How does MercadoPago work? Here is a guide for beginners, entrepreneurs, and eCommerce users.

Courtesy Market Payment

Sometimes it seems like every day a new financial technology appears that promises to be the best to handle your online transactions . However, there is one that stands out not only for being practically ubiquitous, but also for being the one that has been established the longest in Latin America: payment market .

“Mercado Pago was born more than 20 years ago in Argentina, as the gateway to process all payments in the Mercado Libre market. Today we are the largest FinTech in Latin America and we are focused on the democratization of money”, said Rossana Escalante, manager of online payments at Mercado Pago Mexico, in an interview with Entrepreneur in Spanish .

The executive indicated that the platform has more than a million active users per month . “We are talking about more than 25,000 sellers who have trusted us, mostly SMEs and independent sellers,” he said. He says.

Rossana says that many companies have managed to embrace digitization, especially in the last year as a result of the pandemic. The crisis helped entrepreneurs understand “The importance of having a digital presence and adding value to your buyers”.

if you are a e-commerce entrepreneur fan of online shopping or a simple beginner entering the world of online payments Here is a basic guide to start using Mercado Pago.

1. How to open a Mercado Pago account?

Few people realize how easy it is open an account in Mercado Pago in fact, there are those who are not even aware that they already have one.

“Today, everyone who has made a purchase on Free market I already have an account inside payment market , they already have a username and password. The fact of having made a purchase in Free market it is already part of our client portfolio Escalante explained.

2. What benefits do I have if I charge in Mercado Pago?

Citing a recent company study, Rossana said offering card payment can increase the average sales ticket . Furthermore, he indicated that “The vendors that began to operate with Mercado Pago managed to Increase your sales volume by up to 30% while the cash handling was reduced by 16% .”

the story continues

Other advantages for sellers are “be able offer their payers various alternatives and have access to metrics to better understand your customers ,” says the executive. Expanding collection options allows them to offer a solution to potential customers “Those who don’t dare to buy from you because they don’t bring cash.”

“Furthermore, by paying with Mercado Pago, the probability that this transaction will be approved, even by the same banks, rises significantly,” he added.

3. Yes, Mercado Pago gives you access to credits

By using payment market entrepreneurs can request credits based on your real time income and not in his story. “What we are offering is a window to financing, which this type of seller normally did not have before,” Escalante said, and then explained the process .

“First, the seller starts with Mercado Pago in any of its modalities (online store, physical terminal at the point of sale or by QR code). Starting from your second full month of operation, our AI models give you a rating and start offering you lines of credit,” he noted. explained.

The reason for granting a loan so easily is “because we already know how much you sell, and it doesn’t matter if the bank rejected you, if you’re in the credit bureau or if you have other debts, we are aware of your income and from that we work to support you” .

The company is clear that “Financing is key to the growth of SMEs” and that’s why they offer that “just starting to operate with us already gives you a track record, a point of reference for receive credits from Mercado Pago “ Rossana stressed.

The credit line a seller has access to is updated every month, as their income fluctuates. “Perhaps at first the line of credit is very small, but as your business grows, it will expand and other financing options will open up,” he said. saying.

Those who pay through Mercado Pago, buyers also have access to various financing options with and without interest, depending on the seller.

4. Security is key in Mercado Pago

“That is the most interesting thing about Mercado Pago. Once the buyer registers a card in his Mercado Pago account, the information on that card will only be used by us with encryption models, which require many ‘keys’ to access it” explains the executive.

“We guard the data, and when you are making purchases on other sites that offer the Mercado Pago option, you will no longer have to give your bank details to each online store every time you want to pay,” he said. aggregate.

Rossana explained that the platform has put more and more security locks the most recent based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) . all this works “to ensure that there is always a real person behind every computer and every purchase,” and therefore reduce fraud against sellers and buyers.

“On the security side, we, as a public and regulated company, with a presence throughout Latin America, have innumerable controls to guarantee the security of our users. We comply with all the highest security standards in the handling of our clients’ banking information”, Escalante said.

5. The alliance between Mercado Pago and Shopify Mexico is beneficial for everyone

“In the e-commerce ecosystem, every time we think about the great journey it’s to start selling online there are many factors to fit all the pieces of the puzzle”, says the executive.

“Shopify, in the end, is today the leading e-commerce platform in Mexico, because it offers sellers the possibility of setting up an online store of the highest quality, with minimal effort, without the need for technical knowledge, with all the features and integrations. necessary to be able to carry out small, large and gigantic projects” deepened.

“We are a Shopify partner on the payment gateway side. They enable the platform where you are going to set up your virtual store, which implies making remote electronic transactions, and this is done through the alliance that we have had for some years in the region” concluded Rossana Escalante.

In fact, payment market will participate this October 28 and 29 in INSIGNIA a free online event organized by Shopify Mexico , which brings together 28 experts in electronic commerce with the vision of offering the necessary tools to create a successful business. If you want to know more about the world of electronic commerce and the advantages of electronic payments just register here and connect to the event.