Acquiring cash in Buenos Aires
I really crushed it today! I had a few things I needed to do before leaving the city and I managed to check everything off my list.
Let’s start with cash. Unfortunately for the Argentine people, the country has been experiencing high inflation for several years. The cost of goods has gone up a great deal and the value of the Argentine peso has dropped significantly. Five years ago, a Canadian dollar would buy you 12 pesos, but today it will buy you more than 80. That’s a big difference.
While it works out for me in some ways, getting cash isn’t so easy. I brought some Canadian cash with me, but the exchanges only want to give me 30 pesos for on Canadian dollar. So… no thank you. If I had American cash, I could get a better exchange rate, but I only have $20 USD. Naturally I hit up the ATMs. They seem hit and miss. A couple of ATMs have told me that my transaction is “invalid” and have given me nothing. I have had success twice, but each time I was only allowed to withdraw a maximum of $50 CAD, not terrible – BUT – the fees for each withdrawal come to $12.25 CAD! Insane!
I have been using my credit card too, but in order to do so, I must pull out my passport, the cashier enters my info into the system, I have to type in a pin, sign a receipt… It’s an ordeal. Not to mention that many things require cash. Fruit stands, street vendors, and cafes only accept cash. To recharge a prepaid phone or subway card, you put cash into a machine (there are online ways to do this, but I’ve not figured it out yet).
And then I found a hostel I’d really like to stay at. It’s cheap, it’s in the jungle, they have kayaks, people rave about it, and… they only take cash.
Well, if I keep taking out $50 at a time, I’ll end up paying way too much in fees. So, I did what anybody would do – I consulted the internet. And that brought up an option I’d not considered. Money transfer. Specifically, Western Union. There are of course other companies that will do money transfers, but I didn’t find any others that would allow me to pick up cash. And there are Western Union offices all over the place. Plus… they’re reputable, right?
I figured I didn’t have much to lose. But this is where things get really, REALLY weird. The quote on the Western Union site said they were paying 174.04 ARS for 1 CAD. I assumed that was a mistake. But it was only an "estimate", so I figured the exchange rate would change when I was ready to actually push the button. After all, the current exchange rate (according to Google) is 80.45 ARS for 1 CAD; also about the exchange rate I've been seeing with credit card charges.
I felt a little foolish, but I went ahead and created a profile with Western Union and proceeded to send myself $500 CAD. And the transaction was submitted for processing. I got a notification within 10 minutes confirming the transaction. According to the email, the exchange rate hadn't changed, my $500 CAD bought me $87,018.57 ARS! Of course, I didn't have the cash yet.
I put on my shoes and walked to the nearest Western Union. There was no line. I showed them the transaction number, gave them my passport, verified my Argentine phone number and hotel, and the clerk confirmed the exchange amount! I literally got an exchange rate more that twice as good as it should have been. It’s like printing money!
I did pay a $15 fee to Western Union so I could use my credit card (you can link a bank account for a lower fee, but it takes a few days). I have since verified the charge on my credit card: $515.
I got my cash - it was a lot of bills. Like… a LOT. Most of the bills are 200 pesos which is good; anything larger is hard to break. I tried to sneak them in my backpack kind of stealth-like and then I didn’t go back to my hotel right away; if anyone was trying to follow me, they would have been tired and annoyed by the time I headed back, haha.
I found a place to buy a Sube card so I can ride the subways, buses, and trains, and I charged it up. I recharged my mobile phone too. And I even rode the subway for the first time.
Back at my hotel now, and I have to show you a photo. It's just nuts.
Let’s start with cash. Unfortunately for the Argentine people, the country has been experiencing high inflation for several years. The cost of goods has gone up a great deal and the value of the Argentine peso has dropped significantly. Five years ago, a Canadian dollar would buy you 12 pesos, but today it will buy you more than 80. That’s a big difference.
While it works out for me in some ways, getting cash isn’t so easy. I brought some Canadian cash with me, but the exchanges only want to give me 30 pesos for on Canadian dollar. So… no thank you. If I had American cash, I could get a better exchange rate, but I only have $20 USD. Naturally I hit up the ATMs. They seem hit and miss. A couple of ATMs have told me that my transaction is “invalid” and have given me nothing. I have had success twice, but each time I was only allowed to withdraw a maximum of $50 CAD, not terrible – BUT – the fees for each withdrawal come to $12.25 CAD! Insane!
I have been using my credit card too, but in order to do so, I must pull out my passport, the cashier enters my info into the system, I have to type in a pin, sign a receipt… It’s an ordeal. Not to mention that many things require cash. Fruit stands, street vendors, and cafes only accept cash. To recharge a prepaid phone or subway card, you put cash into a machine (there are online ways to do this, but I’ve not figured it out yet).
And then I found a hostel I’d really like to stay at. It’s cheap, it’s in the jungle, they have kayaks, people rave about it, and… they only take cash.
Well, if I keep taking out $50 at a time, I’ll end up paying way too much in fees. So, I did what anybody would do – I consulted the internet. And that brought up an option I’d not considered. Money transfer. Specifically, Western Union. There are of course other companies that will do money transfers, but I didn’t find any others that would allow me to pick up cash. And there are Western Union offices all over the place. Plus… they’re reputable, right?
I figured I didn’t have much to lose. But this is where things get really, REALLY weird. The quote on the Western Union site said they were paying 174.04 ARS for 1 CAD. I assumed that was a mistake. But it was only an "estimate", so I figured the exchange rate would change when I was ready to actually push the button. After all, the current exchange rate (according to Google) is 80.45 ARS for 1 CAD; also about the exchange rate I've been seeing with credit card charges.
I felt a little foolish, but I went ahead and created a profile with Western Union and proceeded to send myself $500 CAD. And the transaction was submitted for processing. I got a notification within 10 minutes confirming the transaction. According to the email, the exchange rate hadn't changed, my $500 CAD bought me $87,018.57 ARS! Of course, I didn't have the cash yet.
I put on my shoes and walked to the nearest Western Union. There was no line. I showed them the transaction number, gave them my passport, verified my Argentine phone number and hotel, and the clerk confirmed the exchange amount! I literally got an exchange rate more that twice as good as it should have been. It’s like printing money!
I did pay a $15 fee to Western Union so I could use my credit card (you can link a bank account for a lower fee, but it takes a few days). I have since verified the charge on my credit card: $515.
I got my cash - it was a lot of bills. Like… a LOT. Most of the bills are 200 pesos which is good; anything larger is hard to break. I tried to sneak them in my backpack kind of stealth-like and then I didn’t go back to my hotel right away; if anyone was trying to follow me, they would have been tired and annoyed by the time I headed back, haha.
I found a place to buy a Sube card so I can ride the subways, buses, and trains, and I charged it up. I recharged my mobile phone too. And I even rode the subway for the first time.
Back at my hotel now, and I have to show you a photo. It's just nuts.
