[REVISION HISTORY]

MercadoLibre and fintechs face usury and debt scrutiny

Updated 15 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-10 11:19 UTC → 2026-09-10 22:32 UTC · added ~~removed~~

By late August 2026, MercadoLibre and other fintech platforms faced intensifying legal and social scrutiny in Argentina regarding usury and aggressive debt collection. While MercadoLibre reported record Q2 revenue of $10.2 billion, its financial services business has become a focal point of controversy, accounting for 64.3% of its total revenue in Argentina. Former legislator Gabriel Solano has escalated legal actions, alleging usury under Article 175 bis of the Penal Code. Solano requested that authorities provisionally suspend all loan collections through Mercado Pago and Mercado Crédito, accusing the board of exploiting users with interest rates that can exceed 1,375%. In September 2026, the legal pressure intensified as the Asociación de Consumidores Financieros de la República Argentina (ACFRA) filed a lawsuit in the National Commercial Court of Buenos Aires. Represented by attorney Diego Espasandín, the action seeks an audit of operations from the last three years and the restitution of improperly charged amounts, a ruling that could potentially impact approximately 7 million users. The lawsuit originated from individual cases, including one instance where a user reportedly repaid 127,000 pesos on an 8,000 peso loan. Mercado Pago has responded by stating that each loan is evaluated through its own risk system and that the highest costs apply primarily to low-amount credits for clients with limited credit history, which they claim represents only 2% of their loans. Social unrest has also escalated, with organizations such as the Movimiento Evita holding protests at MercadoLibre headquarters. Demonstrators criticized the company for utilizing financial deregulation to engage in predatory lending, arguing that vulnerable populations are forced to use these loans for basic necessities like food and transportation, thereby fueling systemic household debt. This follows a surge in delinquency rates, which rose from 7.3% in November 2024 to 30.1% by June 2026, according to the Centro CEPA.

Versions

Only revisions since CLSTR began indexing content versions appear here. Select a version to see what changed compared to the one before it.