In search of banking info

[rmktpa1]

My Argentinian wife and I travel frequently to and from Buenos Aires and are in need of a bank to conduct US Dollar transactions in and/or out of the country...any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Quilombo]

She can open account easily enough at any bank, though you should keep in mind that banks here are thieves for inbound international transfers. Most charge a $50 minimum and upwards of 3% of the total transfer for funds being received from abroad via SWIFT transfer, in addition to whatever your US/international bank charges for sending.

 

[Ries]

Argentine banks are essentially firewalled by current banking laws. An argentine branch of a global bank can not access your foreign accounts the way they can in different European countries. You have to do wire transfers between your own bank to and from Argentina in most cases.

 

[lunar]

My Argentinian wife and I travel frequently to and from Buenos Aires and are in need of a bank to conduct US Dollar transactions in and/or out of the country...any thoughts or suggestions?

I would say banks in Argentina will most likely refuse to open a USD account for someone without a regular job in the country. In any case, if you plan to make frequent international transactions, using a personal bank account is probably not the best approach.

 

[Ries]

we have pensionista visas, no job in Argentina, and Galicia opened a dollar account for us, no problem. We do have DNI's, but I would assume his argentine wife does as well.
But, while I can transfer money into my account by western union or wire transfer, I think its harder to get dollars OUT, and certainly, either way, there are still international transfer fees.
Western Union transfers arrive in pesos, and there is no Argentine bank charge, but Western Union does charge to send the money.
We are required by migraciones to make transfers into a personal bank account, but an Argentine citizen would not be required to do so.
I am pretty sure Santander would also open a dollar account, where, if you transfer dollars into argentina, they remain dollars.
I dont know if this is enough utility or not for the OP.
I know I can make transferencias in pesos from my Galicia account, from my phone, when I am in the USA. So I can pay the air conditioner repair man, order things on Mercado Libre, pay my expensas or utilities, or buy my friends dinner.
It all depends on what type of transactions the OP needs to do.
Online banking in Argentina advanced a huge amount, during Covid, because it had to, and its much more useful and easy to do.

 

[lunar]

we have pensionista visas, no job in Argentina, and Galicia opened a dollar account for us, no problem.

Well, I'll rephrase. Unless you have a qualified source of income ...

 

[Alby]

I am pretty sure Santander would also open a dollar account, where, if you transfer dollars into argentina, they remain dollars.

Correct. And the commission they charge is only a few thousand pesos, automatically taken from the linked peso account.
(And, while they knew it was a Migraciones-related request, they at no point asked for the income source or the migration category. It was sufficient to have a DNI. They do, however, require you (in home banking) to select a funds source category every time you transfer dollars in from overseas.)

 

[LuckyLuke]

She can open account easily enough at any bank, though you should keep in mind that banks here are thieves for inbound international transfers. Most charge a $50 minimum and upwards of 3% of the total transfer for funds being received from abroad via SWIFT transfer, in addition to whatever your US/international bank charges for sending.

Banco Nacion recently charged me $125 base fee and 0.35% to receive a foreign wire in dollars.