Despite the efforts of the Argentine Government and the risk associated with achieving it, the blue or parallel dollar continues to be the option chosen by many tourists to exchange their currencies when they visit the southern country.
The first thing that will catch the attention of those who arrive in Argentina is that many talk about the official dollar and the blue or parallel dollar. And in the Latin American country the purchase of foreign currency is regulated for both Argentine companies and citizens. These restrictions or exchange controls, in Argentina, are usually called “exchange stocks” and establish, for example, the amount of dollars that a person can buy per month.
That is why the greenback is one of the most coveted by the southern country, because Argentines found in this currency a way to save, beat inflation and protect themselves from the constant devaluation that their local currency experiences. For this reason, the first tip is to travel with dollars.
Official dollar versus blue dollar
If a tourist goes to a bank, he or she will get US bills exchanged at the official or legal value, which at the time of this edition was around 107.34 Argentine pesos per dollar.
But there is another price, that of the blue or parallel dollar. This is the one that all Argentines know.
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The name “blue” corresponds to the meaning it has in English, which in addition to the color refers to something “dark.”
This is the most popular quote on the market, which arose precisely due to government restrictions. Many savers who were unable to acquire foreign currency had to resort to illegal exchange houses that in Argentina are called 'caves'. In this case, the value of the parallel dollar almost doubles that of the official dollar (at the close of this edition it was around 198 Argentine pesos per dollar).
Despite being illegal, all media, both television news and newspapers, constantly publish both quotes. Given the impossibility of accessing the official dollar, the blue ends up being the one most used by those who need to get a few dollars.
“The parallel exchange rate is the exchange rate for which goods end up being quoted in pesos. This is very important because if you go to Argentina with dollars or foreign currencies and are going to exchange them, you have to know that the price at which you have to take your dollars or foreign currencies is the value of the blue dollar. On the other hand, they also have to take some precautions because being an informal market it is handled in cash and that always generates cases of scams, or false pesos can be exchanged,” explains Ignacio Carballo, economist, teacher and researcher.
Carballo adds that another option that visitors have to obtain Argentine pesos is to use digital payments, through credit cards. “In Argentina, digital payments are mandatory and the penetration of credit cards is high, so this is another possibility. Another way to get pesos, a little more complex, is through cryptocurrencies. There are ATMs, which allow you to exchange cryptocurrencies for the local currency. Finally, there is the possibility, if you plan to stay for a long time in that country, and that is to open a bank account for tourists. This offers an exchange rate advantage,” he says.
The researcher refers to a plan that the Argentine Government launched in October of last year that, although it had no followers, is another possibility that can benefit tourists since it offers a better exchange rate than the official one but, of course, lower than the quote. of the blue dollar.
Through this initiative, visitors will be able to open a bimonetary savings account so that they can “access financial services and electronic means of payment, with the inherent benefits in transparency and security, as long as they have a bank account in their country. of origin, which will be the only one authorized to transfer foreign currency to the local account,” details the Central Bank of Argentina in a statement.
Tourists will be able to open the account remotely or upon arrival in the country, and the identification of the holders will be carried out using their passport or travel document. That account must be in the name of a person residing abroad.
Once these accounts are opened, they can be used for purchases in stores in pesos within Argentina, both by debit card and through digital banking applications, as well as to make cash withdrawals in national currency. In addition, they will have the possibility of carrying out financial operations to exchange currency.
Deposits, transfers from third parties or their use to make investments will not be accepted in peso accounts.
Accreditations of foreign currency in this “savings bank for tourists” must be made through transfers made from accounts of its owner in the country of origin or through deposits of dollars in cash, up to a total amount of US$ 5,000.
In the event that there is a balance in the client's account in foreign currency at the end of their stay, the entity must automatically transfer it to the account in the country of origin and proceed to close it, and cash withdrawals cannot be made. foreigner.
The gap
Damián Di Pace, economic analyst and director of Focus Market, an economics, commerce and consumption consultancy, explains that although it is true that to get pesos tourists can exchange their dollars in a bank or make purchases directly with credit cards, it is so much the difference between the official dollar and the parallel dollar that in practice end up changing in unofficial places at the parallel exchange rate.
"What usually happens is that when the tourist arrives in Argentina, he receives information about the market through an intermediary who may be the taxi driver who brings him from the airport, the hotelier or the service provider of the tourist agency, and he ends up operating in the parallel market because there is no incentive to do so through the official exchange market,” Di Pace acknowledges.
From the official website of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, where advice is provided for tourists, the existence of the parallel exchange market is also reflected. “Exchange houses or banking entities are the best place to make a reliable, transparent and secure transaction. However, in the Buenos Aires downtown, mainly on its pedestrian streets, it is very likely that you will find the so-called 'little trees'. These are people who offer to buy and sell foreign currencies. These operations are illegal. Another safe and legal way to obtain Argentine pesos is to do so at automated teller machines (ATM), which operate 24 hours a day and accept the main international cards,” they highlight.
Back
Before returning home, another question arises: what to do with the weights that were not used? “If the amount is large, it is recommended to make the change officially at an exchange office or bank. To do this, they must present the dollar sales receipt that they were given when entering the country. But if the amount is less than 1,000 Argentine pesos (about US$ 9, according to the official exchange rate), it is advisable to spend it on transportation to the airport or buy a souvenir,” they advise from the Government of the City of Buenos Aires (GCBA).
Finally, there is another benefit for tourists that stands out from the GCBA: tax refunds (Tax Free Shopping). In this case, foreign tourists can request a refund of VAT (VAT) on purchases of nationally produced goods equal to or greater than 70 Argentine pesos (US$ 0.6, according to the official exchange rate), made in the country in stores. adhered to the “Global Blue Argentina” Tax Free system.
To make this refund, the interested party must buy at stores that display the Tax Free logo and request the refund form. Then, at Argentine Customs, when leaving the country, you must show the invoices along with your purchases and your passport and have the refund forms received stamped. The collection of the tax refund can be in cash, by credit card or bank check.
Before concluding, the economic analyst Di Pace highlights that in other neighboring countries such as Uruguay they have a very important discount on the Value Added Tax (VAT) and other taxes. This incentive warrants that it be operated with a debit card, or that the tourist uses the Uruguayan exchange rate without having that difference. “In Argentina it would be necessary to implement something similar so that tourists do not end up operating in the informal exchange market. Finally, those tourists who have cryptocurrencies can convert them to Argentine pesos and will also obtain an exchange difference that today is in the order of 203 Argentine pesos per dollar. In that case, the operation is legal,” he clarifies.
