Banking Questions

[victoria]

Hola Everyone,

I'll be down in November and have been reading about the best way for temporary visitors to obtain their money from the U.S. I'm still unsure.

My bank, Wells Fargo, doesn't have any branches in BA. I can, of course, use my debit card to get money, but I've read the fees can be steep when you include the ATM charge by the owner of the machine and my bank's charges for changing dollars to pesos. Then there's the restrictions of how much you can withdraw per day.

I'll be renting an apartment for the summer, so that's a big chunk of change to be ATMing. Some say landlords are accepting PayPal as a safe way to pay the rent. Others say if the landlord insists on U.S. dollars instead of pesos, look elsewhere. And apparently it's illegal for a landlord to try this?

Anyway, please ... some advice. If I need to get American Express or whatever, I need to do it fast.

Thanks,

Victoria

 

[Attorney in BA]

It is perfectly legal in Argentina to sign a contract in any foreign currency. If the contracts you sign with your landlord states the price in a foreign currency, the creditor (landlord) may refuse payment in any other currency.The creditor may also refuse to accept partial payments. Whatever the contracts states is very important to establish if you have any legal way of paying in pesos, or through paypal, etc.

 

[elhombresinnombre]

It is perfectly legal in Argentina to sign a contract in any foreign currency. If the contracts you sign with your landlord states the price in a foreign currency, the creditor (landlord) may refuse payment in any other currency.The creditor may also refuse to accept partial payments. Whatever the contracts states is very important to establish if you have any legal way of paying in pesos, or through paypal, etc.

That's a very interesting opinion about foreign currency. All the more so because your moniker suggests that you are licensed to practice law in Argentina. A quick google on 'site:baexpats.org rent dollars illegal' (without the quotes) produces a whole host of occasions when other people have said quite the opposite. But nobody so far has cited an authority for their opinion. It would be really helpful if somebody could give a definitive statement on the matter - with attributions.

 

[SFMike]

It doesn't really matter if it's legal or not. I told my new landlord that they legally had to accept it in pesos and they basically said no. So, I mean, I could turn them in or something but I think they are aware that it's doubtful I'd bother.

It is super easy to get dollars, however. You go to the Supervielle bank in Palermo Soho/Villa Freud (I think it's on Charcas and Salguero, at Plaza Guemes) and ask to withdraw in dollars. They sell dollars at a relatively reasonable rate (I think there was about a 2-3% difference between what they were buying at and what they were selling at, which is normal) and it cost me an additional 3 pesos for the transaction. Not as ideal as having cash, but certainly doable. You just have to bring your bank card and your passport.

 

[NoVegetables]

It sucks, but from my experience, most people pay rent in pesos by making multiople trips to the ATM as the month nears to a close. The fees add up but it is the most common option. It is diffiicult to find a landlord that accpets payment via paypal (though not impossible), and though there are those that will ask for dollars instead of pesos, if you tell them it's pesos or nothing, they usually cave. If the don't there are a lot of other renters out there who will.

 

[orwellian]

The limit of your Debit card you set yourself with your bank. By default it's something like 300-400 USD depending on your bank.
Get a bank account here and transfer the money.

 

[studiodio]

what I have done twice now is just bring down from cash....you can bring down up to $10,000 legally, (although i have never been asked how much cash I have going through customs) I have then paid all the rent for my apartments with cash up front... that way i dont have to hassle with monthly payments, or ATM fees. Also as a side note, for the last few months, when i go to ATMs to withdraw money, I have selected "other" regarding amount to be withdrawn and have received 1000 pesos (not 600 as stated in some posts). with the new 11 peso fee each time you use the ATM, it seems you ought to withdraw as much as possible...

 

[NoVegetables]

From Banelco ATMs the limit is 1000 pesos including the 11.55 fee, so you are only allowed to get 980 + 11.55 = 991.55 out of ANY Banelco machine. I have verified this several times. I have been told that there are ATM machines out there that do not belong to Banelco, and that the limit is different, but I am yet to try them as Banelco is ATMs are is most of the branches I see in BA. There ae several threads on this forum that discuss though.

 

[Attorney in BA]

A quick google on 'site:baexpats.org rent dollars illegal' produces a whole host of occasions when other people have said quite the opposite. But nobody so far has cited an authority for their opinion. It would be really helpful if somebody could give a definitive statement on the matter - with attributions.

Obligations in foreign currency are regulated in the Civil Code, Book II, Section 1, First Part, Title VII, Chapter IV, articles 617 and 619.

"Article 617. If the act which has become the obligation, has been stipulated in a currency other than the legal tender in the Republic, the obligation shall be considered seen as an obligation to deliver sums of money."

"Article 619. If the debtor's obligation was to deliver a sum of certain species or money, he fulfills the obligation giving the designated species, the due date."

Original text in Spanish
"Art. 617. Si por el acto por el que se ha constituido la obligación, se hubiere estipulado dar moneda que no sea de curso legal en la República, la obligación debe considerarse como de dar sumas de dinero."

"Art. 619. Si la obligación del deudor fuese de entregar una suma de determinada especie o calidad de moneda, cumple la obligación dando la especie designada, el día de su vencimiento."

If you have any further doubts just ask me here or in a private message.