How are foreigners handling everyday payments in Buenos Aires?

[simongs]

Hi everyone,

I’m based in Madrid and may be spending some time in Buenos Aires soon, so I’ve been trying to understand how foreigners and expats are actually handling day-to-day payments there.

From the outside, it seems like QR payments are very common among locals, especially for small everyday purchases, but I’m not sure how much of an issue that is in practice if you don’t have a local bank account.

For those of you living in Buenos Aires or who’ve spent time there recently:

• Do you mostly rely on cash and foreign cards?
• Do you ever run into situations where not having access to local QR payments is inconvenient?
• Are there certain places where this comes up more often, like cafés, grocery stores, taxis, or smaller shops?

I’d really appreciate hearing what has actually worked for you in real life and whether this is a real annoyance or not such a big deal.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Rich One]

To make it short,
I Never use foreign credit cards.

Case A : You have a local ID, namely DNI, can open Mercado Libre and other fintech accounts to pay with QR. Or debit cards.
Case B: Open a bank Savings Account with Debit Card.Some say you can open without local DNI?
Case C : No local ID , pay in pesos cash only. Bring plenty cash/dollars

 

[neurofly]

Depends on how long you are here for. QR code-based payment is only available to persons with a DNI. So that excludes a lot of expats anyway.

Now, for others, if you apply for temporary residence, you can open a bank account and get a local ATM/debit card, and that, combined with a little bit of cash, takes care of almost all the places where you would need to pay.

If you are here just as a tourist, a combination of cash and your foreign credit card is the solution. Most cafes accept credit cards, Apple Pay, or NFC-based or physical cards.

 

[FrankPintor]

To add to what Sr. @Rich One wrote:

There is less acceptance of credit cards by retailers (I understand this is because of the time it takes for the retailer to get the money). The exception to this is online purchases, e.g. bus / ferry / plane tickets, where debit cards are often not accepted. I've also seen that foreign debit cards are treated as credit cards for local transactions (don't know how this happens, but it does).

People send themselves money via Western Union and Moneygram, paid out in Pesos. Some cuevas can also receive funds and pay out in either USD or Pesos. Lots of info in the forum, entire threads, even. Always have a backup method of getting cash.

 

[SlowWalker]

For those that don't have a DNI there are some apps that you can transfer money or stablecoins to and they will convert to pesos and you can pay with QR and transferencia. The exchange rates were good. I don't remember the names but they were discussed in the forum months ago.

 

[islandemoji]

I'm waiting on my DNI (local ID for residents/citizens) still so I don't have Mercado Pago (the QR thing) or a local bank account.

Card payments are becoming more and more accepted. Some places, particularly local, non-chain stores, will charge 10% extra for using a credit card. Debit card payments usually don't have a surcharge. But I've found that a lot of foreign debit cards register as credit cards on the local card scanners. Credit cards are no problem in chain stores/restaurants and you won't be charged extra.

If you have a debit card that reimburses ATM fees, ATMs have gotten much better for getting cash. I've taken out $300.000 ARS. In the past the limit was like $50.000. But the ATM fees are like $15.000, so if your card doesn't reimburse the fees, this isn't a great option.
Western Union or MoneyGram are also common ways of getting cash.
To get the best possible rate, you could bring physical blue hundo dollar bills in impecable condition and change them for pesos. IMO this is more trouble than it's worth.
A lot of local places will give you a discount paying in cash, so I do this as often as possible. Lots of promos are only available paying in cash.

 

[LuckyLuke]

Howdy Simon,

You are going to get different answers, because you stating "foreigners and expats" doesn't implicitly state what their access is to the local banking system. Some foreigners or expats have access, others don't.

It sounds like you are going to be a "tourist", with no access to a local bank. In which case, the solution is going to be the same as visiting any other developed country.

I want Pesos and I have no Dollars on me:

Western Union or Moneygram to send funds to yourself
Debit Cards for ATM cash withdrawals

I want Pesos and I have dollars to trade:

Exchange houses for physical cash currency change

I have no Pesos but I want to buy something:

Credit Cards for purchases

 

[SlowWalker]

I think one of the apps discussed was Peanut pay app

You wouldn't need to be a resident or have a DNI to use it I believe.

 

[Ries]

my son was just here from the states for a week- he used apple pay on his phone almost everywhere, worked fine, told him immediately the exchange rate, no added surcharges. I have a us visa card that gives me a decent rate, so for certain purchases, I use my visa.
Debit is better- many merchants dont like credit, but will accept debit.
some places will accept any card, other places only local debit cards.

 

[Silvie]

Lately I'm paying lots of things with Visa on Apple Pay, some times debit, sometimes credit, usually from local banks. For larger amounts, for me sometimes it's more convenient to use foreign cards