Currency Exchange
Many people ask how to transfer US dollars to pesos in Argentina. I’m only talking about USD, though the situation is probably similar for other currencies. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as “take your foreign card to the ATM, cash out pesos.” This is due to the weird moment in history where Argentina has widely varying currency exchange rates.
A quick note: People may tell you to use an arbolito. Don’t. You’d have to carry around USD in cash, find a trustworthy person, and carry a lot of pesos in cash, massively elevating your chance of getting robbed or ripped off.
Pay attention to these 3 rates: The blue rate (which is close to what Western Union uses), the official rate (ATMs), and the MEP rate. The MEP rate is about 1.8x the official and the blue rate is about 2x the official (early 2022). You can use your foreign card, but it will be charged the official rate.
The MEP matters because the government came up with a new bank account for tourists to use that transfers dollars to pesos at the MEP rate. If you’re staying for a tourist visa or less, this is a good option. It gets you a good currency exchange rate without the hassle of setting up a long-term Argentinian bank account. Any pesos you lose relative to the blue is made up in convenience. You can think of it as a convenience fee. With it you get a local debit card to use in stores and ATMs. Some stores can’t process foreign debit cards and others may charge a credit-card fee on them. Credit cards are commonly not accepted. Check your bank’s rates for transfers and determine if the effective convenience fee is worth it to you.
In short, DON’T use abolitos, DO use Western Union for long stays and CHECK out the tourist bank account for short stays.
I recommend Western Union for longer stays. You will want to set up a proper Argentine bank account, which can take a month or more to set up depending on where you are in your residency process, the validity of your visa, etc. Before the bank account is set up you can use Western Union’s cash pick-up, which has a small fee. The code DIGITAL0FEE as of now lets you transfer online (bank to bank or card to bank) without fees at or near the blue rate. This method gets you a great currency exchange rate. Plus, the bank account you set up for it helps you make payments and receive payments.
That should be about it! Hope this helps enable you to enjoy your visit or move to Argentina!
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