Receive money in USD without a local bank account

[EL_TIGRE_de_Tigre]

Two points about US dollar bills:
1 - Bills in any way marked - spots, stains, writing, patched with Scotch tape, whatever - are not accepted by most cuevas, and heavily discounted by those who do.
2 - As of the beginning of this year, older bills without the blue stripe are no longer accepted by cuevas. They are only accepted by banks, at the official rate.

I haven't been able to get an explanation for this strange policy. It's a far cry from the US, where you can walk into any bank with only three corners of a dollar bill, and exchange it for a fresh new one.

I have had certain USD bank notes declined due to condition or markings on them. Why? I really don't know??? But the lesson is this, you only want to possess relatively new, crisp if possible, rip / tear free bank notes without any markings on them if you want the ability to exchange them and receive top rate in exchange.

And you are correct, you can have a crumply old marked up USD bank note with a missing corner and a tear ... it is valid money in EE UU.

 

[EL_TIGRE_de_Tigre]

It could be that nice USD bank notes make the mattress a bit more comfy??? (SARCASM!!!)

 

[Rich One]

I have had certain USD bank notes declined due to condition or markings on them. Why? I really don't know??? But the lesson is this, you only want to possess relatively new, crisp if possible, rip / tear free bank notes without any markings on them if you want the ability to exchange them and receive top rate in exchange.

And you are correct, you can have a crumply old marked up USD bank note with a missing corner and a tear ... it is valid money in EE UU.

Perhaps was mentioned before the "Cabeza chica" issue not being accepted vs. Cabeza Grande . Experts know what is being said
Marked dollar bills are not acceptable by cuevas because their customers won't buy them , since they may be traceable..!

The blue dayglo strip on the center of new bills is requested by the Cuevas I visited in March 2020 ..

 

[on the brink]

Does anyone know WHY Cabeza Chica is not accepted in cuevas? Local banks take them.

 

[Rich One]

Why Cabeza Chica bills are not wanted.. see below.
Ben Franklin's head has not changed though...

One can always deposit them on a local bank and then ask a few day later for new ones. Cabeza Chica are bills before 1996. Exchangers will discount 5 to 7 %

Por qué en las “cuevas” pagan hasta 7 pesos menos por dólar al que llega con billetes antiguos

El Gobierno de los Estados Unidos considera válidas todas las emisiones de dólares, se aclaró desde el Banco Central ante este nuevo rebusque de los “arbolitos”. Asimismo, el gobierno de Estados Unidos señaló que los dólares en circulación son válidos sin importar en que año fueron emitidos

www.infobae.com

 

[on the brink]

So, the reason cuevas pay 5 to 7% less for "cabeza chica" dollars is .... because they can.

 

[ben]

So, the reason cuevas pay 5 to 7% less for "cabeza chica" dollars is .... because they can.

No. It’s because “that’s what everyone else is doing”. Also known as: “the market has spoken”.

In a market where liquidity is not guaranteed by the state (as in, banks have to take it), liquidity is defined by the market. I’m only interested in taking bills which I can offload easily to others. And the market - the “others” I’m dealing with - has always been interested in the highest-quality, least counterfeit-prone bills that are (widely) available.

For a (more) formal explainer, the Wikipedia article on Gresham’s Law (specifically, the Thiers Law exception) explains this nicely. The salient quote:

Those examples show that in the absence of effective legal tender laws, Gresham's Law works in reverse. If given the choice of what money to accept, people will transact with money they believe to be of highest long-term value. However, if not given the choice and required to accept all money, good and bad, they will tend to keep the money of greater perceived value in their possession and to pass on the bad money to someone else.​

In short, in the absence of legal tender laws, the seller will not accept anything but money of certain value (good money), but the existence of legal tender laws will cause the buyer to offer only money with the lowest commodity value (bad money), as the creditor must accept such money at face value.​

Nobel Prize winner Robert Mundell believes that Gresham's Law could be more accurately rendered, taking care of the reverse, if it were expressed as "Bad money drives out good if they exchange for the same price."​

 

[Traveler]

Does anyone know WHY Cabeza Chica is not accepted in cuevas? Local banks take them.

Probably just another route to charge a higher fee on taking the older bills. You're correct in that they are just as valuable as the newer bills.

 

[elhombresinnombre]

No offense intended at all, hombre, but this made me laugh out loud, It is soooooo quintessentially Argentina.

No offence taken: to paraphrase Catherine Aird, I am best viewed as a horrible warning rather than as a good example.

 

[EL_TIGRE_de_Tigre]

So, the reason cuevas pay 5 to 7% less for "cabeza chica" dollars is .... because they can.

EXACTLY! They are still worth $100 USD - It is a scam! And good for them, it''s their game and they are in the driver's seat.

Anywhere I ever went, it still bought the same amount of merchandise or service.

SIMPLY A SCAM!