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ATMs, TRAVELLERS CHEQUES, CREDIT CARDS OR CASH?
It is difficult to cash travellers cheques. Many places will not accept them. Other places will take them but only with a large commission. American Express cash its cheques without any cost at the Plaza San Martin office only.
ATMs are everywhere, they supply only pesos. There is a per transaction withdrawal limit which is different for each person's bank, however usually there is not a limit of transactions. It seems that a USD 100 limit is currently a rule throughout Argentina. I can guess the reason. Before that only applied the limit imposed by each person’s bank. Local banks impose limits never exceeding 300 dollars. Foreign people’s bank limits are much higher, so their withdrawals depleted ATMs. Local banks have a very bad service for ATMs refilling, so they chose to set a low limit to foreign accounts.
At the airport avoid the money exchange booth there, the rates are awful. Yet you can go to the Banco de la Nación Argentina located there. There is also another bank
When paying with credit cards the amount is always in pesos. Yes the $ means peso here. Posting dollar amounts in credit cards is not allowed. So the peso amount will be converted to your home currency by the credit card company.
You can pay in almost every shop with credit cards
Some posts with additional information:
karmalaw:
pesos for taxis (small denominations only)
restaurants: pesos or credit card
shops: it's possible to pay with dollars - -determine whether the exchange rate works for you, otherwise pay with pesos or a credit card.
the craftsmen and the street vendors (which if you go to the san telmo fair, the hippie fair, or other fairs you will want pesos. (August, 2007)
Credit cards
Stephanie_asks: I've read the ATMs accept the European "EC card" (connected to Maestro), too. Is this information correct? (August, 2007)
mark_emery: Steph. Yes maestro is ok here and common. At most banks during hours there will be a security guard by the ATM, after hours the door is locked and you zap your card near the door to gain entry. (just like in Europe). After you withdraw, put your money and card away before you leave the bank. You shouldnt have any problems if you dont waive your cash around. (August, 2007)
Kevinl33: Recently, I received a new credit card. My old one had expired. I used the card exactly 4 times. A hotel, a rental car, two restaurants. My number was compromised. I got a call from my CC company informing me of the fraudulent charges. They reversed them, no problem. So... ... stick with cash. Use your atm card at a bank. Inspect the machine before you use it to make sure it's authentic. If you don't know how they skim cards at an atm you should research it on the internet. You'll find plenty of information and pictures showing what to look for. (August, 2007)
NBF: Since identity theft seems to have reared its ugly head on this thread I took the liberty of contacting the security division of the Bank that sponsors my VISA card. I was informed they have less security problems from transactions originating in South America than they do in North America, taking into consideration volumes/values etc. I was advised the most problems percentage wise eminate from Asian countrys. This would seem to contradict some of the postings here so I guess to each his own. (August, 2007)
rshive99: This site has 20 posts discussing foreign credit card fees:
http://www.cardratings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13718
Took me awhile on that site to find this:
This fee is generally a percentage of the U.S. Dollar value of the transaction. So, even if you paid 100 Euros for a meal that was actually $125.00 (U.S. Dollars), the foreign transaction fees will be assessed on the $125.00 amount.
A February 2007 survey of credit card issuers revealed the following foreign transaction fees:
American Express - 2%
Bank of America - 3%
Chase - 3%
Citi Bank - 3%
Washington Mutual - 1%
Wells Fargo - 3%
Capital One - No Foreign Transaction Fee
Discover - Rarely accepted overseas so not part of this list (August, 2007)
Limited ATM Withdrawals:
Richard Reynolds: I also had some problem with getting cash from ATMs. The common Banelco machines had a very low limit – which considering my Canadian bank has C$ per transaction charges for foreign ATMs, was wickedly expensive. However, I also have a Citibank account in New York City. I discovered that if I use my CitiBank card at CitiBank branches here in BsAs, there are no limits (up to US$750) and they do not charge the percentage fee either. So its FREE! (November, 2007).
guyinca Did I miss something when I was in Buenos Aires last week? Every ATM seemed to have a limit of 300 or 320 pesos per withdrawal by my Bank Of America ATM card. That's only a hundred bucks! Each bank took at least $5.00 apiece per withdrawal. I considered this a tourist trap by my own bank! I made a mistake and hit 20 pesos once...the bank fees ate up the whole amount! The machines give buttons to push for higher amounts, but I was always rejected when I tried.(August 23,2007)
Brommaflickan We had exactly the same problem at the end of our trip in July - for two weeks we were able to withdraw up to 790 pesos or something like that and then all of a sudden we got limited to 320 pesos. We checked with some locals but they had no idea why this was the case so I have no idea why this happened but rest assured - you're not the only one this has happened to. I make sure I bank with someone that doesn't impose ridiculous withdrawal charges for when you're abroad - maybe you could shop around and find another bank before going abroad again. (August 24,2007)
raquel_z Much was written when this ATM "madness" started happening a few months back, in April. But at that time the limit was $100 pesos which is even worse. I think that somewhere along the line - the 100 pesos at least went to a 100 USD equivalent. which is about 300 pesos. It boiled down to the type of card you had - the "Plus" cards were the ones affected. Cirrus (and maybe others seemed to be OK) And also the kind of ATM you used - Banelco had the limits, but LINK had much higher limits. I did however see in another newsgroup, that sometimes this summer, LINK also decreased their limits. It all does not have to do with your home bank per se or their limits. Its seems to be a limit Argentina has imposed on cards from certain systems. Even before this, I found that I was only able to take out 500 pesos on my Plus Card from Banelco machines but over 1000 from LINK. PDXtraveller just posted in another thread, asking the current status of the limits. Since I haven't been to Argentina before all this started - I don't know the current status. However, I am writing to fill in some of the background. I have a question for Canadians reading this. Does anyone know if there are any banks that we can open accounts in that don't have foreign ATM fees? Or at least one with fees lower that $5.00. raquel(August 24,2007)
funky_jazz I'm Canadian, and I'm also affected by this. I was unable to find a bank that did not charge this fee, and I'm also limited to 300 pesos. I prefer to withdraw 290 so I can get a few smaller bills. For now, I'm just putting up with it. I'll be moving along to other countries in South America, so I'm hoping this problem is only in Argentina.(August 24,2007)
maryann-ns: You can only take out max of 320 pesos (USD 100) which is a real pain for Canadians whose banks charge about $5 each time. You can take out the 320 pesos several times in a row. We found the ATM at the airport easily (posted on September 15, 2007)
NetBank:
Veritas01: I have recommended opening an account at NetBank. They were the internet's largest bank. They were useful for traveling to Argentina because they charged no ATM fees or currency conversion fees. In any case as of 3:00 PM they were closed by the FDIC due to mortgage loan losses. I have used NetBank for all my banking for 7 years. I am now a customer of ING. ING was given all the deposits of NetBank. I can still use my Netbank cards and pay things online so nothing really has changed. But needless to say it cannot be recommended as a travel card. (September 29)
maryann-ns: I assume you will be able to get a Capital One card. I just wish there were such a bank for Canadians. We can get a Capital One credit card but not a debit one with a bank account. We were forced to withdraw money several times each day at $5 each time. (October 1)
ATM Withdrawals fees:
PDXWindJammer I have accounts at a couple of different banks so I checked with them yesterday to see what charges I would incur while using my ATM card in Argentina.
US Bank charges a 3% conversion fee PLUS a 1% transaction fee PLUS a $2 non US Bank ATM fee!! That is $6 for each withdrawl of U$S 100!! I would also think that the bank I withdrawl from will charge me a buck or two.
Bank of America charges a 1% conversion PLUS a $5 withdrawl fee!
For those of you traveling or having traveled from the USA recently, how much have you been able to take out at a time? I also have an account with a credit union so I will check with them as well.
Thanks!(August 21,2007)
Almost-middle-aged I traveled with a Bank of America card. Most of the time, I was only able to withdraw about US $100 (in which case, I withdrew AR $290 to get smaller bills). A couple of times, at HSBC, I was able to withdraw up to $US 200 (as before, I'd take out AR 590), but this was not consistent, even at the exact same bank. (August 21,2007)
PuntaLugano I use my Citibank ATM card at the Citibank locations in BA. There are no fees or charges of any kind, and I seem to get the rate posted in the newspaper or within 0.1% of it, so there doesn't seem to be a fee built into the conversion. The maximum per withdrawal is 2500 pesos (a little over U$S 800), but I'm not aware of a limit on the number of times I can withdraw in one visit. This has been true throughout the 12 years I've been traveling to/living in BA (except the amount I can withdraw in one transaction keeps going up). I have no idea why my experience with Citibank is so much different from the experiences people have had and are having with other banks. I keep checking my statements expecting to find a fee of some kind, but so far have not.(August 21,2007)
dr__dawggy I, too, have a citi ATM card but mine has a US 2.50 per transaction fee. I complained to the local branch here in the USA and they had my transaction charges taken off since my card stipulates that withdrawals are free at Citi ATMs world wide. Citi Bank Argentina is not part of the overall Citi corporate structure and exempt from this provision, or so I was told....(August 21,2007)
blackeberg When we first got there on July 14th the limit seemed to be 620 pesos (so we did the 590 thing to get change). We could take out more but it had to be done as several transactions. The last few days in Salta it suddenly dropped to 300ish although we could again take out more in multiple transactions. I think most UK residents will be aware of this one but take a Nationwide debit card if possible - no fees and no currency loading. We were getting between 6.30 and 6.50 pesos per £1.(August 22,2007)
ATM, Citibank in Argentina:
The following information posted on May 20, 2007 by Punta Lugano in a forum is about Citibank's ATM
PuntaLugano: I can't speak for all banks, but Citibank does not charge any fee of any kind for using an ATM card at any bank in the world, nor does it charge any fee for converting the dollars in my US account into Pesos that I take out of the machine in BA. The Citibank "branches" in BA do not charge me any fee, either, for using their machines. I put "branches" in quotes because those places with the nice blue "Citibank" signs in BA are not really branches of Citibank, nor parts of a subsidiary of Citibank; they are branches of an independent bank that has a licensing arrangement to use the Citibank name. It may be that as part of the licensing arrangement that bank had to agree not to charge customers of the "real" Citibank any fee for using the ATMs here. But, even if an independent bank were to charge a fee for using in its machines an ATM card of another bank, it is normally only 50 cents or so; and the bank where the ATM machine is located cannot charge a foreign exchange fee if the money is coming out of an account at another bank. The bottom line is that the exchange rate I quoted -- 3.078 Pesos to the Dollar -- is "free and clear," i.e., no fees of any kind to be deducted.
When you use a credit card to make a purchase in BA, and for all I know when you use a credit card at an ATM to take cash, you do pay a "foreign exchange" fee, ranging from 1% to 3% when all is said and done (it's a combination of the fee charged by the bank issuing the card and the VISA or Mastercard or AmEX fee on top of that). I've recently read a post in some forum from someone saying they've found a bank (Schwab, maybe?) that charges no foreign exchange fee on its credit card, but my bet is that the person just hasn't figured out yet how the fee is being charged.
The exchange rate I quoted --3.078 to 1 -- has been steady for about two years now, so I'm pretty sure it would have been the same during the period you were here.
While the limit for any one transaction at the "Citibank" ATMs in BA is 2500 Pesos, I have yet to hit a limit on the number of transactions I can make in one day.
Bank fees:
Regarding bank fees raquel_z and Veritas01 have posted in March 2007 good information:
raquel_z:I was about to open an account at a HSBC branch in Canada - to try to save fees. But when I contacted them,for kind of accounts available in Canada.:(their reply - copy and pasted) "Please be advised that the service fee for using an International ABM is $3.00 CAD per transaction plus a debit activity fee that may be charged depending on the type of account you hold. This service fee is charged regardless of whether or not the ABM machine is an HSBC Group Member ABM machine." I have however been told that if you live in the US you can get a HSBC Internet account - not available to Canadians yet - and with that one you don't pay the fees. So as well as the bank, it willl also depend on the kind of account you actuall have.
Transferring money to Argentina:
This tread of July 2007 has good information about transferring money to Argentina
NYCBuckeye: I know there have been a ton of posts regarding paying for Buenos Aires apartment rentals and deposits in cash
PDXWindJammer: You may want to ask the apartment agency if you can pay the entire rental amount ahead of time via PayPal. The rental agency may end up charging you the nominal PayPal fee but it is probably an option. It may be about $4 per $100 or so.
Stephanie_asks: Western Union does NOT pay out the transferred money in US dollars but in ARS. I know coz I recently transferred some money from Germany to Argentina and was told it won't be paid out in euros. I just can confirm what Dr. Dwaggy said: The transaction fees are quite high. For a deposit of less then 50 euros the transaction fee was 10 euros!!! Furthermore you don't get a good exchange rate. Some of the rental companies accept PayPal payments only for longterm rentals.
GAUCHORETOBADO
Updated: November, 2007