Jaimito Cartero

I've had no problem getting 1200+ pesos out of Citibank machines, with a Paypal MC. I last withdrew from the one on Florida (between Viamonte & Cordoba, I think), last week.

Jaimito Cartero

Don't wait until late in the day to take money out. I tried another ATM at Banco Patagonia, across from where I had lunch, and it just rejected it when I wanted 1200 pesos.

So, at about 4:30pm, I hit the same Citibank on Florida, and each ATM gave me an error. I wasn't sure if the ATM system was down, but tried the last ATM, just in case, and got out my 1240 pesos. I guess the other two machines were out of money already! I've heard of problems on weekends, but not weekdays.

Gaucho100K

I can regularly get up to $2000 from the Citibank ATMs, but thats by using my Citibank Argentina issued card.

1MIOflight-km

Any news on this matter?

I have been in La Cumbre, Córdoba some 3 weeks ago, where I live half of the time besides Germany and could only withdrwaw 320,- pesos a time, but many times/day with my German Maestro card.
Either from a Banco Nación (Link) or a Banco Provincia de Córdoba (Banelco).

I had talked to people from Banelco (they had no clue..) and Link in BA, latter told me that this limit was imposed in Argentina by Cirrus as of April 1st.
First 300,- pesos, than risen to 320,-.
It is a mess as my wife and kids living there normally withdraws 2 times 2.500,- pesos/month (which is our daily limit on our Germany bank of 500,- EUR at a cost of 5,- EUR/withdrawal) and now has to withdraw about 16 times/month, costing 16x5,- EUR!

As of what I was told by MasterCard in the US and Germany, Maestro does not belong to them any longer (?).

My Bank in Germany had no clue about this, is checking since about 3 weeks, but showed signs of being willing to reduce the fees.

USAFAN

1MIO....:

I have had some problems with Citibank in Recoleta....even with a US Citi Bank ATM card. Never with Banco Nation.

You may open an account in Argentina and wire transfer the funds.
My German bank charges

Max: E 12.50 + E 5.00 Swift + E 2.50 Conv. = E 20.00 for wires up to 12,500 E.

Gaucho100K

1MioFlight-- sorry to hear about your troubles... if your family lives in Cordoba and you also spend a reasonable time there, I think that the above advice to perhaps open an account at some local bank may be the way to go... alas, please note that there is paperwork involved and also every time you wire funds down you will also have to fill out papers and then have to convert your Euros to Pesos... even if you want to withdraw Dollars from your local account. I dont know how many times a year you yourself come down, but maybe its best for you to be a cash mule of sorts and come down with the max. USD10,000 allowable by law and just open a safety deposit box.

Also, please remember that operating in Euros in Argentina is more expensive than other foreign currencies, as all FX transactions are cross-referenced to the dolar.... so in the end, if you have an inexpensive way to source USD cash in Europe then this would be the best solution to feed your Cordoba safety-deposit box.... but then, you run dollar risk and its possible continued weakness against the Euro....... ahhhh so many things to consider...

Hope this helps somewhat.

USAFAN

Gaucho100K:

I just checked my bank in Germany. I could wire (ON-LINE?) ARS (or US-$) from my German Euro account to a bank in Argentina. What is the problem? Just asking ... I still remember that you have been in the financial business in your "first life".
BTW, instead of bringing notes/cash, he could ask the German bank for an "Order Scheck" .... a secure bank check, which can be deposited in a local bank account.

1MIOflight-km

USAFAN, Gaucho100K, tks for the hints, etc.

Checks and transfers are no solution as we (mainly my wife) use the card there like here in Germany, only that now it costs half a fortune.

La Cumbre in Córdoba is not BA in terms of being able to cash in checks, etc.

I've lived almost all my life in BA and Córdoba...It'll be a long time until Argentina sees another bank account from me again after 2001/2002..., if at all.

I was just wondering why the limit on foreign (just?) ATM cards was imposed in Argentina as all threads I've seen on the I-net these weeks regarding this do not conclude with a reasonable explanation, besides devaluation talks and speculations out there...

Nevertheless, I've ordered and already received a Mastercard credit card on our german bank account for my wife. That will solve 50% of the problem for her down there.

Jaimito Cartero

From everything I understand, the people running the ATM networks want more money, and weren't happy with the fee they got. So they make you take out many transactions, so they get more money.

I was fairly satisfied that I could get out $400 from Citibank. (That was my daily limit, so I never tried for more than that)

Gaucho100K

Hello USAFAN-- Im not saying that wiring funds will be a problem.... and its certainly possible to wire funds down to Argentina, be it online as you correctly state, or through a normal teller transaction. The issue is that the "problems" will start when you approach a local bank and want to clear those funds and withdraw them. You will have to be prepared to fill out paperwork, explain in detail where the money comes from... its not all automatic and straight-forward as it may be to issue an outgoing wire from your bank. The reasons for this are various... of course, your local bank knows who you are (after all, you have an account with them)... but here one needs to understand that the bank receiving the funds may not know you well, may need to verify various things.... after all, there are nowadays more and more controlls & international regulations on $$$ laundering & other related issues, etc. etc.

Apart from the traditional controls, in Argentina there are specific regulations that also add red tape (and costs) to these types of transactions..... again, I dont know your specific situation and if you already are a legal resident of Argentina, and have a local account established, its of course easier for you to do this.... but still, depending on which bank you have an account with, you will be asked to fill out several forms and you will still be forced to convert your foreign currency to Pesos, regardless of what currency you wish to withdraw the funds in.

As for the special confirmed cheque that you mention... to my knowledge such a cheque is not depositable in a local bank account... I could be wrong, but Im 99% sure. Not saying you cant cash such a cheque down here, but to do that you would have to go to an Exchange Bureau or Brokerage Firm that has an account in Europe and the fees involved would be important (at least 3%), and in some cases depending on what bank the draft/cheque is issued against you may have to await collection before they pay you.

One last thing... you mention in your post that you can wire AR$ (or US$) from your Euro bank account... please note that wiring AR$ from Germany is not feasible. The Peso is not an internationally convertible currency, so your German bank cannot transact in Pesos... what they will do is send a "Gegenwert" or equivalent amount in either Euros or Dollars that would match some amount you may be able to fill out in Pesos. In any case, its an issue of games with the unit of measure...

Cheers,
Alex

Gaucho100K

1MioFlight-- while you are right about La Cumbre not being Buenos Aires, there are surely "Casas de Cambio" or "Financieras" that will be able to help you with cashing a cheque... it will be an issue of knowing the right people and finding someone thats trustworthy. Else, you may have to go to Cordoba Capital.... Im afraid my financial city contacts are all in Buenos Aires, so I cant be of much further assistance.

USAFAN

Hello Gaucho100K:

Very interesting ... first let me say, I have never done a wire transfer to Argentina. I just looked at my account, if I could transfer funds .. and yes, I can .. and I can even select ARS!?!
Actually, I wasn't aware, that it was so painful to wire funds to Argentina. I have sold boxes (computers that is) to Deutsch Sued-Amerikanische Bank, headquartered in Hamburg, now part of Allianz/Dresdner Bank AG .. and I had the impression that they could handle such businesses.

OT: What do you think about this

http://www.vinesofmendoza.com/privat...d_estates.html

not calculating any possible problems with ARS? Is this real? Or just a "smart business idea" to catch other peoples money.

mgelber

I experienced the same thing (maximum of 300 peso withdrawals on my ATM card) last August in Mendoza and Las Lenas. The year before I could take out around 1000 pesos from the same ATMs, so something did change in the interim.

This year I will bring some cash down. Its pretty easy to change, a lot of Argentineans like to keep a few US$ on hand.

SoFlyOn

To my knowledge, Alex is 100% correct with his characterization of foreign exchange transactions in Argentina.

I'm also certain that a foreign cheque (in US$ or Euros) would not be depositable in any retail bank account in Argentina. After all, that would circumvent the Central Bank's dollar/peso exchange racket. Another complicating factor regarding wire transfers is that in addition to the paperwork involved in accessing the funds, there may be restrictions on how much you can withdraw in any time period.

It's been over a year since I started this thread, and my advice remains the same. If you want to avoid exchange conversion fees you have two choices:

Bring cash (preferably US$) into Argentina, and exchange into pesos as necessary, or
Find a bank/brokerage that reimburses for foreign ATM fees.

I would never rely on any information that you might receive from front line employees in Argentine retail banks - they seem woefully unaware of Argentine Central Bank regulations regarding foreign wire transfers. I should also note that regulations regarding wire transfers from accounts in Argentina to countries abroad have recently been significantly tightened.

For foreigners (i.e. non-residents of Argentina who do not have DNIs), transferring funds via exchange houses (i.e. not recognized or regulated by the Central Bank) to buy property in Argentina will create a problem when the property is sold. AFIP (the Argentine tax authority), now insists on seeing that the funds were transferred into Argentina by using an approved method, and that personal property taxes (Bienes personales), have been paid every year.

John

SoFlyOn

1MIOflight-km - according to the Mastercard International web site, Maestro is still a trademarked brand of the company.

Have you tried your (Germany-issued) Mastercard in Argentina yet? Cards issued in the US have been subject to the same limitations (presumably because they are routed through the Cirrus network) as you described for your Maestro cards. Note, Cirrus is another Mastercard enterprise.

MasterCard International brands:
http://www.mastercardbrandcenter.com...ut/index.shtml

John