Two twenty-two-digit numbers side by side, with no visual clue as to which is which. One comes from a bank and the other from a wallet, and some forms treat that difference as if it mattered a great deal.
What it actually is
The CVU, the uniform virtual key, identifies an account held at a payment service provider, what we usually call a wallet. It does the same job as a CBU inside the Argentine payment system and shares its format.
Where the difference sits
| CBU | CVU | |
|---|---|---|
| What is behind it | An account at a financial institution | An account at a payment service provider |
| Format | Twenty-two digits | Twenty-two digits |
| Transfers inside Argentina | Works | Works the same |
| As a withdrawal destination from abroad | Usually accepted | Not always |
When the difference changes something
Day to day, almost never. It surfaces when an international platform asks for a withdrawal destination and accepts only financial institution accounts. There a perfectly valid CVU stops working, with nothing wrong with the number itself.
The alias does not settle the question
An alias can point to a CBU or a CVU, so seeing it does not tell you what is behind it. To know, you have to open the account detail.
Where you will be asked for it
For collections inside Argentina, where it works without friction, and when registering withdrawal destinations, where it pays to check first what the source accepts. The practical case is in the twenty-two digits of an Argentine destination.
Related terms
Its banking equivalent is the CBU and the label that can point to either is the alias. The rest is in the glossary.
This is not financial, legal, tax, or investment advice.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I receive a payment from abroad into a CVU?
It depends on what the source accepts. Inside Argentina a CVU works like a CBU, but not every platform abroad accepts it as a withdrawal destination. It is worth checking in your own dashboard before saving the destination.
How do I know whether my number is a CBU or a CVU?
By where you got it, more than by how it looks: both are twenty-two digits. If it came from a bank's app it is a CBU; if it came from a wallet it is a CVU. And if all you have is an alias, you cannot tell without opening the detail.
Can it be changed?
No. The provider assigns it and it stays with the account. What changes is the alias, a label chosen by the holder that can point elsewhere later.
Informational content. This does not constitute financial, legal, tax or investment advice.
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