With an eye on the return of international tourism, the Argentine government launched a measure so that the foreign currency brought by visitors does not end up in the famous clandestine market.
Argentina will open its borders to foreigners next Monday (1st).
Tourists tend to prefer the clandestine market because there is a difference of almost 100% between the value of the official dollar (98.7 pesos) and the so-called blue or parallel dollar (194 pesos). For those who come from abroad with dollars or reais, it is more business to change money in the illegal market, which works in clandestine exchange offices or operates with the so-called “arbolitos”, vendors who deliver personally and are very accessible to tourists.
With this difference between the two exchanges, credit card expenses are rendered unfeasible, even more so with the fees charged in operations of this type.
The government measure will allow tourists to open temporary bi-monetary accounts, being able to exchange their money for an official and parallel value, in which one dollar would be equivalent to the MEP dollar (or the capital market), which is currently at 180 pesos — in this value, however, the blue will continue to be more advantageous.
The account will entitle you to a debit card to be used in stores and restaurants or for withdrawals in Argentine pesos at ATMs. This account, however, must be opened exclusively by people residing abroad and must be linked to the user’s bank account in their country of origin.
It will be possible to make a transfer from the bank where the tourist has an account in their country to the bank in Argentina and, thus, load the card. The visitor can have a maximum of US$5,000 in that account, which cannot have any investment resources.
The operation will be temporary, and the account can only be used during the tourist’s trip. In the end, if a residue remains in the Argentine account, the amount will be transferred to the user’s account of origin in their country.
The Argentine account can be opened before arrival, but to have access to the card, the tourist will have to make an appointment at the bank to withdraw it.
According to a statement from the Argentine Central Bank, the idea is also to prevent people from walking around with a lot of money in their pockets, at the risk of being robbed. In addition, the measure responds to a lack of grades that has become a chronic problem in the country due to high inflation, which has reached 48%.
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