So, is there a reason to have a bank account in Argentina?

rob0001

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I understand not saving your money in a bank account in Argentina due to the past "theft" of people's dollar accounts.
But is there a good reason to have an account and why?
Thanks for your help.
 
Bank account usually comes with a debit card. So, you can buy stuff online.
Also online banking and paying bills without leaving your house is nice.

Or are you talking about dollar accounts specifically?
 
Yes, for a few of reasons:

- Ease of use; assuming the money you have is en blanco (i.e. from savings abroad/pension/legal job here) it's a lot easier to pay for stuff now that the largest peso bill in circulation is worth less than 5 USD
- You get discounts for paying with debit cards at certain retailers on certain days
- You can pay your ABL, AySA, Edesur/nor, MetroGAS, phone, internet, etc. online via bill pay or with a debit card
- You can buy stuff from Mercadolibre and other online retailers with debit
- Some retailers offer discounts if you pay via bank transfer since they're charged a fee for processing debit/credit cards
- If you have permanent residency and demonstrable income you can get a credit card which comes with perks of it's own
- You can buy USD cash at the solidarity rate which is cheaper than the blue

Hope this helps!
 
Two giants reasons for me. Online purchases and not having to worry about having enough cash in your pocket for large random purchases.

I have converted all of my online services to Argentine accounts. Disney plus is like 1.50 a month including taxes, netflix 4.50 a month with taxes for the HD plan, Xbox Game Pass like 5 bucks.. so on and so forth.

I had to abandon my trip 3 days early in Patagonia because I didn't factor in paying hotels in cash so that I'd receive half off what the amount would have been if I paid online in dollars. I ran out of cash early and was impossible to find a WU that had cash. It was either swallow my pride and pay with my US card.. or return early. I returned early.

Having a debit card can be super helpful if you are here a long time. I still mainly operate cash only but I now keep a debit card with a few hundred thousand pesos in the bank for unexpected purchases when I don't have enough on hand.
 
Bank account usually comes with a debit card. So, you can buy stuff online.
Also online banking and paying bills without leaving your house is nice.

Or are you talking about dollar accounts specifically?
Yes, now I understand that having a local, in-country, debit or credit card is useful.
I have no idea if I need one or the other or both pesos and/or dollar accounts. Any thought?
 
Yes, for a few of reasons:

- Ease of use; assuming the money you have is en blanco (i.e. from savings abroad/pension/legal job here) it's a lot easier to pay for stuff now that the largest peso bill in circulation is worth less than 5 USD
- You get discounts for paying with debit cards at certain retailers on certain days
- You can pay your ABL, AySA, Edesur/nor, MetroGAS, phone, internet, etc. online via bill pay or with a debit card
- You can buy stuff from Mercadolibre and other online retailers with debit
- Some retailers offer discounts if you pay via bank transfer since they're charged a fee for processing debit/credit cards
- If you have permanent residency and demonstrable income you can get a credit card which comes with perks of it's own
- You can buy USD cash at the solidarity rate which is cheaper than the blue

Hope this helps!
All good...but what rate do you get paying with a debit or credit card?
 
Ahhh, so you suggest only getting a peso bank account and not one in dollars, correct?
Getting an account in dollars is not straightforward at the moment. Especially for people without verifiable local income.
 
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