so ive been in Argentina for a month (just climbed the biggest mountain on the continent) and while the country and the people are amazing, the currency is a bit crazy. Someone please set me straight here, as Im confused.
The official exchange rate is something around 5 pesos per US dollar.
However, all over the street there are guys that will buy your dollar for 7 pesos per US dollar.
Thatś a pretty big difference. To complicate things, I had a big night at a casino in Mendoza and now have around 20k pesos that I need to convert back to dollars. Whatś the best way to do this? I would much prefer the 5 pesos to the dollar exchange rate for that conversion. But who will give that to me? Especially without an argentinan bank account.
How did such a great 1st world country end up with such a fcked currency? The US and Europe should get their acts together. We dont want this to happen to us.
There are many restrictions for Argentinians wanting to buy USD. You need to apply for the amount, specify the purpose, etc. Presumably, this leads to undersupply of USD in local markets. There are probably some institutions that can trade at the official government spot level. However, most likely, they must show cause for trade or something.
I asked around and it looks like I’m in for bureaucratic Hell if I want to to buy dollars now with this cash. So basically I have to buy the discounted 8 peso / dollar asking price.
I think I’ll just hold the pesos and wait till my next trip. I think I could come back to SA next year.
Or, I could go crazy on hookers and blow the next two days?
Bring the money back to the US (or india, whereever you’re going), walk into your bank and ask them to convert if for you. I think that’s the best/cheapest way.
How are the dimes there?
Edit- basically I had some stupid curreny and the bill said 250,000. I had no clue what the currency was or what it was worth so I walked into my Wells Fargo and they gave me $16. Also, I think deposits large than $10k may need to be reported for some reason, so I’d make 2 trips if that’s the case.
If you have an Amex card, check if as a non-resident you can convert at a decent rate. Maybe at the airport during your way out as a US citizen you may find a better deal.
Yeah, slim chicks with a good natural rack and nice attitude are a bless.
^ They are free, and many of them are so goooood! It’s pretty standard over there. Did you try an oversized bife de chorizo? There are a few good joints in BA and Mendoza, so best bet is to ask the guys at your hotel if they can recommend a good place nearby.
Just sold my pesos at heathrow for 8.8 pesos per pound sterling. Big triangle arbitrage opportunity here. I might just quit my job and fly to Argentina every month.
so to recap:
Take US dollars. Buy pesos on the street for 7.2 pesos per dollar. Take pesos to London and sell for 8.8 pesos per pound. Convert back to dollars.
ChickenTikka interesting topic dude…Good arbitrage right there. Do mention more on the street exchange though, are these legit forex bureaus or street hustlers for they could be giving you fake notes for a large amount say US$50k. Would you recommend getting the exchange from even Casino and making a quid pro quo deal with one of pit bulls there to give you a good deal rate. What about the UK exchange GBP/Peso rate, it is usually static or fluctuates much,…Do tell more amigo…Mil gracias…
I hope you learned some Tango while in Buenas Aires.
I was aware of the counterfeit money issue before I came to Argentina. I did not encounter it once in the month I was there. Every note that I used appeared to be real. I checked as best I could. No bill was ever refused.
If I were visiting again I’d bring say 10k of US dollars. I would exchance this with your local street hustler. They are on absolutely every street corner saying, “Cambio, Cambio.” It’s almost like watching The Wire where there is always someone saying, “WMDs, WMDs, Botle Rockets.”
The street hustlers inevitbly have a little cash exchange office in the back of whatever building they are standing outside of. This is where all the money they collect is going - the hustlers are freelancers. In fact, they look just like normal change booths. So I’d probably go to one of those and see about exchanging a few grand at a time and negotiate a better rate. This country is desperate for US dollars.
so 10,000 dollars would become —> 72,000 pesos on the argentinan black market.
Now, I didnt check new york, but I assume that I can get 5 to 1 pesos there as I got 8.8 to 1 in sterling from Heathrow in London.
If you divide 72,000 by 5 you get about 14,000. That’s a 4000 dollar arbitrage profit. It more than pays for your tickets, a hotel, and some HCBs for a week or two. A free vacation.
Someone tell me if I’m getting this wrong, as I’m seriously gonna try it.
Dude would you say taking USD50-100k cash be a safe bet with street hustlers. Mind you I am quite street savvy and often very cautious when it comes to dealing with hustlers and speak decent spanish, albeit ecuadorian/colombian lingo.
I doubt you’re getting this right, the spot rate probably moved between the time you bought and sold and you’re chalking it up to an arbitrage in the spreads.
You have to ask yourself, where these street vendors are buying pesos so cheaply that they can afford to sell them to you at extreme discounts, surely they’d just take them to the bank themselves. Either that or the probability of getting fake currency is so high that they have to offer a 40% premium for buyers on the street, which seems pretty steep. Maybe IEV can chime in or perhaps a currency trader here.
Argentinian peso is messed up. I knew it was a clown show down there, but I never realized how bad until today when I looked up this USDARS graph. Change this to 5-year data and it’s truly shocking. No wonder their government is banning sales of pesos for USD. Otherwise, a bank run of ARS deposits is virtually guaranteed. I would not be surprised if Argentinians are selling their pesos for 10% discount. At this rate, they will lose more than that through depreciation in a matter of months.
IEV, I hope you have some offshore accounts in USD or some other currency.
Normally hustlers’ money is not counterfeit. It probably comes from street commerce that doesn’t pay any taxes, so it can’t get into the banking system that easily. Greenbacks you sell as a tourist are later sold in the black market at a premium; that’s why you got a better exchange rate. I don’t know if you checked the exchange rate at the Buenos Aires airport. That would tell you how good the street hustler’s exchange rate was.
I get paid in USD, and every time I go to Argentina (I try to go every year and a half or so) always pay with credit cards issued in the US, Mexico, or Canada, and bring maybe $1K in CAD or USD bills. Never keep that much of Argie currency.
In general, you can do it as long as you walk with less than $10K USD worth of local currency. Beyond that you’ll have to declare it. There’s a risk though. If you exchange a few grands with them you could get robbed in the next corner. Beyond that, there’s no way you can enter the country with say $100K USD in cash. It’s like a 5-inch pile of Benjamins.
Re: my not-hard-earned money. Yeah, I’d be crazy to hold more than the bare minimum to keep an Argentinean bank account alive.
I loved Argentina s much I wanna go back. Are you from there or just have family there IEV?
To me it makes sense not to use your Ameircan cards at all there because you’re paying a 5 to 1 exchange rate. I’d go there and bring all the cash you expect to spend. Then convert it at the gangster rate. Whatever you don’t spend you bring back and arbitrage. Profit.
Just make sure you have someone who will buy it back in the US at the official exchange rate.
Im seriously thinking about taking around 20k and doing this. That would arbitrage around 8k. That buys a lot of vacation and HCBs.
Haven’t been to Argentina, but go to Bolivia all the time and they also have cambios on street corners who will give you a much better rate than the official rate. They tend to cater to locals who have USD or Euros for whatever reason, so there is little risk of them trying to pass off bad currency as they would be out of business or dead pretty quickly if they tried to pass counterfeit Bolivianos. I’ve actually found that they are more concerned with my USD being counterfeit, which is a much bigger problem there.