Wire dollars or use WU to send pesos?

[studiodio]

i have used western union for years, transfering directly to my santander rio account. i just saw thread that said i could tranfer dollars from my us bank directly to santander rio bank with less fees than western union. any reason not to do this ?

 

[Alby]

If you are a Argentine tax resident not paying Argentine tax (I'm not suggesting you are), and if the tranfers are large, might it make them more visible to ACRA and more likely to trigger an audit? Might it prompt Santander (if it hasn't already) to ask you to declare your home country tax residency under CRS?

(By the way, when I tranfser to Santander, it charges almost no fee to the dollar account but quite a hefty fee to the peso account, or at least that was the case about three months ago.)

 

[studiodio]

i am a retiree, have permentent residency, i transfer my social security and a bit from savings each month. i have no tax liability in us or argentina that i know of. try to live as simply ...

 

[Che1990]

If you are a Argentine tax resident not paying Argentine tax (I'm not suggesting you are), and if the tranfers are large, might it make them more visible to ACRA and more likely to trigger an audit? Might it prompt Santander (if it hasn't already) to ask you to declare your home country tax residency under CRS?

(By the way, when I tranfser to Santander, it charges almost no fee to the dollar account but quite a hefty fee to the peso account, or at least that was the case about three months ago.)

These restrictions have all been effectively lifted, with the limits to be reported to ARCA now at $50,000,000 as opposed to $600,000 (or $400,000) a few months ago. https://biblioteca.afip.gob.ar/sear...5#:~:text=-).”.,del artículo 5º, el siguiente:

 

[carride]

i have used western union for years, transfering directly to my santander rio account. i just saw thread that said i could tranfer dollars from my us bank directly to santander rio bank with less fees than western union. any reason not to do this ?

i am a retiree, have permentent residency, i transfer my social security and a bit from savings each month. i have no tax liability in us or argentina that i know of. try to live as simply ...

Yes in your case, the bank here in Argentina will have no concern allowing you to open a dollar account and to receive regular transfers. As you have read the fees the banks charge is low or nothing. The fees based on a percentage of your transfer amount have disappeared. You will need to do an outgoing SWIFT wire transfer from your USA bank, some charge $0-25 for each transfer, so shop around to find a new US bank with best international wires cost. Then the Argentina bank might give you their intermediary bank details, which also might have $0-25 transfer fee, though they might not be able to tell you.

Finally when you have USD in your local bank, you can use their feature to sell USD (sometimes labeled sell MEP Dollars) in the app or home banking to get your daily or weekly pesos as you need them at the most current rate.

Talk to the Comercio Exterior desk at your bank. Switch to another if there are fees. Each might have different fees depending on if source is Savings or other self-employment. There is at least two other recent threads here in the forums with more information than I can explain.

Centro de ayuda Santander

Centro de ayuda

ayuda.santander.com.ar

Banco Macro eliminó comisiones para transferencias desde el exterior

La entidad informó que esta medida busca facilitar el ingreso de fondos. Aplicará a montos de hasta u$s 10.000, beneficiando -en mayor medida- a profesionales independientes y freelancers.

www.cronista.com

 

[FrankPintor]

Yes in your case, the bank here in Argentina will have no concern allowing you to open a dollar account and to receive regular transfers. As you have read the fees the banks charge is low or nothing. The fees based on a percentage of your transfer amount have disappeared. You will need to do an outgoing SWIFT wire transfer from your USA bank, some charge $0-25 for each transfer, so shop around to find a new US bank with best international wires cost. Then the Argentina bank might give you their intermediary bank details, which also might have $0-25 transfer fee, though they might not be able to tell you.

Finally when you have USD in your local bank, you can use their feature to sell USD (sometimes labeled sell MEP Dollars) in the app or home banking to get your daily or weekly pesos as you need them at the most current rate.

Talk to the Comercio Exterior desk at your bank. Switch to another if there are fees. Each might have different fees depending on if source is Savings or other self-employment. There is at least two other recent threads here in the forums with more information than I can explain.

Centro de ayuda Santander

Centro de ayuda

ayuda.santander.com.ar

Banco Macro eliminó comisiones para transferencias desde el exterior

La entidad informó que esta medida busca facilitar el ingreso de fondos. Aplicará a montos de hasta u$s 10.000, beneficiando -en mayor medida- a profesionales independientes y freelancers.

www.cronista.com

Do you still have to fill out BCRA forms indicating the transfer category (e.g. S22, or whatever)? And do you have to pesify the incoming transfer in any circumstances?

 

[carride]

Yes I did need to pick a código de concepto. A07 for repatriation of funds (savings). BNA now has their web comex electronic system to finalize the transaction, including those details, which is the self service way to not pay any fees. If using BNA desk personnel there was a fee. I feel every bank is changing their fees and service each month. Especially since the June decree mentioned above. The Banco Macro news link above says it is painless for S22 type transactions,

The quickest, cheapest, and easiest for me was transfer to a brokerage, not a bank, here. The modern way without ever needing to visit a person sitting at a desk. Similar to the internet brokerage evolution that changed everything 25 years ago in US.

And do you have to pesify the incoming transfer in any circumstances?

I do not know

Las desregulaciones que rigen desde el 1 de junio 2025 para invertir y adquirir bienes

Análisis de los puntos más importantes del Decreto 353/2025 y las resoluciones generales de ARCA que avanzan en la simplificación y desregulación de todos los trámites involucrados en la inversión y en la adquisición de bienes.

www-perfil-com.translate.goog

 

[FrankPintor]

The quickest, cheapest, and easiest for me was transfer to a brokerage, not a bank, here. The modern way without ever needing to visit a person sitting at a desk. Just like the internet brokerage evolution that changed everything 25 years ago in US.

Thanks! Yes, I do the same through my brokerage, I can keep my Dollars there, or with a couple of Whatsapps have it sent to my local bank account (either Pesos o USD), declare my taxes, with everything done online.

 

[LuckyLuke]

The quickest, cheapest, and easiest for me was transfer to a brokerage, not a bank, here. The modern way without ever needing to visit a person sitting at a desk. Similar to the internet brokerage evolution that changed everything 25 years ago in US.

Howdy Carride,

Would you mind explaining this process? Is an Argentine brokerage or a US brokerage?

 

[SlowWalker]

I transfer to my Santander account. The first one or 2 transfers there was a minor fee to receive, less than $10.
I then transfer to Balanz, where I perform the exchange, then transfer the pesos back to my Santander pesos account.

For the Santander transfer, once it is received by the bank, I need to login, select a category (source of funds) from a list (ie, A07 - Personal account abroad), and some evidence (ie include the receipt of transfer and previous month bank statement). The funds then get released into my account fairly quickly if I do it during the day.

When I transfer to Balanz, it is through the app, fairly quick. I then sent the screenshot or receipt of transfer to my account manager, then he can try and get it in the account quicker. Otherwise, if there is no rush, it is usually credited automatically for the next day when I check again.

The exchange occurs instantaneously, and the transfer back is also essentially immediate to Santander (as is any transfer).