“I realized that there was a very important flow of Brazilian tourists who visited our country, but they had difficulties paying for goods and services, especially because there is a high degree of informality in the economy, and that forced them to provide themselves with Argentine pesos, in a very complex exchange market like ours,” explained the businessman in dialogue with Scope.
“I understood that there was a great opportunity to bring Pix technology to Argentinacreated by the Central Bank of Brazil and which revolutionized the payments market of that large country. It allows transfers to be made quickly and more simply, without the need for CBU, CVU or aliases. In just seven seconds the transfer is made,” he added.
From this diagnosis, Iñiguez looked for a technology partner to develop MegaPix, a technological platform that seeks facilitate financial transactions between Argentina and Brazil. Specifically, it allows any Brazilian who is in Argentina to pay for any purchase or contract through the application of their Brazilian bank, without having to download an extra app or a digital wallet.
A great differential for Brazilians who pay through the Pix transfer system is that The costs are considerably lower than those applied by a bank credit card for a payment abroadin addition to commissions for currency exchange.
Seen from the other angle, MegaPix allows individuals, SMEs and large Argentine companies to start invoicing payments made by people and companies from Brazil in Argentina and thus capturing a million-dollar flow of operations regardless of the sector to which they belong.
“Our solution seeks to solve the problem of currency exchange that became obsoletecomplicated and expensive, affecting the purchasing actions of products and services efficiently. Megapix not only minimizes the need to handle cash, but also eliminates the use of unreliable intermediaries, which improves and benefits commerce, consumption and tourism. In addition, it encourages the freedom to explore Argentina, facilitating commercial operations and promoting growth throughout the country,” highlighted Christian Iñiguez, CEO of Polynomium, the national company that created MegaPix.
Iñiguez spoke to journalists this Tuesday during the pre-launch of MegaPix, a platform that will be available to operate throughout the country within 10 days.
“The interior of Argentina is forgotten by collection fintech. We want to give it an opportunity to formalize itself, taking advantage of the large number of Brazilian tourists who arrive in the country every year. This year it is estimated that there will be about 866,000 Brazilians those who will visit Argentina. They frequent Patagonia, with towns such as Bariloche, Villa La Angostura and San Martín de los Andes, as well as the City of Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, Mendoza and Misiones. And based on the projections we make about the behavior of the holiday seasons in each country We estimate that in the next six months we can generate around 2.5 million operations“, accurate.
How the cross-border payments platform works
The universe of payment needs of Brazilians in Argentina that MegaPix aims to cover is broad: from visiting tourist attractions, contracting airline services, to supplying fuel for cargo transportation that travels through the country.
For all these cases the platform offers two payment options: in person or remotely through a QR or payment links. Payments in Brazilian reals are instant and are transferred from your bank accounts or virtual wallets.
Internally, a conversion is made to USDT (cryptocurrency equivalent to the value of the dollar), which allows the merchant in his Megapix account to retain his money in a stable currency, protecting himself from the fluctuation of the Argentine peso.
Additionally, you can choose to immediately convert your funds to the currency of your preference (Argentine pesos or keep it in crypto), choosing when and where to withdraw your winnings in just a few steps.
According to Iñiguez, the only commission that MegaPix applies is 1% on the amounts paid by buyers. On the other hand, Argentine businesses, professionals or SMEs that sell their products and services they don’t pay commission some.
Another universe that MegaPix points to is the Brazilian community in Argentina, which has been growing significantly and is now reached 80,000 residents. In addition, there are more than 20,000 Brazilian students who are pursuing degrees in the country, especially at the UBA Faculty of Medicine. This growth has been considerable in the last eight years, consolidating Argentina as an attractive educational destination.
Regarding the world of commerce and business, the figures involved are very large, since Brazil remains Argentina’s main trading partnerwith 70% of industrial exports. They increased by 2.5% in August 2024 compared to August 2023, totaling US$1,168 million.
A financial bridge between Argentina and Brazil
Antonella Gonzalez, Product Manager of MegaPix, also participated during the presentation, who expressed: “We are looking for facilitate expansion into new marketsconsolidating Megapix as a financial bridge between Argentina and Brazil.”
Along these lines, he explained that “our platform includes a dashboard that allows you to manage, control sales, administer multiple ‘stores’ and ‘users’, offering roles and permissions. In parallel, we have a native mobile app that is rapidly expanding. We have an API for those who have their own system without having to use several systems in parallel. In addition, our developments are modular so we provide customizable developments.”
The development of Megapix was financed with own capital contributed by Iñiguez using resources generated by its export companies. The businessman rejected several offers from venture capital funds specialized in startups to carry out investment rounds, because he preferred to maintain full control over the management of his company and not feel the pressure of debt.
Thus, the platform achieved accelerated growth. Currently It has a staff of 17 peoplewhile the mother company, Polynomium, has another 20 collaborators. “Everyone is very involved in this project and is betting on the success of the proposal. Some came from very important companies willing to earn less money in exchange for doing something they feel is their own,” commented Iñiguez.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
