How to Access Money in Buenos Aires
There are two key currency exchange rates: Official and Blue (black market) for the Argentinian Peso (ARS). The Blue rate is typically worth roughly 2-3x the official rate and the rates vary by the hour and day based on trading on the currency markets.
For example, one day in November 2023, the official rate was 350 pesos per USD, while the Blue rate was 1030 pesos per USD. You can check the latest rates & historical graph for the Blue rate here.
This website shows the current rates for Official, Blue, Western Union, Visa, and MasterCard.
Foreign Bank Debit & Credit Cards: Using your foreign bank issued MasterCard and Visa card utilizes the MEP rate (which is typically 70-90% of the Blue rate). Visa has an explanation here.
For Visa transactions, the current rate is always updated here (use the “Ask” rate) for various currencies (USD, EUR, etc). The Visa website here also has a currency calculator where you can find rates for today or any previous date.
For MasterCard transactions, you will see a first transaction at the Offical rate, and then a second transaction about 3-5 days later with a credit for the difference between the official rate and the MEP rate.
Tip: Do not use your foreign debit/credit card to withdraw money from an ATM – you are getting ~70-80% of the value for your money. The amount you can withdraw from an ATM from your foreign debit card is very low, about USD $20 per transaction.
Tip: The best strategy is to bring new (for USD, the “big face” new ones), unmarked, crisp USD $100 or EUR €100 bills (smaller, marked, and poor condition bills have lower value) to exchange for pesos. You are allowed to enter Argentina with up to US $10,000 in value of foreign currency. People typically end up spending more here on the higher end restaurants, buying Tango shoes, clothes, etc., so bring extra bills just in case.
If you’re here for longer or cannot bring US or EU bills, use Western Union (see below) to withdraw from your bank accounts back home and get pesos here.
There are many Foreign Exchange places around BA that will convert USD or EUR cash to ARS (Argentinian Pesos) for the Blue rate. Before going to them, look up the current Blue rate online. These places that exchange at the Blue rate are called “cuevas” (meaning cave) and there are also individual people who will come to your location to exchange money, usually for an additional small fee.
Florida Street has many touts on the street yelling “cambio” (exchange). You can ask them for their rate and they will take you to a nearby shop to do the exchange. It’s best to talk to several of them to find the best rates and you can negotiate for higher amounts. However, I don’t recommend using them as they’re infamous for cheating tourists.
Their common scams are: they’ll initially give you a higher rate on the street and then a lower rate because of a “mistake” once you’re inside the shop, or you give them 7 USD $100 bills and they’ll steal 1 bill and claim you gave them only 6, or they’ll short you on the pesos they give you (make sure to count everything yourself, slowly), or they’ll give you counterfeit bills. And, if you exchange a lot of money, you can become a target on the street. Overall, we don’t recommend exchanging money on Florida Street, especially for larger amounts! If you do use them, exchange small amounts ($100-200) and count all the pesos slowly.
It’s safer to use a cueva that has a good reputation, such as these:
- DolarPermo (delivered to your location): Safe, reliable, responsive, competitive rates, easy to deal with, and professional. They deliver to your location for a small fee. They accept EUR or USD cash, Euro IBAN, PayPal, Payoneer, Skrill, Wise, Zelle, and Crypto. Limited hours on Saturdays and not open on Sundays. You can negotiate with higher amounts (usually US $500 or more).
- Cambio Baires (retail store locations): has convenient locations around the city and has very competitive rates. You can negotiate with higher amounts (usually US $500 or more). Their Palermo location is at Av Santa Fe 4114 in Plaza Italia and you can get a quote from them via WhatsApp which is good for 40 minutes or so.
- Girarg has locations around the city, including in Palermo. You can get a current quote via WhatsApp.
- Casa de Cambio Palermo (Palermo, Thames 2426) very close to Plaza Italia.
- Lechuga: Reliable, very competitive rates, free delivery if exchanging US $200 or more. WhatsApp: +54 11 2899 3354
- Martin, WhatsApp: +54 11 3378 4200
- Lara, WhatsApp: +54 11 4530 7064
- Emir, WhatsApp: +54 11 5040 8118
Western Union (WU): Uses another rate, called Dolar CCL, which is roughly similar to the Blue rate, but sometimes it’s higher or lower than the blue rate. You can check the current WU rates here for USD or EUR.
Background on Dolar CCL: since Argentina limits access to Dollars, Argentine sovereign bonds are used to access the US Dollar. The blue-chip swap rate, also known as contado con liqui or CCL, is obtained by investors buying shares or bonds in pesos and selling them in dollars on the international market. The “CCL Dolar” is the implicit exchange rate in that operation. The “MEP Dolar” is the same as CCL but in the local market.
How To Use Western Union: Install the mobile app on your phone for the country of your bank and official identification or use their website and create an account. You withdraw money from your foreign credit card (highest fees), debit card, or bank account. Then, you send the funds to yourself in Argentina (make sure that your name matches your passport exactly) and you pick pesos at a local Western Union agent here in BsAs – bring your passport.
If you use the TangoVida WU sign-up link with referral code, we’ll both get a $20 Amazon gift certificate: https://ssqt.co/mQpjM0z
Tip: Do not use Google Maps to find WU locations and/or find hours when they’re open. Google Maps is not reliable in Argentina, and especially not reliable for WU location information. The WU app is more reliable, but not 100% reliable about being open late/weekends.
Tip: If you are from the US and use a commercial mailbox service, WU will not let you use that address. You’ll need a physical address for a home or apartment.
Finding WU Locations with enough cash can sometimes be a challenge. The WU mobile app has a “Find Location” menu option to find locations in your area, or use this page on their website, including finding ones that are open at that time – press the “Open Now” button. Most locations aren’t open on Sundays; it’s best to withdraw pesos during the weekdays, except for late on Friday afternoon when everyone else is also withdrawing money for the weekend. These following locations are best for withdrawing large amounts, such as US $500 to $2000:
- Armenia 2109 – Palermo SoHo, but often has lines during peak tourist season (January/February) and often runs out of cash early on Fridays.
- Córdoba 4357 – Palermo (near Almagro), a short walk from Palermo SoHo, usually has much shorter lines than the one at Armenia 2109
- These 3 locations are on different sides of the same block, near Teatro Colon:
- Córdoba 1591 – best for large amounts, largest WU office in BA
- Montevideo 843 – often with shorter lines. Open on Holidays
- Paraná 848
- Vidt 2116 – next to Palermo Alto, good for large amounts. Open on Holidays and Saturdays.
- Salguero 3200 (Alcorta Shopping Mall) – in Palermo Chico, good for large amounts. Open on Holidays and Saturdays.
- Av Boedo 832 – in Boedo
- Av. Santa Fe 4748 – in Palermo, open Saturdays until 8pm, and Sundays 11am-5pm
Western Union Coupon Codes – there are currently no discount codes, but apparently you can call them at +1-800-325-6000 and ask for a 50% off code and usually they give you one for a single use.
There is a limit of 3 transactions per day per WU location.
Note that foreign currency exchange trading markets are open until 3pm local time
Monday-Friday, so rates vary during those times. And, the rate at 3pm on a Friday will be constant until Monday morning as the currency markets are closed during that time.
An alternative to Western Union is Xoom.
Tip: Sometimes the WU rate is higher, and sometimes the Blue rate at a cueva is higher. It’s best to look at both (assuming you also have cash) before obtaining pesos.
Tip:At the EZE airport, upstairs from departures, there is a post office “Correo Argentino” which also offers WU withdrawals, but is only open on weekdays and possibly Saturdays daytime. You can use this to get pesos at the blue rate as soon as you arrive in Buenos Aires, and also pay your taxi with pesos.
Tip: WU sometimes has long lines, especially on Mondays & Saturdays, and during the summer months you can expect to wait up to two hours. To skip the line, you can make an appointment online.
This is a good website with updated information on money issues.
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