MTS launches QR-code payments in Colombia and Argentina via My MTS

MTS has announced the launch of QR-code payments for goods and services for individuals in Colombia and Argentina. Payment is made in the My MTS app and runs through the national payment systems of those countries. This comes from the company's statement. The available part of the announcement gives no fees, limits, conversion rate or user numbers, so it is too early to judge the scale of the launch.

What exactly has launched

The mechanics are familiar: the user opens My MTS, scans a QR code at the checkout or in the merchant's app, confirms the amount and pays. The news is that this flow now works in two Latin American countries at once and relies on local payment rails rather than international card networks. For a mobile operator's app, this is a notable shift: My MTS is turning from a personal account portal into a payment tool for travel and life abroad.

The announcement names the target audience only in general terms: individuals. Most likely, these are MTS customers who visit these countries or live there. That is the editors' assumption; the text gives no direct confirmation.

Why QR, and why these markets

QR payments in Latin America left the startup stage long ago. In Argentina, the regulator demanded several years ago that QR codes be interoperable: a single code at the checkout must be readable by different banking apps and wallets. In Colombia, the central bank is developing its own instant payment system, Bre-B, where QR also plays a prominent role. The available part of the statement does not specify which systems MTS has connected to, so we are not filling in names.

For an operator, this approach is convenient for an obvious reason. Building its own acquiring network in a foreign country takes a long time and costs a lot. Connecting to national infrastructure is faster: merchants already accept QR, and the company gets access to an existing flow of payments.

What is known today

• Countries: Colombia and Argentina.
• Audience: individuals.
• Channel: the My MTS app.
• Payment method: scanning a QR code, with settlement through national payment systems.
• Not disclosed: fees, limits, the debit currency and exchange rate, verification requirements, the date of full launch for all customers, the number of connected merchants.

The last item matters more than the rest. For a payment service, merchant coverage determines usefulness more than the number of countries in a press release. But when a service works through national QR networks, it inherits part of its coverage from the networks themselves, which is a plus for the launch.

How to approach this in practice

If you are an MTS customer heading to Colombia or Argentina, check four things in the app before your trip:

• whether the feature is available for your plan and account, and whether additional identification is required;
• which currency the money is debited in and at what rate it is converted, since the difference from the market rate can sometimes be noticeable;
• whether there are limits on a single payment and on the monthly total;
• how refunds work if a payment fails or the merchant cancels an order.

It makes sense to make your first payment a small one at a large retail chain and see how the charge appears in your history. Keep cash or a card from another issuer as a backup: failures in the first weeks of a new service are common.

For the market, the event is more indicative than large in scale. Russian telecom companies are looking for uses for their fintech platforms outside the home market, and QR on national rails turns out to be one of the fastest ways to do it. Whether the launch becomes a noticeable product will be shown by the first transaction figures. There are none yet.