No dollars? ¡No hay problema!

Forget those five-pizzas-for-$5 deals the competitors are doing — Dallas-based pizza chain Pizza Patrón has launched something that's sure to get far more attention. Beginning today, customers at the chain's 59 locations will be able to pay for their pizzas in pesos. Pizza Patrón, which targets Hispanic customers, said the move will make things more convenient for people who frequently travel to and from Mexico: "We're trying to reach out to our core customer," Antonio Swad, president of Pizza Patrón Inc., told The Dallas Morning News on Friday. "We know they come back [from Mexico] and have pesos left over. We want to be a convenient place for them to spend their pesos."

The dual-currency program is just a trial, at least for now: It's expected to end in late February, but could be extended if it works well. Cashiers will accept pesos, use a conversion table to enter the amount into the cash register in U.S. dollars, and then give change in U.S. currency. Pizza Patrón franchisees have made agreements with local banks to handle the Mexican money, Swad said; the chain has set its exchange rate at 12 pesos per dollar for the duration of the trial (on Friday, the actual exchange rate was nearly 11 pesos to a dollar). The difference will help cover the cost of converting the money, Pizza Patrón Director of Brand Management Andrew Gamm said.

The move is drawing criticism from some observers who say it's sort of pointless for cities that aren't on the U.S.-Mexico border. "I would see it as a move by the chain to communicate unequivocally to the Hispanic market that they are for them," Juan Faura, a Dallas marketer, told the Morning News. "I don't see any other reason for it." But Gamm said criticism doesn't matter: "We know the purity of our intention, and we're willing to take the heat when there is heat," he said.

Pizza Patrón has five locations in Houston, just in case you have some unspent pesos laying around.