Kucoin links crypto payments to Argentina’s Transferencias 3.0

Kucoin announced on June 22 that it integrated Kucoin Pay with Argentina’s government-regulated Transferencias 3.0, allowing consumers to pay at merchant QR-code checkouts using cryptocurrencies and dollar-pegged stablecoins. The service will also connect to Peru’s mobile wallets Yape and Plin.

Under the integration, a consumer scans a merchant’s single QR code, selects a cryptocurrency or stablecoin, and Kucoin’s backend converts the asset to local fiat and routes the funds into the merchant’s existing payment system. Merchants do not need separate crypto terminals or standalone crypto apps to accept payments.

Transferencias 3.0 requires QR-code interoperability so one merchant code can accept multiple wallets. Yape and Plin handle large volumes of peer-to-peer and retail transactions across Peru and have replaced cash for many everyday payments.

Alicia Kao, Kucoin’s managing director, commented, “Real-world utility will define the next phase of crypto adoption, and payments are where this shift becomes most visible.” She added the company aims to connect blockchain-based assets “with the banking and payment systems people already rely on.”

Kucoin said the integration is part of a shift from trading to everyday use of digital assets and that embedding crypto options inside existing QR networks reduces friction compared with standalone crypto applications by handling conversion and settlement behind the scenes.

Regional factors such as high inflation and limited access to traditional banking have driven more consumers in parts of Latin America to use mobile-first wallets instead of credit cards. Instant, fiat-based transfer networks such as Brazil’s Pix and Argentina’s Transferencias 3.0 dominate local payment ecosystems.

The rollout adds to other efforts by exchanges and fintech firms to connect digital assets to local payment rails, giving consumers the option to pay with crypto while settlements take place in local currencies.