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Where to exchange money in

Buenos Aires (Euro, Dollar, GBP)
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Welcome to Argentina! The home of the

Argentinian Peso (ARS). The Argentinian
currency is very instable. Here I give you
the best tips on how safe to exchange mon-
ey in Buenos Aires, the best places to ex-
change money, and even sometimes make a
profit!

I will talk about: ATM withdrawals, Ex-

change bureau’s, Calle Florida (black mar-
ket), XOOM and Western Union, Creditcard
and, paying directly in Dollars or Euro in
stores.

TIP: don’t change your local (USD, EUR, …)

money to Argentinian peso in your home
country. The Argentina currency fluctuates
hard during days, so you probably lose value
even in a couple of days.

The symbol for Argentinian Peso is familiar

with the dollar sign: $. In Argentina, the
shortcut for the US dollar is USD or U$S.

Read also: how many days should you

spend in Buenos Aires?

1. The best place to exchange

money in Buenos Aires
In my app (iOS and Android), I give you up-
dates on the best safe places to change your
money in Buenos Aires. The app is free and
available for iOS and Android. Disfruta!
Download here and view the current ex-
change rate per office.

Important note
note: the currency controls in
Argentina have also affected tourists. You
can exchange dollars or euros for Argen-
tine pesos without any problem and restric-
tion, but the other way there is a restriction
(ARS back to USD/EUR/…). Do you have Ar-
gentine pesos left after your stay? You can
only exchange a maximum of 100 dollars
worth of pesos back to dollars or euro. This
is per person.

2. ATM Withdrawal
Don’t use an ATM! I mention ATM with-
drawal in Buenos Aires at first because it’s
the last I suggest doing. The withdrawal
commission can get up to USD 10, bad ex-
change rates, and sometimes no money in
the ATM. So, there are better ways to get
Argentinian pesos. Using the ATM is not
the best way to exchange money in Buenos
Aires! Don’t you have any other options?
Go to the bank and take an ATM with the
above sign “Cajero Automatico”. These
ATMs are for everybody. An ATM with the
above sign “Autoservicio” will not work for
tourists.

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Aires
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3. Exchange bureau
If your local currency is US Dollar (USD) or
Euro (EUR), then you are lucky. Also, cur-
rencies such as the British Pound (GBP),
Swiss Francs (CHF), New Zealand dollar
(NZD), and others are possible to exchange
into the Argentina currency the peso.

There are enough exchange bureaus avail-

able in Buenos Aires. Always take your
passport with you when you’re going to the
exchange bureau. It’s used that the ex-
change bureau will only accept banknotes
higher than 20 USD or 20 Euro. Changing
coins is not possible. Withdrawing money
here is not available. Read the article for
the best exchange places: “The best places
to change your money in Argentinian peso,
Dollar and Euro”

change your money. Read the

extra article “
I listed all the best places to

Tips when you go to the exchange bureau

(Casas de Cambio in Spanish)

• Don’t change immediately all your

money. Are you staying longer than 3
weeks? Then change it by every 100
USD or EUR. In other Argentinian
cities, you will find exchange bureaus.

• Don’t accept any extra fee or commis-

sion at the exchange bureaus. This is
illegal by Argentinian law.

• A rate that is 5 ARS under the current

rate is acceptable. For example, the
actual interbank rate is 106 ARS for 1
US dollar. If you can get 100 ARS for 1
US dollar, that’s ok. Go to some differ-
ent exchange bureaus and compare
them. You get the best rate during
bank office hours. Check the current
interbank rates on xe.com. Here are
the best places to change your money.

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Aires
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4. Calle Florida: black market

Not afraid of some negotiation? Then go to
the pedestrian street “Calle Florida” near
the presidents’ house (Casa Rosada or Pink
House in English). When you walk down the
street you will hear people saying “Cambio,
cambio”. These persons work for a bigger
boss.

Exchanging dollars and euros is possible.

Be in a strong position to negotiate. Don’t
take the first one, but play them against
each other. Once you accept a rate after ne-
gotiation they will guide you to a small of-
fice somewhere located near the street
Florida.

It’s possible, once you arrive in the office,

they start to negotiate again. Keep with the
rate that they said outside. If not, just go
outside again.

Secret tip in Calle Florida: the black market

will give a better exchange rate for notes of
USD 100 or €100. Because these banknotes
are highly sought after.

Read more: Where is Calle Florida and

what looking out for?

Coin and banknotes in Argentina (ARS)

5. Western Union and XOOM

Do you want to travel cashless to Argenti-
na? Then there is XOOM and Western
Union in Buenos Aires. You can send money
to yourself in Argentina and pick it up on
arrival at one of their offices in Buenos
Aires.

Western Union and XOOM have several of-

fices in the city. Western Union works to-
gether with PagoFacil and XOOM with Co-
broexpress. You will have the option where
you want to pick up your money. For West-
ern Union, I suggest heading to the office in
the street Montevideo 825 (not in Uruguay
).

The rate at Western Union in Buenos Aires

is the best! Western Union almost offers
better rates than the black market. The only
thing that you need into account is the
transaction fee. Both companies are around
USD 25 per transaction per USD 500.

The waiting lines at the WU office can be

long (up to 1 hour or more) but you make a
lot of profit by exchange money in Buenos
Aires with Western Union. That’s a free din-
ner for two!

Take a copy of your passport with you and

the WU / XOOM code.

HQ Western Union o8ce in Buenos Aires

6. Credit card
Paying with a credit card (Mastercard and
Visa) is widely accepted in the city and safe
to use. Restaurants, bars, and supermarkets
mostly accept your credit card for any
amount. By April 1st, 2018 all stores have
to accept card payment by the law, but of-
ten small kiosks, the bakery or newspaper
store around the corner don’t.

Before going to a restaurant always ask if

they accept your credit card or check the
window for any signs.

7. Coto supermarket or other

stores
A not very know way to change your Dollar
or Euro to Argentinian peso is going to a
Coto supermarket or other brand store (Ha-
vanna, Falabella, …). At the Coto supermar-
ket go to the cashier lane and you will see a
little announcement with the rate they will
give you.

The system works as follows. You buy

something small – for example, a little bot-
tle of water. Thereafter, you go to the
cashier and pay with your US Dollars or Eu-
ros. Use a note of 50 Euro/US Dollar or
smaller notes. The cashier will give you Ar-
gentine peso for spare change. Coto super-
market often gives a higher rate than the
actual rate.

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8. Top-up credit card

There are debit Mastercard- or Visa cards
available such as Revolut. It is a top-up
debit card. Revolut, for example, uses the
interbank rate that fluctuates during the
day without any fee. A good way for travel-
ers and residents without an Argentinian
bank account. Check out more on their
website.

Paying tours or other events

The difference between the official ex-
change rate and the black exchange rate is
of course not unknown to tourist compa-
nies such as tours, shows, etc.

You can certainly pay in Argentine peso at

the cash register, but you will regularly be
asked to pay this at the black exchange
rate. For example: a ticket will cost you $50.
Initially you would think that you have to
pay 5,000 ARS. So 25 USD if you exchanged
your money on the black market. But they
will then ask to pay 10,000 ARS at the black
exchange rate.

So you don’t actually make a profit on this.

You will make a profit on restaurant visits,

government museums and local shops. I
have noticed that gift shops have increased
the prices in Argentine pesos so that you
actually continue to pay the same in USD.

Extra tip!
Have some cash with you. I mentioned that
stores have to accept credit/debit card pay-
ments by law, however not every store is
happy with it. Also when a store accepts
card payments, it’s common that they will
make a difference between paying cash or
with a card. They will put two prices on the
price tag. One in cash (cheaper) and one for
card payments.

Get more tips that will

save you more money: The
best places to exchange
your money in Argentinian
peso. Read in our app.
“
Download the app for free.

Footnote: Secretsofbuenosaires.com is not

responsible for any wrong information or
problems that appear with payment by fol-
lowing one of these tips.

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Glenn

My roots in Buenos Aires started as a tourist.

After some great adventures in Argentina, I
moved in 2017 to the metropolitan city of
Buenos Aires. I felt a need for correct and
honest information for tourists. That's why I
love to write for you. Sharing my discoveries in
Buenos Aires. I hope you enjoy the city as
much as I do! Feel free to support us by "Buy
me a coffee ". Means a lot to us.

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79 Comments

Trent ) RE PLY

1 M O NTH AGO

Hi Glen
When you say the best way too get the
Next exchange is Via Western Union
Can you send USD or dies it v need to be Aussie
Dollars from Australia?

Glenn P O ST AU T H O R ) RE PLY

1 M O NTH AGO

With WU you can send any currency to

Argentine peso.

Trent ) RE PLY

3 M O NTH S AGO

Hello Again Greg

Quick question
Can I use USD $1, $2 And 5$ with cab drivers
Restaurants and bars/clubs?
Cheers
Trent

Krzysztof Domaros ) RE PLY

3 M O NTH S AGO