ATMs/ Banks

[starlucia]

Using my Bank of America debit card, I can withdraw 990 pesos at a time. The downside is that I'm charged a $5 USD fee from BofA and the 15 peso fee (almost $4 USD) from the Argentine bank side, so I only do this when I absolutely must.

Citibank has branches in BsAs, so you can probably deposit money there if you have a US Citibank account. Withdrawing cash at their ATMs is surcharge-free for Citi customers, BUT you still pay the 3% currency-conversion fee (applied after converting to dollars, so that's just as bad as a surcharge!)

Charles Schwab is DEFINITELY the best option for overseas use, since they reimburse all ATM fees. However, I just learned that you may not be able to use your Schwab check card overseas if it's a new account -- the manager I spoke to said that they like to see about 3 months of activity before seeing international transactions, as an anti-fraud measure. I just ran into this problem when I asked if they could mail my new debit card to my address in Buenos Aires, and they said that since it's a brand-new account, I most likely wouldn't be able to use it.

Basically, what I do is bring down cash from the U.S. and use it very sparingly. Most places accept credit/debit cards, and you get the best exchange rate this way. SO, I use my Capital One credit card wherever I can (they charge no foreign transaction fees!), and save my cash for the verdulerías, taxis, etc. Even if you have to use your Bank of America debit card, I think it's still a better option than cash -- first of all, because you're not carrying around lots of cash, and second, thanks to the exchange rate, the foreign transaction fees are reasonable (9 cents for a 17-peso drink at Starbucks, 35 cents for a big grocery shop, 50 cents for dinner for two at Sattva.)

 

[gunt86]

Citibank has branches in BsAs, so you can probably deposit money there if you have a US Citibank account. Withdrawing cash at their ATMs is surcharge-free for Citi customers

You cannot deposit money at Citibank Argentina just because you have an account with Citibank USA. They are two different legal entities completely independent of one another and under two different regulatory regimes. If you want to deposit money at Citibank Argentina SA, then you need to open an account with them.

 

[mendozanow]

A post from a poster on Lonely Planet, no idea as to how accurate the details are.

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Citibank are some tricky bastards.

I tried earlier poster's suggestion of withdrawing from a Citibank ATM with my Citibank card. And I thought it worked.. I withdrew cash, the machine made no mention of fees, and the receipt showed the exact amount I received - excellent!

However, I then logged on to check my account activity.. and there it shows the service fee. They hid it on the receipt by printing out how many pesos I received and how many dollars were deducted.. but until I did the currency conversion, I didn't notice that these two numbers were different than they should have been. They added on 3% to what was deducted, but it was only spelled out that way on my account statement.

For comparison, Citibank charges a fixed fee of US$7.50 for using other foreign ATMs, and the mafia bank networks here in Argentina charge a fixed 15.58 pesos (US$4) for any withdrawal. So unless you're withdrawing a very small amount, it's cheaper to use the regular banks (assuming your home bank doesn't tack on an additional foreign transaction fee) rather than Citibank with a Citi card. Clear as mud?

 

[schef4711]

... and the mafia bank networks here in Argentina charge a fixed 15.58 pesos (US$4) for any withdrawal ...

It will only be charged on ATM cards !!! I use every time my VISA Debit Card and I will pay nothing to the mafia banks here - get interbanking currency and only pay 4% of the amount I will catch.