Access To Dollars

[Musicman]

Hi,

Where can I get access to USD in BA? I need to buy 2 thousand USD with some pesos I have.

Is this possible to do somewhere without too much hassle?

Thanks,

MM

 

[citygirl]

The only place you're going to be able to do that is on the black market. If you don't have a contact, you can do it on Florida I'm sure. Current buy rate for dollars is +/- 6.33 so you're looking at roughly 12,660 pesos (prob a bit more).

Make sure you check the bills.

 

[Musicman]

Thanks and how safe/easy/difficult is it to do that in Florida?

 

[satoko]

I often go to florida/lavalle. there are soooo many cambio places but they pretend to selling clothes, or travel agency etc. When you walk through the street you will hear many guys saying "cambio... cambio..." then ask the rate, if you feel ok, follow him, done.

btw, I have USD

 

[nlaruccia]

I also need to buy USD but I wouldn't recommend going to a cueva or casa de cambio on Florida street. You're likely to get robbed. There's a Western Union I used to go to do sell dollars, and one day they told me to come back in the afternoon since they were expecting a visit from AFIP. It sounded fish, so I went back a different day when they weren't expecting me. However, I've never had to buy dollars. I'm in the same situation as you. I think the safest bet is to buy dollars from someone in the expat community since we know each other somewhat and we have a history here.

 

[Nounou]

Make sure you check the bills.

This leads to another question I have. Due to the fact that most countries have rather healthy counterfeit currency operations, what can I expect in Argentina? Also, what's the best denominations of bills/notes to get, and are there any to be avoided? I'm guessing small is best ?

 

[citygirl]

More important is that the bills are all new, no tears/folds/crumples etc as if they have them, people prob will not accept them here.

As for counterfeit - I don't know that it's a huge issue with counterfeit dollars (pesos can be a problem occasionally). But if you have a US bill around, bring it with you for comparison sake.

I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than $50 USD bills and $100s are probably easier. Less to carry. And again, smaller than $50 bills, people may not want to change here if you're planning on using the dollars here.

 

[nlaruccia]

I've been given a fake dollars from a buy on Ebay. You can buy a machine with a blue light to plug in and test the dollars but you can't take that to a casa de cambio. In any libreria you can buy a marker that you use to mark the bills and if the mark doesn't come off then the bill is fake.

 

[Hybrid Ambassador]

More important is that the bills are all new, no tears/folds/crumples etc as if they have them, people prob will not accept them here.

As for counterfeit - I don't know that it's a huge issue with counterfeit dollars (pesos can be a problem occasionally). But if you have a US bill around, bring it with you for comparison sake.

I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than $50 USD bills and $100s are probably easier. Less to carry. And again, smaller than $50 bills, people may not want to change here if you're planning on using the dollars here.

What is the deal with the Latin People for its obsession on insisting for a brand new Dollar note when doing the "Cambio"..?
I was in Peru, Lima, last year and when I went to exchange a few hundread dollars into their currency,every Cambio place were insisting and almost seems obsessed for a perfect Dollar bill, No tears in Dollar bills or no Good, I had so many times being refused US bills that weren't perfect. In the USoA, I can use any denomination bills with corner of the bill missing as mutilated and so on but still OK.. In Latin America, if the USD$ bills aren't perfect, in some places saz, I will exchange that non-perfect bill but,..I will give you only 90 cents on the Dollar, etc,etc.. Why is that? Some people said,(merchants mostly ) if you take a non-perfect bill into the Bank for deposit, the Banker will not give them a full value for the US Bill rendered..?? Is this practice in BsAs the same? Do the Cambio places insist in new or newer perfect USD BIlls only.? In order to get a almost new Bill note at the Banks here in CA is almost impossible..The Bankers said, it is almost impossible to give you new Bills,unless, it is the day that the Feds will send a new Dollars infusion to its borrowing banks. I have been advised from established Ex-Pats in Peru, to bring new or newer looking USD, with no rips or too old denominations,He said 'cause you won't be able to exchange them here.! Indeed, the "Cambio" places did give me a hard time while trying to exchange, a few hundread Dollars in my pocession but not all my cash weren't looking new Bills..
If you were in a Non Dollar currency economy country and you had to take a trip abroad, you can go in to that Bank and ask them that you need foreign currency in USD denominations. For instance while back in Tokyo, I went to a local Bank and asked if they handle USD$ and they said, available. I have bought a Japanese Yen, 800.000, which at the time exchange rate it was about USD$1000.00 and all the Bills were "Spanking New"! You can get brand new USD$ Bill in foreign country but not here in America..

 

[Iznogud]

The currency is mostly squirrelled away, not to be used regularly or frequently as currency but as savings for a rainny day or buying property. New bills are easier to stack and take less volume.

Since they're difficult to obtain, as in hard to earn, people treasure them. The more "minty" the better.
Might not make practical sense for most of those used to have free access to them, but most people in Argentina have not such "privilege".