What are all these exchange rates? What is CEPO / MEP?

pmacay

Registered
Joined
Jul 18, 2009
Messages
193
Likes
134
I've been in Argentina almost 25 years and I still love it here, my Argentine friends think we're crazy to live here, but I'm sure everyone here has that same experience with their Argentine friends. Even though I'm a long term resident, I don't really pay close attention to local politics or read the daily papers, so lots of economic policies are a mystery to me, since their currency has been pretty stable for the last 6-8 months and the blue dollar has evaporated, I'm just wondering about all these terms people keep talking about.

I know "Dólar oficial" is the exchange rate that banks use and "Dólar blue" is the rate used in unofficial exchange services,

However, what about:

CEPO - they say it's over, what was it?

"Dólar tarjeta" is this the exchange rate they charge you if you buy something overseas on vacation and us an Argentina credit card for the purchase?

"Dólar turista" is the exchange rate they charge tourists if they buy something in Argentina using an overseas credit card?

"Dólar MEP" I have no idea what MEP is, I've tried to search for explanations here but everyone talks about MEP as if you already know what it is, I haven't seen an explanation of what MEP is?

"Dólar mayorista" No idea.

Sorry for being so uniformed, I just thought if I have these questions, maybe nebbies will have them too.

Thanks for any explanations.

Pete
 
CEPO - they say it's over, what was it?
Cepo is not an abbreviation - it's a word that literally means "trap" or "constraint." In local financial context, it refers to a set of government-imposed restrictions on buying and selling U.S. dollars. Since people couldn't freely access dollars for a long time, a black market emerged with an exchange rate different from the official one - the so-called "blue dollar.”

After Milei removed the exchange restrictions, banks resumed buying and selling dollars, and the two exchange rates have largely converged. Banks can set their own rates and spreads, but they generally keep them close to the official rate.

As for the other dollar rates you mentioned - they're pretty much irrelevant now. After the currency controls were lifted and even people working en negro can deposit dollars into banks, there's effectively a single exchange rate.
 
Cepo is not an abbreviation - it's a word that literally means "trap" or "constraint." In local financial context, it refers to a set of government-imposed restrictions on buying and selling U.S. dollars. Since people couldn't freely access dollars for a long time, a black market emerged with an exchange rate different from the official one - the so-called "blue dollar.”

After Milei removed the exchange restrictions, banks resumed buying and selling dollars, and the two exchange rates have largely converged. Banks can set their own rates and spreads, but they generally keep them close to the official rate.

As for the other dollar rates you mentioned - they're pretty much irrelevant now. After the currency controls were lifted and even people working en negro can deposit dollars into banks, there's effectively a single exchange rate.
Thanks for the explanation! I appreciate it!
 
CEPO - they say it's over, what was it?

"Dólar tarjeta" is this the exchange rate they charge you if you buy something overseas on vacation and us an Argentina credit card for the purchase?

"Dólar turista" is the exchange rate they charge tourists if they buy something in Argentina using an overseas credit card?

"Dólar MEP" I have no idea what MEP is, I've tried to search for explanations here but everyone talks about MEP as if you already know what it is, I haven't seen an explanation of what MEP is?

"Dólar mayorista" No idea.

BNA/Official/MUyLC/Minorista: The official exchange rate executed via the Mercado Único y Libre de Cambio. This is the rate that can be found in the bottom right of the BNA website with the compra/venta rates accordingly. This is the reference most banks/credit card companies in Argentina use, and then they add their margin on the rate to make a profit. At time of writing, this is $1,200 ARS per $1 USD (venta) or $1,150 ARS per $1 USD (compra)

Cepo
: as Lunar said, isn't an abbreviation but rather the concept of capital controls within Argentina. Contrary to what Milei and his fans like to imply, it remains, as some of the largest consumers of dollars, multinational companies and foreign direct investors are unable to repatriate funds via the Mercado Único y Libre de Cambios, aka the "official" exchange rate regime.

Dolar Tarjeta: as you said, is for purchases made abroad, both in person and online. It's basically the BNA venta rate plus 30%. The 30% is in theory refundable if you're exempt from paying ganancias, but it can be impossible to get for some people (even those exempt from ganancias) so it's akin to giving the government free money, especially now that you can buy dollars via home banking. At time of writing, this is $1,560 ARS per $1 USD (venta only, no compra rate exists)

Dolar Turista
: unified with the dolar tarjeta as far as I know now; again, makes no sense since you can buy dollars via home banking, so don't do it.

Dolar MEP and CCL: These are blue chip swap dollars; basically a broker buys/sells dual listed Merval/NYSE securities for the client to get them pesos or dollars as they need. It's subject to parking, so accreditation isn't immediate. The most common way is via AL/GD 30 Bond, and the broker does the work behind the scenes so it appears as if you're just buying/selling dollars. This was the most common legal way to get dollars prior to enabling the home banking dollar purchase again, and is still advantageous sometimes as the spread (difference) between the compra/venta rate is often less than that of the BNA dollar. This is also the exchange rate that Western Union uses (CCL) and Visa/MC/Amex (MEP) which is why credit card rates are lower that the official now because the MEP/CCL/BNA have all converged, and banks generally charge a fee for forex services. At time of writing, this is $1,190 ARS per $1 USD (venta/compra; very little spread exists with this rate)

Dolar Mayorista
: This is the wholesale dollar, basically what is called the interbank exchange rate in the US. If you Google 1 USD to ARS, this is the rate you'll see, the midpoint between the compra/venta rate banks and exchange houses offer each other and the BCRA in Argentina when moving generally millions of dollars. It influences the Dolar Minorista which is is priced higher so banks make a profit. At time of writing, this is $1,173 ARS per $1 USD (venta) or $1,182 per $1 USD (compra)

Dollars You Didn't Ask About:

Dolar Netflix/Steaming/Spotify:
This is the rate you'll pay when using pesos to purchase subscriptions to Netflix/Spotify/Prime/etc. and includes the ganacias associated with the Dolar Tarjeta, PLUS the digital services tax, AND the provincial excise tax. At time of writing, this is $1,812 ARS per $1 USD (venta only, no compra rate exists)

Dolar Crypto
: This is the exchange rate get when exchanging stable coins pegged to the dollar such as USDC or USDT. Think of this as a digital dollar blue, but usually a bit better (at least in the last few months). It's mostly used for 3 main reasons: cheaper international transfers than SWIFT/better rates compared to banks (in either direction), tax evasion by Argentine remote workers/people with dollars in Argentina that want to send it abroad without telling ARCA, and money laundering. At time of writing, this is $1,205 ARS per $1 USD (venta) or $1,207 ARS per $1 USD (compra)

Dolar Futuro
: These are futures contracts that are set at a certain point in the future (generally from 1 month to a year from what I've seen) that let two parties agree to sell/buy dollars upon the expiration of the contract at a previously agreed upon price point. They're mostly used as a hedging mechanism given Argentina's macroeconomic history to ensure that entities have access to dollars at a known price point instead of having to guess/wait to see whether there will be a devaluation or not. Currently, the government has been breaching the spirit (but not the letter) of the deal with the IMF by intervening in this market to drive down demand for futures contracts, which in turn makes the current mayorista/minorista/BNA dollar more stable. Cristina and Axel got in to trouble monkeying around with dollar future contracts, so we'll see if Milei and Caputo make similar mistakes.
 
BNA/Official/MUyLC/Minorista: The official exchange rate executed via the Mercado Único y Libre de Cambio. This is the rate that can be found in the bottom right of the BNA website with the compra/venta rates accordingly. This is the reference most banks/credit card companies in Argentina use, and then they add their margin on the rate to make a profit. At time of writing, this is $1,200 ARS per $1 USD (venta) or $1,150 ARS per $1 USD (compra)

Cepo
: as Lunar said, isn't an abbreviation but rather the concept of capital controls within Argentina. Contrary to what Milei and his fans like to imply, it remains, as some of the largest consumers of dollars, multinational companies and foreign direct investors are unable to repatriate funds via the Mercado Único y Libre de Cambios, aka the "official" exchange rate regime.

Dolar Tarjeta: as you said, is for purchases made abroad, both in person and online. It's basically the BNA venta rate plus 30%. The 30% is in theory refundable if you're exempt from paying ganancias, but it can be impossible to get for some people (even those exempt from ganancias) so it's akin to giving the government free money, especially now that you can buy dollars via home banking. At time of writing, this is $1,560 ARS per $1 USD (venta only, no compra rate exists)

Dolar Turista
: unified with the dolar tarjeta as far as I know now; again, makes no sense since you can buy dollars via home banking, so don't do it.

Dolar MEP and CCL: These are blue chip swap dollars; basically a broker buys/sells dual listed Merval/NYSE securities for the client to get them pesos or dollars as they need. It's subject to parking, so accreditation isn't immediate. The most common way is via AL/GD 30 Bond, and the broker does the work behind the scenes so it appears as if you're just buying/selling dollars. This was the most common legal way to get dollars prior to enabling the home banking dollar purchase again, and is still advantageous sometimes as the spread (difference) between the compra/venta rate is often less than that of the BNA dollar. This is also the exchange rate that Western Union uses (CCL) and Visa/MC/Amex (MEP) which is why credit card rates are lower that the official now because the MEP/CCL/BNA have all converged, and banks generally charge a fee for forex services. At time of writing, this is $1,190 ARS per $1 USD (venta/compra; very little spread exists with this rate)

Dolar Mayorista
: This is the wholesale dollar, basically what is called the interbank exchange rate in the US. If you Google 1 USD to ARS, this is the rate you'll see, the midpoint between the compra/venta rate banks and exchange houses offer each other and the BCRA in Argentina when moving generally millions of dollars. It influences the Dolar Minorista which is is priced higher so banks make a profit. At time of writing, this is $1,173 ARS per $1 USD (venta) or $1,182 per $1 USD (compra)

Dollars You Didn't Ask About:

Dolar Netflix/Steaming/Spotify:
This is the rate you'll pay when using pesos to purchase subscriptions to Netflix/Spotify/Prime/etc. and includes the ganacias associated with the Dolar Tarjeta, PLUS the digital services tax, AND the provincial excise tax. At time of writing, this is $1,812 ARS per $1 USD (venta only, no compra rate exists)

Dolar Crypto
: This is the exchange rate get when exchanging stable coins pegged to the dollar such as USDC or USDT. Think of this as a digital dollar blue, but usually a bit better (at least in the last few months). It's mostly used for 3 main reasons: cheaper international transfers than SWIFT/better rates compared to banks (in either direction), tax evasion by Argentine remote workers/people with dollars in Argentina that want to send it abroad without telling ARCA, and money laundering. At time of writing, this is $1,205 ARS per $1 USD (venta) or $1,207 ARS per $1 USD (compra)

Dolar Futuro
: These are futures contracts that are set at a certain point in the future (generally from 1 month to a year from what I've seen) that let two parties agree to sell/buy dollars upon the expiration of the contract at a previously agreed upon price point. They're mostly used as a hedging mechanism given Argentina's macroeconomic history to ensure that entities have access to dollars at a known price point instead of having to guess/wait to see whether there will be a devaluation or not. Currently, the government has been breaching the spirit (but not the letter) of the deal with the IMF by intervening in this market to drive down demand for futures contracts, which in turn makes the current mayorista/minorista/BNA dollar more stable. Cristina and Axel got in to trouble monkeying around with dollar future contracts, so we'll see if Milei and Caputo make similar mistakes.
WOW, this was amazing, thanks so much for the very thorough explanations!
 
What about foreign credit cards (US, for example)? What rates do they charge now?
 
What about foreign credit cards (US, for example)? What rates do they charge now?
They still use the MEP and as was the case previously, they still take a cut which results in it being below the BNA compra rate now that all the various rates have more or less converged. I just checked Visa's calculator and set the forex markup to 0% they're saying 1 USD is $1,109.95, and considering most cards, debit or credit, charge a forex fee, it's likely to be even less which validates the complaints people have been sharing on here.

I won't be missing this part of Argentina to say the least 😅
 
Back
Top