Source::AP news
The government has implemented a new regulation allowing visitors using credit and debit cards to get more pesos than the official rate gives. One dollar was officially worth 157 Argentine pesos. But in the unofficial market, commonly referred to as the “blue dollar,” it could be worth as much as 285 pesos. And in the system that will now be used by credit card operators it was at 292.
The government hopes the new rule for credit and debit cards will discourage all-cash transactions that leave cash-laden tourists more vulnerable to robbers and also often deprive the government of sales taxes that are frequently ignored if there is no electronic trail.
The government also imposes different taxes on converting foreign currency depending on what it will be used for, leading to rates that have colloquial names like the “Qatar dollar” for travelers (a reference to the World Cup), the “Netflix dollar” for streaming services and the “Coldplay dollar” to book foreign artists to play in the country.
Argentines can also buy dollars through the financial markets via operations through bonds or stocks but pay a peso price similar to that in the informal market.
“You can almost hear the blood drain out of their voice when they realize this,” said Jed Rothenberg, owner of a travel agency that specializes in trips to Argentina.
“The vast majority of people are just confused: ‘You mean there’s more than one exchange rate and that one of these can be as much as a double or even triple-digit difference?’,” said Rothenberg.
“They’re just using their credit card, they don’t care about the details. If they actually make this work, Argentina could be one of the top tourist destinations within the next couple of years, especially with how expensive the U.S. and Europe are right now.” He added.
“The reason why no one can really answer how much a peso is worth is because “it’s worth something different for each person. The government has been segmenting the market. There is no one value, there are multiple prices depending on who you are or what operation you want to do,” said Martín Kalos, an economist who is a director at Epyca Consultores, a local consultancy._AP news
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