber so I don't have to deal with that. I wish they would allow credit cards in taxis. Sometimes I prefer taxis as they seem to be newer. Some Ubers are really horrible cars.

Just being able to pay with credit card at MEP is much much better than the situation years ago having to only pay with cash. Hopefully they get rid of CEPO and no difference between official and blue.

 

[Man of Steel]

Finally! This will be helpful as this is one of the last things that I need to have cash for. I charge as much as I can but having to have cash for tips has been a royal pain in the ass. This is a common sense change that will be great. It should be great for service workers in restaurants.

 

[benson]

The good news is that it will be tax-free, meaning they really thought it through when they set it up. We'll see how it works here since it's something pretty uncommon around in Argentina.

El pago de propinas electrónicas estará eximido del impuesto al cheque

Días después de reglamentar vías digitales para el cobro de propinas y fijar un plazo de 90 días para implementarlas el Gobierno determinó que estén libres del tributo que afecta a las acreditaciones en cuentas

www.infobae.com

 

[PerryP]

Good news!!...Starting this Thursday, digital tipping via the Mercado Pago app has been enabled for about 4,000 restaurants, with more restaurants to be added progressively. This is a great and practical initiative. The option is clearly defined in the app, making the process intuitive and easy to use.

El paso a paso para pagar una propina con Mercado Pago

Permite elegir el monto que se quiere dejar de propina luego de escanear el QR. En cuántos restaurantes ya funciona y un dato clave a tener en cuenta

www.iprofesional.com

 

[Betsy Ross]

Good news!!...Starting this Thursday, digital tipping via the Mercado Pago app has been enabled for about 4,000 restaurants, with more restaurants to be added progressively. This is a great and practical initiative. The option is clearly defined in the app, making the process intuitive and easy to use.

El paso a paso para pagar una propina con Mercado Pago

Permite elegir el monto que se quiere dejar de propina luego de escanear el QR. En cuántos restaurantes ya funciona y un dato clave a tener en cuenta

www.iprofesional.com

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This is great. More and more opportunities to avoid having to deal with cash. As long as this tipping doesn't get out of hand like in the US.

 

[CecilM]

It seems this might extend beyond just the gastronomic sector. On the positive side, by eliminating tax withholdings, merchants who use electronic payments won't have to deal with VAT and income tax deductions anymore. This could lead to more businesses accepting cards, making it more convenient for consumers and encouraging a more formal economy.

However, there's a downside, especially for those working off the books. This move could push more businesses towards card payments, complicating things for people who rely on cash to stay under the tax radar. For them, the well-known “10% cash discount” was a bit of relief, helping them save a little extra. With that gone, they might feel even more squeezed. It's a step towards modernization and transparency, but not everyone is in a position to benefit from these changes.

¿El fin del “10% de descuento en efectivo”?: el Gobierno eliminó las retenciones impositivas y empuja los pagos con tarjeta

Los comerciantes no sufrirán más retenciones de IVA y Ganancias para cobrar con medios electrónicos. Caputo y Milei presionan sobre los gobernadores para que hagan lo mismo con Ingresos Brutos

www.infobae.com