Getting dollars in Buenos Aires

[Jteee]

Hi,

Slightly strange question but is there a way to neatly get dollars in either Argentina or Brazil?

I'll be heading to Iguazú early next week and I haven't used my physical credit cards in a while so I'm a bit anxious of getting stuck in case they don't work and am keen to have some dollars as a back up, and in any case having excess dollars wouldn't be problematic compared to excess pesos.

Alternatively, if anybody would be interested in swapping some dollars they may have for pesos - I expect it would be a tall order but worth an ask - id gladly get pesos out via western Union and exchange them for dollars at WU rates +10% or whatever is fair for the convenience and my own peace of mind.

Thanks

 

[Neil]

Why not go to a cueva and buy on the street?

 

[Jteee]

Why not go to a cueva and buy on the street?

Would swapping pesos for dollars on the streets not incur half the value or am I missing something?

 

[Jteee]

I guess the thing that's unknown for me is that I've exchanged dollars for pesos but not vice versa, what rate could I get on Florida street if exchanging pesos for dollars?

 

[Jteee]

Also to elaborate, I booked my hotel online with my UK credit card, I expected them to charge it online but they didn't seem to and I want to be able to pay in cash (they quoted in dollars) if I have to pay with a physical card and am unable to, and also if I cross the Brazilian border for a day and need to swap some ARS/USD for Brazilian reals

 

[Neil]

I guess the thing that's unknown for me is that I've exchanged dollars for pesos but not vice versa, what rate could I get on Florida street if exchanging pesos for dollars?

You would Pay the blue venta rate (see Current blue rates,attached is a snapshot)+ some more pesos depending on the cueva,exchange rate etc...

 

[Jteee]

So, for the sake of argument, if I rolled up to Florida with 250,000 pesos to trade, I’d get around 535 dollars (Less fees etc), but call it a square 500?

 

[sts7049]

basically yes, although you should aim to get the venta rate as close as possible of course

 

[antipodean]

Hi,

Slightly strange question but is there a way to neatly get dollars in either Argentina or Brazil?

I'll be heading to Iguazú early next week and I haven't used my physical credit cards in a while so I'm a bit anxious of getting stuck in case they don't work and am keen to have some dollars as a back up, and in any case having excess dollars wouldn't be problematic compared to excess pesos.

Alternatively, if anybody would be interested in swapping some dollars they may have for pesos - I expect it would be a tall order but worth an ask - id gladly get pesos out via western Union and exchange them for dollars at WU rates +10% or whatever is fair for the convenience and my own peace of mind.

Thanks

Any cueva or friend - like many Argentines who can do each month with whatever pesos they have leftover.

Some cuevas (thinking small supermarkets here who advertise they accept foreign platforms like Paypall, Zelle etc on their windows...) will also accept bank transfers to their account abroad and pay out in USD here with just a % fee. But unless you're working with an instant transfer service like Zelle I would not recommend that approach.

Other option is if you are a PR and have a USD account here, use the MEP to exchange your pesos into USD online which will be deposited into your USD account which you then withdraw from your bank tellers window in crisp clean USD bills.

PS in Iguazú you will have no problem finding dollars for pesos or visa versa - it is a border town rife with all kinds of cross-border trade and commerce (legal and otherwise). Just ask your driver or hotel to hook you up. Also remember, if you have an Argentine debit or credit card the massive duty free shop on the border sells everything at the official rate (like the duty free shops at the airport) so you can score some deep discounts on many products there that way.

 

[Jteee]

I recall that Cuevas prefer crisp hundred dollar bills so I presume it’s best to change pesos as close as possible to a multiple of 100 dollars?