What it does
Mercado Pago gives merchants several ways to accept online and in-person payments. Its checkout catalogue covers Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, with local methods and terms. A seller account is required, and collection fees depend on the country, product and chosen availability period.
Checkout Pro redirects the buyer to Mercado Pago, then returns them to your website after checkout. Checkout API lets a developer build the payment page within your own site. For a social-media sale without a store, create a payment link with the amount and product or service name, select the payment methods and installment settings, and share it with the customer.
Argentina payment-link costs
The Argentine page lists these processing rates by when the sale proceeds become available:
| Availability | Published rate |
|---|---|
| Immediately | 6.29% |
| 10 days | 4.39% |
| 18 days | 3.39% |
| 35 days | 1.49% |
Province-specific taxes can change the charge. Offering interest-free installments adds a separate cost to the collection rate; the page lists 10.49% for three installments and 18.69% for six. These are Argentine link terms, not a regional tariff for every checkout.
For a custom integration, create an application under Your integrations, configure the checkout and test it before production. In that application, open Webhooks, then Configure Notifications. Set the production HTTPS address, select Payments and save. Notifications report created payments and changes such as Pending, Rejected or Approved. Validate their origin and retrieve the payment result before updating the order.
Strengths
- The Point interface connects a physical payment terminal with a store’s sales system.
- The QR interface automates payment processing and reconciliation.
- Checkout Pro can let a buyer pay as a guest rather than requiring a Mercado Pago login.
Watch out for
- A purchase paid through two methods can produce several payment notifications; the integration must reconcile the whole merchant order before delivery.
Best for
- Social sellers taking orders through messages
- Latin American online stores choosing between hosted and custom checkout
- Retailers connecting their sales software to Point or QR payments
Sources
- Mercado Pago: Developer product catalogue (Oct 27, 2026)
- Mercado Pago: Checkout Pro overview (Oct 27, 2026)
- Mercado Pago: Argentina payment links and costs (Oct 27, 2026)
- Mercado Pago: Configure payment notifications (Oct 27, 2026)