Banking In Argentina

The benefits for opening a local bank account are mostly related to doing business.

In order to have a local credit card, as well, it is necessary to have a bank account in Argentina.

While all places that accept credit cards in person also will accept foreign cards. But, any online purchases in Argentina are only possible with local cards.

Setting up automatic payment for bills, whether cellphone or other, also is only possible with a local card.

Anyone who is employed and paid legally on paper in Argentina will have a bank account, even as a foreigner.

Companies deposit employees’ salary at the start of each month directly into their bank accounts.

Each company chooses where it wants to bank, so, as a result, people might have accounts at different banks depending on where, say, their family opened accounts for them prior to them being employed.

Another current advantage to having an account in Argentina is for keeping currencies separate.

Most people who are making money in pesos and also have foreign money or funds overseas will try to keep the pesos separate and in Argentina.

Because of inflation in Argentina, a historically plaguing problem, the preference is to keep pesos separate and spend them separately.

A few international banks operate in Argentina, including HSBC and Citibank.

Most importantly, for foreigners who already have accounts in those banks elsewhere, it is a streamlined and relatively easy process to open an account at that respective bank in Argentina.

Those two banks, along with Santander, are the largest in Argentina.

Foreigners are not usually allowed to borrow money from an Argentine bank.

Loans and financing options already are uncommon and rarely offered in Argentina as is.

What is common are payment options called cuotas, where many retailers and service providers (such as a travel agency) allow people to make payments over time rather than all upfront.

People often choose to keep their money out of the country and bring it in through wire transfers such as with MORE or Western Union at least for initial investments.

While this incurs a cost, it is lower than the loss of transferring the money at the black market rate.