Brubank, Ualá and Mercado Pago: which account to open

When a landlord asks for Argentine bank details, a QR wallet and a bank account can look remarkably similar on a phone. Brubank One and Ualá's advertised peso savings account supply a bank CBU; Mercado Pago supplies a payment-account CVU. For a British newcomer with a DNI, either bank account offers local bank details with no basic monthly maintenance charge. Mercado Pago can then serve as a separate tool for QR purchases and bills.

Ualá needs a particular correction: its current savings-account page names BCRA-authorised Ualá Bank S.A.U., with ARS 0 opening and maintenance and eligible deposit protection up to ARS 50 million. Treating every Ualá product as a wallet misses that bank account, while treating every balance in the app as an insured deposit goes too far. A UK passport alone gives no dependable promise of app approval, so the first days of a move may still depend on a working UK card and peso cash.

The account number behind each app

A CBU identifies an Argentine bank account. A CVU identifies a non-bank payment account; an alias is a shorter transfer identifier for either. Many domestic peso transfers can reach both types, but a landlord may ask for a bank transfer and an overseas payout provider may support only a CBU. Domestic bank details and a working GBP-to-ARS transfer route are therefore two things to establish separately.

Brubank sells One, Plus and Ultra. Its September 2026 fee schedule lists monthly service at ARS 0, ARS 17,000 and ARS 33,000 respectively, while the peso savings account and domestic transfers are ARS 0 across the plans. Ualá calls its bank product a caja de ahorro, shows the CBU in the app and tells employees they can give that CBU for salary payments. The Ualá prepaid Mastercard is another payment instrument alongside it; older references to Uilo elsewhere in the ecosystem do not replace the legal entity named on the current bank-account page.

Mercado Pago advertises an account without fixed costs, free instant transfers and QR purchases. Its legal notice says it provides a payment service and is not BCRA-authorised as a financial institution. Money credited to that payment account lacks a bank-deposit guarantee. Its optional Mercado Fondo investment has its own risk rather than the protection of a bank savings deposit.

How much protection does Ualá's bank account offer?

Ualá says eligible peso and foreign-currency deposits at Ualá Bank have guarantee cover up to ARS 50 million. Its terms exclude categories including deposits taken above the applicable reference-rate threshold. The limit is per person and deposit, with cover on joint accounts divided between holders. A fund or stock investment reached through the same app remains an investment, rather than becoming a deposit through the login.

The bank account also advertises daily returns on qualifying peso balances. Its rate may change daily and its eligibility thresholds can change with the offer. For money brought from Britain, that advertised peso return has to sit beside inflation, exchange conversion and any UK or Argentine tax obligations. Someone who needs only a CBU has no reason to enrol in a yield feature to obtain one.

Fees that matter in ordinary use

Ualá's costs page viewed September 2026 lists ARS 4,000 per Red Link or Banelco withdrawal from an ordinary peso savings account, with separate concessions for salary and social-security accounts. Initial prepaid-card dispatch is listed at ARS 0. A later replacement is listed at ARS 10,000 with a first-printing concession. These are dated provider figures, not permanent charges.

Brubank One's listed charge is ARS 6,200 per enabled domestic ATM withdrawal, and replacement of a lost One debit card is ARS 12,000. The paid Plus and Ultra monthly fees are optional upgrades, while domestic transfers and app bill payments remain listed at ARS 0 for One. Frequent cash withdrawals can therefore cost more than account maintenance.

Consider two enabled domestic ATM withdrawals in a month at those September 2026 rates. Brubank One would charge 2 × ARS 6,200 = ARS 12,400, about US$8; an ordinary Ualá savings account would charge 2 × ARS 4,000 = ARS 8,000, about US$5. The ARS 4,400 difference is about US$3 at ARS 1,520 per dollar. ATM-owner charges, any account concessions and fees on a UK card sit outside that example. For someone paying mainly by transfer, debit or QR, the basic bank accounts' zero monthly service charges leave account approval, support and card use to decide the choice.

Before the DNI arrives

The UK brief gives UK passport holders an initial 90-day visa-free visit, which does not itself produce an Argentine DNI. A precaria, the provisional residence certificate while a case is pending, need not satisfy an app's automated DNI scan. The first foreign resident DNI costs ARS 20,000 through RENAPER as of September 2026, with delivery roughly two to six weeks after approval. Exact Argentine name and ID details matter at signup; a mismatched surname or failed selfie can mean manual review. None of the provider pages read promises a passport-only route or approval by a set date.

After approval, the CBU and account-holder name allow a small domestic test transfer before a larger rent payment to the account specified in the agreement. Mercado Pago's CVU can hold a working spending balance for QR payments and bill barcodes while the larger reserve stays in the chosen bank account. A local dollar-denominated sub-account, if offered, says nothing on its own about accepting an international GBP or USD wire. Moving sterling calls for a live GBP-to-ARS quote compatible with the recipient details.

For a renter who needs a CBU, Brubank One and Ualá Bank are both plausible first applications. Ualá's bank status makes it a genuine alternative, rather than merely a prepaid-card companion; Mercado Pago earns its place when its payment tools match the way the household spends.