Western Union money transfer

[zombiehorn]

I will be arriving tomorrow to BA to stay for a month. I'll be working remotely and taking Spanish lessons everyday. My apartment is near the Palermo subway station. Is there a particularly good Western Union to send myself cash to? I don't mind walking far if need be. I'm also bringing new $100 bills, but I'm a bit weary about the exchange process and intend to hold onto those for emergencies or special purchases.

Also, and forgive me if this has been covered ad nauseam upthread, but is there a limit to how much I can cash out? I was thinking $200 to start while I see how widely credit cards are accepted.

Thanks.

 

[gonzalob54]

So has anybody else tried this code? Did it work for you?

As of 7:00 am this morning still unable to complete the transaction using given code, haven't tried without it yet...oh well.

 

[Redpossum]

I will be arriving tomorrow to BA to stay for a month. I'll be working remotely and taking Spanish lessons everyday. My apartment is near the Palermo subway station. Is there a particularly good Western Union to send myself cash to? I don't mind walking far if need be. I'm also bringing new $100 bills, but I'm a bit weary about the exchange process and intend to hold onto those for emergencies or special purchases.

Also, and forgive me if this has been covered ad nauseam upthread, but is there a limit to how much I can cash out? I was thinking $200 to start while I see how widely credit cards are accepted.

Thanks.

This is two years old and the promo code part is obsolete, but most of the rest is still valid -

Summary of how to use Western Union in 2022

PLEASE DO NOT POST QUESTIONS IN THIS THREAD. The purpose of this post is to serve as a pinned set of instructions. If you have helpful tips to add, or corrections to errors or omissions I may have made, by all means post them here. But please post questions elsewhere, so this thread does not...

baexpats.org

Your VISA card will be accepted most places, and the rate isn't bad at all, for now. Things can change rapidly here. Suggest you save your receipt (in pesos), and then check online banking three days later and do the math to verify. Be aware there is a weird deal where the transaction will usually post as "pending" at one rate, and then three banking days later it will clear at a slightly better rate. This can vary depending on the card and your bank. Yes, it's vague and odd, welcome to Argentina.

Limit to how much you can cash out. If by "cash out" you mean change your cash dollars to pesos, then the answer is no. Just be aware of what the current blue dollar is, and that you are getting something close to that.

Cotización de Dólar Blue - El Cronista

Cotizaciones, evolución, previsiones fundamentales e información para el cambio de Monedas

www.cronista.com

Do not use your US debit card to get pesos from an ATM, unless it's a true emergency. Doing this you will be paid the official rate, which at the moment is about 25% less than the blue.

By all means keep your cash dollars if you can. Dollars are life, and I personally suggest you go full HODLgang on those.

Good luck, and welcome to the madhouse that Argentina has become under Milei. Try to keep your sense of humor, you're going to need it.

 

[Redpossum]

As an addendum to the above, there are expectations in some quarters that we may see strong upward movement of the Blue dollar this week.

Obviously, there are no certainties, just a heads up.

 

[Rich One]

Your best bet, to receive transfers is WU Central, Montevideo and Cordoba Streets. They always have bills. Opens at 9 am. go at 8.45 to be first online. Or Armenia st. busy and may not have enough bills , bear in mind that for a $1000 US, you need a large backpack or a briefcase to hold twelve, 100 K peso packs.

 

[Caribbean Cool]

Just for information Visa conversion this morning was 1208

 

[zombiehorn]

Are the 10,000 peso notes being issued yet?

 

[Redpossum]

Are the 10,000 peso notes being issued yet?

They are out there, in very small quantities; I have two of them in my peso stash. But they're still very much rara avis.

The 2,000 peso notes, on the other hand, have actually started coming out of the HSBC atms on a fairly frequent basis.

 

[carride]

Just for information Visa conversion this morning was 1208

Thanks, that is Helpful. Also it is worth mentioning that the Visa Credit Card rate only changes once per day at midnight. It is set to near the rate of the MEP dollar rate that closed earlier in that day. If there is no financial market activity on holidays and weekends, then nothing changes. So, since today is a Monday the Visa CC rate has not changed since Saturday (Friday night after midnight). It will change after midnight for Tuesday transactions. Mastercard, behaves the same way even if the rate of the day might be very slightly different.

 

[Macanudo]

I will be arriving tomorrow to BA to stay for a month. .

Thanks.

If you are only planning to be here for a month, there is no need to save dollars for emergencies or special purchases. If the blue rate is close to the Western Union net rate (after deducting transfer fees) then you may be better off just exchanging your dollars at a cueva. But by all means compare the rates because the best option can change day by day. I don't recommend using a foreign credit card unless you are looking for convenience, and don't mind getting a lower exchange rate. There is a low key good vibe exchange house at 1887 Gurruchaga in Palermo.