Bank Account without DNI

Moe

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What steps does one need to take to open an Argentine bank account? I have a precaria but no DNI. Does anyone have any recommendations for local banks? I'd like to open a checking account and get a no fee debit card.
 
I was able to do it with a precaria at Santander Rio a while ago. Get an appointment and go in person to talk to someone. They will probably only give you a savings account - but it works with a visa debit card and I don’t pay any fees.
Good luck!
 
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I was able to do it with a precaria at Santander Rio a while ago. Get an appointment and go in person to talk to someone. They will probably only give you a savings account - but it works with a visa debit card and I don’t pay any fees.
Good luck!

Were you able to do this during the quarantine or before?
 
I have it on good authority (my immigration lawyer) that there is an apparent conflict between migration law and the dispociones of the Banco Central. Migration law DOES enable you to open an account with a precaria, but most bank staff only know about what the Banco Central says (you have to present a DNI). So, the idea is to find a way to explain to you bank of choice that under migration law they can open an account for you.
 
I was able to do it with a precaria at Santander Rio a while ago. Get an appointment and go in person to talk to someone. They will probably only give you a savings account - but it works with a visa debit card and I don’t pay any fees.
Good luck!
Wow, no fees sounds crazy, I am paying around 10 dollars a month at Banco Credicoop, I just got the account and am going to try to transfer dollars into the account and take dollars out. Supposed to be possible but no one at my bank thinks it is.
 
I think the "no fees" part is if you use the account to receive your salary "nomina". Normally to be able to take dollars out at an ATM you need a separate dollar account, my bank (ICBC) charges a $11 fee per month.

I don't honestly think explaining migration law to bank staff is going to be a hugely successful strategy, the procedure (before quarantine) was to stop by a couple of Santander branches, they're all along Avenidas Santa Fe and Cabildo for example, and one of them would allow you to open the account with your precaria. This is probably a bit more difficult now. The one we used near the corner of Santa Fe and Pueyrredon is shut down now so I can't recommend it, unfortunately.
 
I think the "no fees" part is if you use the account to receive your salary "nomina". Normally to be able to take dollars out at an ATM you need a separate dollar account, my bank (ICBC) charges a $11 fee per month.

I don't honestly think explaining migration law to bank staff is going to be a hugely successful strategy, the procedure (before quarantine) was to stop by a couple of Santander branches, they're all along Avenidas Santa Fe and Cabildo for example, and one of them would allow you to open the account with your precaria. This is probably a bit more difficult now. The one we used near the corner of Santa Fe and Pueyrredon is shut down now so I can't recommend it, unfortunately.
Thanks Frank,
Do you transfer money from a foreign account into your dollar account and then take dollars out of said account?
That is what I am trying to do.
 
Transferring usd into your bank here is automatically converted to Arg. Pesos at the official (poor) rate! There are NO atms that dispense USD...! Good luck with opening an account w/out a DNI + Veraz (credit bureau) record + income from Arg.
 
Thanks Frank,
Do you transfer money from a foreign account into your dollar account and then take dollars out of said account?
That is what I am trying to do.
In theory you could specify the USD account number (CBU) in your SWIFT transfer, but I suspect the bank will convert it to Pesos as Neil says. I've only transferred to Peso accounts, and the receiving bank fees were enormous (around 20%, on top of the SWIFT fees) so I gave that idea up. You can find someone in the Facebook Argentinian expats group who can give you USD cash in exchange for a bank transfer to an offshore account.

There are ATMs that dispense USD here, in fact we went to a Santander branch last week to get the $200 monthly allowance. But you need to have a USD account with Santander, and be able to buy USD here (only with a DNI).
 
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