Dolar Blue Hoy
Corene Ollig
Do you recommend exchanging for argentinian pesos in the US before going or will I get a better rate on the blue market once there? Also, if it's better to exchange there, how much cash should I bring? I don't want to get robbed with a whole band on me lol. Also, I know the Argentinian govt recently allowed foreign credit cards to have a rate close to the blue dollar rate, but I heard somewhere that it's only for visas and I use mastercard, so does anyone have any more insight on this? I have also heard about Western Union but do you need to setup banking with them to get the favorable rate?
However, if you decide to exchange your funds in the parallel market, the transaction would yield significantly more favorable results. Under the blue dollar exchange rate, your transaction would translate to:
USD 100 = AR$90000* (November 2023).
Frequently, hotels or apartment rental managers (such as those on platforms like Airbnb) offer exchanges of USD at the blue exchange rate. Inquiring with them initially could be a prudent move.
This is no more so the case than with its currency. Officially, US$1 is currently AR$5.29 and 1 is AR$8.10, but this does not reflect the true value of the Argentine pesos in the country. Ever since around the middle of 2012, when the government has made it basically impossible for Argentinians to get access to foreign currency (in an attempt to keep money within the country), there has been a parallel market (known as the blue market, and the rate as dolar blue) in operation for buying and selling foreign currency, with a focus on US dollars.
This, while technically illegal, is very well established and, like many things that are technically illegal in Argentina, a blind eye is turned to it. You can, for example, check the current rate on the blue market on the Buenos Aires Herald website, a prestigious English-language newspaper for the country's capital. Currently, it's at AR$8.60 to the dollar. That's almost 50% more pesos for your dollar than the official rate.
When we first arrived in Buenos Aires in January, we hadn't read up enough and didn't fully understand the situation with foreign currency exchange on the blue market, and we hadn't come with any cash (except for about US$100 as emergency backup money). Therefore, all our spending was with money we withdrew from ATMs on the official rate, meaning we gained nothing and that we spent rather a lot. We also visited Patagonia in this period, which is probably the most expensive part of Argentina, so this was a contributing factor too.
It was in Valdivia, Chile, that we met a couple from the US who convinced us that it was a good idea to take US dollars with us to Argentina when we crossed the boarder to get the dolar blue rate, and we were so glad we did, as because of this, we ended up spending almost half what we had spent on our first period of travel in Argentina, though we also saved money by couchsurfing and travelling overnight a few times.
Although I (Sam) did not cross any boarder between periods 3 and 4 (Zab did go to Uruguay overnight just before, where he withdrew yet more dollars to get the dolar blue rate), I have separated this period out from that which was spent entirely in Buenos Aires because we were travelling around the country rather than being stationary in an apartment the whole time. It's therefore no surprise that our spending was slightly higher during this time, considering as well that we took an unexpected flight from Buenos Aires to Córdoba due to a nationwide bus strike.
The Blue Market got its name from the blue strip in the newer one hundred dollar bills. Basically, it consists of money changers on the streets who give better rates for hard currency. In other words, you get more local currency for your dollar than if you change money in a bank or get money from an ATM. Big notes get better rates, so bringing hundred dollar bills instead of lower currency denominations is the way to make the most of your money.
The blue dollar is the informal name given to the U.S. dollar bills you can find on the blue market. It circulates at a rate of exchange much higher than that of the official Argentinian currency, the Argentinian peso.
NEW! Use your foreign debit/credit card: Since late-2022 Argentina has offered an exclusive and favourable exchange rate for tourists using a foreign debit or credit card. It's not quite the "blue" rate, but it's similar (around 430 pesos per US dollar as of May 2023) and it means you can avoid carrying around large sums of cash. This program is implemented by the credit card companies themselves, so the exact process will depend on which you use. In some cases your purchase will be processed directly at the favourable exchange rate (e.g. with Visa), in others you will initially be charged at the official exchange rate and then the credit card company will reimburse you the difference a few days later (e.g. with Mastercard). Note that this currently only applies to purchases made with a foreign bank card, not cash withdrawals from an ATM machine.
Although the sums traded on the 'blue dollar' market are small, its exchange rate reflects market expectations in Argentina, which is wracked by very high inflation. Prices have risen 115 percent over the past 12 months.
Since that seismic market event, dollar rates in Argentina's black market have skyrocketed almost 60,000%, according to Insider calculations based figures from bluedollar.net, which provides data on the country's informal exchange rates.
Currently hot topic among travelers to Argentina is the foreign tourist dollar exchange rate. Tourist credit card payments will be processed at almost the dollar Blue rate. Actually, it will be the dollar MEP rate which is close to the dollar blue rate. But what about the tourist card payment at the dollar blue rate? Read this article before you make any card payments in Argentina! Check out the video below.
Hi Linda, to get the 21% VAT exemption you need to pay the hotel with an international credit card. Normally the hotel should charge you in the official currency ARS. But of course they can apply the blue rate to it which will end up the same in USD.
The way I see it, everyone in argentine got 54% wage cut. The problem here now, as devaluation of pesos will continue by 2% every month, that it is good for exports, but bad for imports. So business wins here. Second thing here is that the common people will search for dollars even more, when you know that your purchasing power is lower every month. I suppose, give it some time, a month, and the blue dollar market will rise again.
You should talk about the option of using Western Union to transfer money to yourself. Western Union uses the blue dollar rate. It is very practical , easy to do and avoids you carrying piles of us dollar cash. There are Western Union offices everywhere in Argentina. Thanks
In December 2015, US dollar exchange restrictions were removed in Argentina following the election of President Mauricio Macri. As a result, the difference between the official rate and the unofficial "blue" rate almost disappeared for a time.
At the end of 2011, exchange control measures were implemented, which managed to reduce capital flight by 85%. One consequence of these measures was the appearance of multiple exchange rates and a parallel market (colloquially called the blue dollar), which was accessed by individuals and companies. Special official exchange rates are sometimes created and abolished, to support sectors of the economy. There has been a "soybean dollar"; a special rate for exports from regional economies was applicable between 20 November and 30 December 2022.[52]
El dólar blue se comercializa con una leve aumento este 29 de diciembre. La divisa paralela sube $15 respecto al cierre anterior. Así las cosas, el dólar blue en la punta vendedora está a $1015 y se compra a $995.
El lunes de la semana pasada, el Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA) bajó 23 puntos porcentuales la Tasa Nominal Anual (TNA), lo que impacta en el rendimiento que pagan los depósitos a plazo fijo y puede volcar a los ahorristas a la adquisición de dólar blue.
A taxa de câmbio do dólar blue não é regulamentada, por ser uma comercialização paralela ao mercado oficial. Por isso, é super volátil, sem qualquer padronização, e sujeita a variações por questões políticas e econômicas.
El dólar oficial inició este 31 de diciembre a $787,25 para la compra y $827,25 para la venta, mientras que el dólar blue comenzó la jornada a $980,00. para la compra y $1000,00. para la venta, según el Banco Central de Argentina.
El dólar blue arrancó este martes con una suba en su precio, pero luego bajó y actualmente cotiza sin cambios con respecto al viernes. Cotiza a 995 pesos para la venta y a 975 pesos para la compra.
El economista y docente Alejandro Barios habló por Nacional Rosario Fontanarrosa, explicó la coyuntura económica nacional y apuntó contra los especuladores y operadores del dólar blue. "Quisieron generar una estampida de precios y desabastecimiento", señaló.
El dólar blue saltó a un máximo histórico de $171 en la city, mientras las cotizaciones financieras experimentaron un fuerte aumento y el Banco Central vendió en torno a u$s 50 millones en una jornada con renovadas presiones cambiarias.
El dólar blue registró su cuarta alza consecutiva y cerró en el récord $ 359 en la punta vendedora, después de alcanzar un nuevo máximo intradiario, mientras que los tipos de cambio financieros operaron dispares, según las principalescotizaciones del mercado cambiario.
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