TransferWise comes to Argentina

Not sure if this is something that interests people, but you can use Transferwise to transfer dollars from a US bank account to a US$ denominated account in Argentina. I needed to get dollars down here, but my bank does not make international wire transfers. I reached out to Transferwise and they gave me a solution.

I sent $2,300 US dollars for a total cost of $3. Meaning I received $2,297 US dollars in my account. Super cheap!! Note many banks charge SWIFT transfer fees and some have to use an intermediary bank which charges its own fee. SantanderRio actually told me their intermediary bank (Wells Fargo) would charge $50, but no end bank receiving fee from SantanderRio. I did not get charged the $50. Why? I'm not 100% sure but I think Transferwise deposits the funds at WellsFargo for US user borderless accounts (I can't confirm this though). So my money didn't end up going through an intermediary bank. It went straight from Wells Fargo to SantanderRio. Google how SWIFT works if this seems confusing. Here are the steps for those interested:

First you need to open a Transferwise borderless checking account. It's super easy, and I did it right through my regular Transferwise profile. It took about 24 hours in total to open it. Next you need to contact Transferwise support and ask them to enable the feature that lets you send USD from a US account to a foreign account denominated in US dollars. They responded within an hour and activated it immediately.

Next transfer USD from your US account to the borderless account. Transferwise uses an app/interface that links directly with your online banking to make the transfer (for banks that support this). The app is called plaid and built directly into Transferwise's interface. It took 24 hours for the transfer to go through.

The money is sent to Argentina using the SWIFT system, so you need to go to your bank and request the details about how to receive a SWIFT payment from abroad in US$. SantanderRio has a page they print and give to you. You really just need the bank's SWIFT code and your account number (note account number is different that CBU). Once I sent the money US$ arrived in my account 24 hours later.
 
Great info..do you think this works with BBVA FRANCES?

I would assume so. I think you can receive at pretty much any bank that accepts SWIFT transfers. Fees might be different. Transferwise told me unofficially that the highest fee they had ever seen was $50.
 
With TransferWise would I be able to transfer money from my Finnish bank account to for example my father in law Argentinian account without any problem? Back in 2017 I had huge problems with a transaction directly from my account to an Argentinian account as I paid for the rent. The receiver was suspected of money washing and such.

Also as we are living in Rafaela Santa Fe instead of Buenos Aires so which banks have the service. We have BBVA Frances for example available but I think my father in law is using Galicia.
 
With TransferWise would I be able to transfer money from my Finnish bank account to for example my father in law Argentinian account without any problem? Back in 2017 I had huge problems with a transaction directly from my account to an Argentinian account as I paid for the rent. The receiver was suspected of money washing and such.

Also as we are living in Rafaela Santa Fe instead of Buenos Aires so which banks have the service. We have BBVA Frances for example available but I think my father in law is using Galicia.
https://transferwise.com

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With TransferWise would I be able to transfer money from my Finnish bank account to for example my father in law Argentinian account without any problem? Back in 2017 I had huge problems with a transaction directly from my account to an Argentinian account as I paid for the rent. The receiver was suspected of money washing and such.

Also as we are living in Rafaela Santa Fe instead of Buenos Aires so which banks have the service. We have BBVA Frances for example available but I think my father in law is using Galicia.

It does transfer EUR to ARS. It is not bank-specific, but will require you to verify both accounts by entering the amounts of small transfers if the bank is not listed as a featured bank (which would require you to enter login credentials). The other account holder will need to provide those amounts to you in order to verify the account. The person sending the money has to initiate the process in transferwise.
 
It does transfer EUR to ARS. It is not bank-specific, but will require you to verify both accounts by entering the amounts of small transfers if the bank is not listed as a featured bank (which would require you to enter login credentials). The other account holder will need to provide those amounts to you in order to verify the account. The person sending the money has to initiate the process in transferwise.
So I think the best option could be that my girlfriend would create a bank account here so it would be quite easy for us to verify the accounts as my father in law hasn't got an email for example. I sent TransferWise an email about the thing so I will see what they reply.

Thanks for the information and any further info much appreciated.
 
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