With ‘Colplay dollar’, Argentina already has 15 different quotes for the US currency

With the creation of “Coldplay” dollars, to help show producers, offering them a more affordable dollar for hiring artists and shows in Argentina, the Qatar dollar, which actually applies to any purchase abroad with cards credit, plus two more taxes (which can reach 75% of the purchase price), Argentina now has 15 types of official quotations.

The “Coldplay” dollar will allow producers to hire foreign shows for a dollar quoted at 200 pesos, that is, without resorting to the parallel. Access to the dollar at its official quotation (149 pesos) is only allowed for imports of capital goods and for the purchase of machinery and inputs for the industry.

Since 2018, these restrictions on the purchase of dollars have become even tougher, due to the low reserve of foreign currency in the country. The purchase of dollars at the official value is practically prohibited to individuals, who can only buy US$ 200 for savings purposes, per month. If they need more, they must turn to the “blue” market, where the US currency is worth almost 285 pesos – in some clandestine sales outlets, it is up to 300 pesos.

Know the dollars that are in force in the country:

The “official dollar” is only available to importers of certain goods for industry and exporters who settle their sales abroad, in addition to banks and the Central Bank. To gain access to this dollar, importers do so through the Central Bank, which also buys the foreign exchange brought in by exporters, to bolster Argentina’s meager reserves.

The “minor dollar” is the price at which banks sell dollar bills to their customers. Due to the restrictions explained above, it is only possible to purchase US$ 200 per month, and even then the buyer must be registered and fulfill certain requirements, such as justifying the reason for the purchase of the currency.

There is also the “solidarity dollar”, which uses the official as a base, but with a tax of 65%. It also has a cap of $200 per month, and must be justified. If the “minorist” focuses more on those who intend to save with this currency, the “solidarity” lends itself to the purchase of goods considered essential, such as those related to health.

The “blue dollar”, or parallel/informal, is what governs Argentina’s price market, as it is the only one that is more accessible, albeit illegal. The price of the “blue” is close to 300 pesos, and it is almost 100% more expensive than the official one.

Banking operations, transfers from other countries, spending in dollars in Argentina are made in official dollars, which harms the recipient. This means that many Argentines who receive dollars from abroad prefer to do so through accounts in Uruguay, which allow withdrawals in dollars, or that several local transactions are carried out with dollar tickets, such as purchases of apartments and real estate, which are generally paid in “cash”, to avoid double the cost.

The “blue dollar” is traded in exchange offices and by “arbolitos”, individual sellers. The activity is illegal, but the authorities turn a blind eye to most of them.

The “Netflix dollar” is the dollar applied to foreign “streaming” services paid by credit card, such as Netflix, Spotify, others. To pay for this service, the official dollar is applied, plus two rates, one of 45% and the other of 8%, from the so-called “country tax”, which is charged whenever there is a purchase made with foreign currency.

There is also the “foreign dollar”, which was created so that foreign tourists would not have to resort to informality. The difficulty of its implementation, however, resulted in very low demand on the part of tourists, who prefer to adhere to the “blue”, which is easier and more rewarding.

The foreign dollar requires the tourist to open a temporary account, only for the days he will be in the country, in which he can deposit up to US$ 5,000. When opening the account, you receive a debit card, on which you can carry out the transactions necessary for your trip in the amount of an intermediate dollar between the “blue” and the “official”.

According to the government, this would be safer for tourists, who would not have to expose themselves when looking for illegal sellers. At the end of the trip, the tourist must close the account and the rest of the dollars are returned.

In effect only during the season when soybeans are sold abroad, the so-called “soybean dollar” allows exporters to receive the result of their sales at one dollar at the rate of 200 pesos. In the case of soy, the main complaint is the taxes paid to the government, at 33%.

The “Exchange dollar” is a type of exchange that applies only to transactions in this market, and is obtained by buying a public security and selling it. Its quotation varies according to the period between one action and another. Similar to the “Exchange dollar”, there is the “dollar counted with settlement”, whose difference is that the dollars resulting from the transaction are deposited abroad.

Also similar to the “Exchange dollar” is the “Senebi dollar” (Bilateral Trading Segment), applied to bond trading.

There are also “ADR dollars”, also similar to the stock exchange dollar, but with settlement abroad, and “Cedear dollars”, for shares quoted in dollars abroad.

Finally, there is also the “Crypto dollar”, for those who trade in the purchase and sale of cryptocurrencies, which are taxed by the Central Bank.