Moving To Bsas On Fellowship, Bank Account Question!

[HoyaSaxainBA]

Hi guys, I just graduated from college and will be moving to BA for a year starting in July. I am being paid a monthly stipend in dollars that will be deposited into my American bank account. It would be great to be able to withdraw pesos at the now depreciated official rate every month and not have to deal with bringing thousands of dollars in cash into the country and exchanging on Calle Florida. Any suggestions for bank accounts that I could open here in the States that also have branches in Argentina that I can use to access these funds? Thanks! Your help is much appreciated

 

[sergio]

I don't think that's possible. Banks here that have "branches" in the US function under the laws of Argentina. Even during the Menem days there was no reciprocity that I could see. I suggest you bring a good deal of cash and be prepared to withdraw at ATMS but you will be charged fees on both ends. Maybe other people on this site have better ideas

 

[steveinbsas]

The US bank doesn't have to have any branches in Argentina. By far your best option is to open a Charles Schwab "brokerage" account which is necessary to get a Charles Schwab checking account and a debit card that you can use in Argentina at many (but not all) ATMs which display the "Banelco" symbol. After you set up the accounts you can have your earnings deposited directly into the checking account. It is not necessary to maintain a balance in the brokerage account and there is no minimum monthly balance for the checking account (no monthly fees for either). Best of all, Schwab does not charge ATM fees and will also reimburse you for the ATM fee charged by the Argentine bank.

PS: I regularly withdraw $2000 pesos per transaction from an ATM at a Banco Patagonia branch in a nearby town. There are three ATMs in the foyer, but only one of them will dispense pesos when I used the card (I've tried all three).

The daily withdrawal limit can be changed with a call to Schwab (free using Skype) and the CSRs are absouletly the best I've ever dealt with. Be sure to inform them you will be using the card in Argentina (after you receive it but before you use it here).

 

[r2d2]

Agree with Steve. Schwab works pretty well as they reimburse the ATM fees.

One comment about the daily withdrawal limit set by Schwab. There is a second daily limit set by the Argentinien banks operating the ATM's / Banelco that is relatively low. On top of that they seem to have a per transaction limit of 2500 pesos for foreign cards (that is incl. the ATM fees - so currently max 2400 pesos cash plus fees per transaction). So far I was only able to get 2 x 2400 pesos out of the ATMs per day, until the Argentinian daily limit kicked in. With today's rate that is max ~325 USD per day - even though my daily limit set by Schwab is significantly higher.

 

[Alicia karr]

BTW HSBC also reimburses the fees.

 

[RodalfoWalsh]

If you are a Citi gold member you can also use their ATM's with out a fee and can get a cash advance from the teller if you so wish.