Considering retiring in Argentina but have so many questions

[steveinbsas]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if any of these utilities let you pay your utilities via Visa (credit card) at all? Most of my properties in other countries I can pay them with my credit card. I was wondering if this is possible with any utility bills in Argentina?

I have been paying all of my utility bills in Argentina with a Visa credit card since late 2006.

When I lived in Capital Federal (2006-2010) and the first couple years I lived in the province, I always paid my utility bills using my US Visa credit card.

Since opening a Santander Rio account in Bahia Blanca in 2012, I have been paying for all of my utilities (as well as my municipal fees and provincial property taxes) with my Santander Rio Visa credit card.

All of the invoices show up online in my Santander Rio account and I easily pay them in a few seconds.

I don't even have to go to any of the utilities websites to pay the monthly bills, but I imagine it is still possible to pay utility bills in Argentina using a foreign Visa credit card.

It just hasn't been economical to do so until recently.

.

 

[earlyretirement]

I have been paying all of my utility bills in Argentina with a Visa credit card since late 2006.

When I lived in Capital Federal (2006-2010) and the first couple years I lived in the province, I always paid my utility bills using my US Visa credit card.

Since opening a Santander Rio account in Bahia Blanca in 2012, I have been paying for all of my utilities (as well as my municipal fees and provincial property taxes) with my Santander Rio Visa credit card.

All of the invoices show up online in my Santander Rio account and I easily pay them in a few seconds.

I don't even have to go to any of the utilities websites to pay the monthly bills, but I imagine it is still possible to pay utility bills in Argentina using a foreign Visa credit card.

It just hasn't been economical to do so until recently.

.

Thanks so much Steveinbsas for your always helpful and insightful posts. I honestly believe you are the single best source of information on this forum. Thanks for always providing great posts. It's greatly appreciated.

 

[RinoG]

- No reason or need to bring down tons of cash. You can easily find private companies/banks to get money into Argentina. Most will charge a small % for you to wire into their USA/European account and then get the funds there in Argentina.

How small? Because I am shopping around and I am looking forward to get your advice, @earlyretirement ! You sound like a pro, but I can't see your profile.

 

[Rich One]

Re, Paying utility bills with Debit Card . The Pagofacil units around my area in Recoleta have signs reading "Cash Only"

 

[gracielle]

Re, Paying utility bills with Debit Card . The Pagofacil units around my area in Recoleta have signs reading "Cash Only"

I don't use PagoFacil. Beginning in January I have seen changes in the forms of payment accepted in my area (Caballito).
RapiPago at Disco/Jumbo: Mon-Thurs cash/debit card accepted. Fri-Sat: debit card only.
RapiPago at WU outlets: Mon-Sat cash/debit card accepted.

 

[Caribbean Cool]

"Many US retirees get their SS checks deposited monthly in their Argentinian bank accounts in pesos."......don't even think of doing this until you have lived here....and then again.....maybe never.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Re, Paying utility bills with Debit Card . The Pagofacil units around my area in Recoleta have signs reading "Cash Only"

I pay all my bill with my online brubank account which is linked to my local bank acct. I love it. I don’t have to wait online anywhere.

 

[earlyretirement]

How small? Because I am shopping around and I am looking forward to get your advice, @earlyretirement ! You sound like a pro, but I can't see your profile.

I haven't purchased a property in Buenos Aires for many years but I doubt the process and relative fees would be too much different. If I recall, it was around 1.5% to 2% fees to get US dollars in legally to Buenos Aires. I'd assume it would be easier and cheaper now as the banking is easier now vs. many years ago.

Now, try to arrange with the seller if they have an account outside of Argentina, you can wire directly to their account. Several purchases, I did it like this so I didn't have to worry about getting the funds into Argentina. It's perfectly legal to arrange that and it's all stipulated on the title deed.

Any decent realtor there should be able to refer you to one of these "private banks". I've seen a few of them listed here on these forums. I don't want to mention them now as I haven't used any for a long time so I don't know if these specific ones are still around but any decent sized realty firm will be able to refer you to one of these.

 

[RinoG]

Unfortunately the seller wants the money here in green bills because they want to reinvest. Getting USD cash here is proving difficult. the best quote I had so far is 5.5%. Yikes!!

 

[gracielle]

Unfortunately the seller wants the money here in green bills because they want to reinvest. Getting USD cash here is proving difficult. the best quote I had so far is 5.5%. Yikes!!

See page 2 of thread....post by Utopos on 18 Aug 2022

Getting dollars into Argentina to purchase real estate

I'm a retired U.S. citizen with permanent resident status in Argentina. Earlier this year I sold my house in the U.S. and moved permanently back to Argentina, where I recently purchased another house. This proved to be far more difficult than expected, even though I'd researched things for...

baexpats.org

I found another company that does the same process with stocks and bonds that Banco Piano does (though only for dollars), but without the above-mentioned regulation conflict. Not only do they charge only 1% instead of 5%, the broker is a noted economist, professor, and a close personal friend of my brother-in-law. He's a financial wizard that I trust 100%, and without him I'd be renting now instead of owning a home.

The company is Inviu, and the broker is Franco Tealdi (fluent in English btw). And unlike Banco Piano, he can move money in both directions, helpful for those needing to move dollars out of Argentina. Franco specializes in wealth management, and I highly recommend him to anyone needing to move money or optimize their resources.

Franco Tealdi:
[email protected]
Franco Tealdi Twitter 54 9 351 266-1022 WhatsApp [his preferred method]

It is not a recommendation on my part as I have not had any dealings with Franco Tealdi.