Argentina: Alternative Lending Market in LATAM’s Third-Largest Economy
- MD Finance Team
- Jun 20
- 3 min read
Despite a turbulent macro environment, Argentina offers growing potential for fintech companies, especially alternative lenders serving the underbanked population.
Over the past five years, Argentina’s non-bank alternative lending segment, led by fintechs, has evolved from a niche market into a key part of the financial ecosystem. These companies use digital platforms to offer personal loans, operating outside the traditional banking system.
The impact of digital leaders is evident: nearly 10M Argentines are now served by such companies. According to a report issued by the Buenos Aires Institute of Technology (ITBA) and the Argentine Fintech Chamber, fintech companies already account for 1 in 5 loans issued in the country.
Below, we tell about Argentina’s market dynamics, its evolving non-bank lending ecosystem, and recent policy shifts toward fintech segment.
Argentina in the LATAM landscape
With a GDP of approximately $640B, Argentina is the third-largest economy in Latin America. The country has prominent natural assets, including lithium reserves, agricultural strength, and a growing renewable energy potential. However, economic mismanagement and inflation have constrained growth. Since 2019, the Argentine peso has lost more than 90% of its value against the US dollar, and nearly half the population now lives in poverty.
Nevertheless, Argentina maintains a high level of digital adoption compared to its neighbours. In 2024, its share of Latin American e-commerce sales reached 8.3%, ranking third in the region, despite being fourth in population size. Debit and credit card ownership rates are higher than in other LATAM markets, although still below the levels seen in the US and Canada.
Argentina’s fintech sector benefits from young, urban, and increasingly reliant on mobile finance population. This creates a promising landscape for digital financial services and alternative lending solutions.
The Rise of Non-Bank Lending
Argentina’s consumer lending market was historically underdeveloped. As of 2022, total bank credit to the private sector was only around 10% of GDP. More than 60 traditional banks operate under the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA), but their reach is limited.
Non-bank lenders, known as Proveedores No Financieros de Crédito (PNFC), fill this gap. These include fintech platforms, digital lenders, and payday credit companies. They are allowed to operate as regular commercial entities but must register with the Registry of Other Non-Financial Credit Providers.
In 2024, a regulatory milestone was reached with the enactment of Law No. 27.739, which formally recognized PNFCs as “reporting subjects” under Argentina’s financial intelligence unit (UIF).
Alternative Lending Market and Its Recent Developments
As of January 2025, the funding balance of non-bank credit providers reached ARS 8T, the highest level since 2018 - an 86% year-on-year increase in real terms.
Fintechs’ share of this market continues to expand. Between July 2024 and January 2025, their share rose from 16% to a record 21%. Personal loans were the standout product, growing 93% in real terms over the same period to reach ARS 2.7T. Credit card balances grew by 37%, reaching ARS 4.5T.
Recent developments proves that Argentina’s fintech ecosystem is maturing. In May 2025, the Central Bank (BCRA) launched a plan to implement an Open Finance model, encouraging secure API-based data sharing between banks and fintechs. The goal is to widen access to credit through transparent, user-consented financial data exchange, similar to open banking models in Europe.
This aligns with a broader reform agenda under President Javier Milei’s administration, which has a fintech-friendly stance since taking office in late 2023. According to industry surveys, fintech companies now report improved communication with regulators and a more predictable environment for scaling business.
“Argentina's recent legal and regulatory developments signal a substantial shift toward supporting fintech growth and innovation, while also reinforcing its anti-money laundering framework.
The regulatory environment has become markedly more fintech-friendly, with key authorities prioritizing Open Finance initiatives. These efforts aim to improve access to financial data, encourage competition, and expand credit availability by enabling secure, user-consented data sharing between banks and fintech companies.”
(c) Oleksandr Bielokhin, Senior Market Research & Analysis Specialist at MD Finance
While past failures, such as the collapse of Vivus and Wenance, highlight the risks of Argentina’s volatile credit landscape, today’s dynamics point to a more coordinated efforts to build a reliable and innovative fintech ecosystem.
Download a full report to explore more about the fintech market and selected alternative lenders operations.
