MercadoLibre , an ecommerce company in Latin America, has filed a complaint with Argentine regulators against MODO , a digital wallet supported by local banks. The company claims that MODO is engaging in anti-competitive behaviour and creating a market monopoly.

MercadoLibre’s financial technology division, Mercado Pago, provides a widely-used digital wallet service that facilitates mobile payments. Over the past year, there has been growing tension between Mercado Pago and local banks. Mercado Pago's QR codes have become a common payment method in Argentine stores, contributing to MercadoLibre's status as Latin America's largest company by market capitalization, currently valued at over USD 100 billion.

The complaint alleges that MODO, which is backed by 36 banks, including Argentina's Banco Nacion and the local branches of international banks such as Santander, BBVA, and HSBC, is operating as a monopoly and engaging in practices detrimental to the fintech industry and its consumers. Earlier in the year, MODO accused Mercado Pago of employing unfair practices to gain a dominant market position. MODO did not provide a comment regarding MercadoLibre's recent allegations.

Do the banks work together? MercadoLibre stated that the complaint addresses issues of market concentration and coordinated practices among the banks involved, which are perceived as efforts to undermine competition within the fintech sector. The company emphasized that the purpose of the complaint is to ensure a competitive environment that fosters the development of improved financial tools. Previously, MODO had lodged a complaint against MercadoLibre, claiming that its practices allowed Mercado Pago to capture 80% of Argentina's electronic retail payments market.

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