Argentine Bank Accounts

[Miami Bob]

I do business with argentina. If you pm me and describe your needs, I'll put you in contact with english speaking people who can help you with legal transactions[as opposed to the black, illegal] and explain the grey areas. They are not free, but a US$30. consultation can save you time. It costs 5%-10% when you total all the fees to transfer us dollars to the arg from the usa. With larger sums there are safe ways to save money on the transfers.

I you are going to buy an apartment, get some advise. The portenos will take advantage of you if you don't have good
people helping you. I thank the guy upstairs for a good honest accountant and lawyer.

Argentina is difficult. Many Argentines keep their money in Uruguay--the Switzerland of South America.

[Sky Ryder]

I also have tried at two different banks to open an Argentine bank account. I have not had any luck so far, I wanted to do it to make it easier on my novia to get access to her funds, but maintain my name on the account.
I tried the BNP and also RioBanco. I am still not sure how to apply for the DNI and a Argentine passport without someone asking if you have been in the country over 90 days.
Also, anyone who knows a good attorney that could help me deed some proprerty in the country in my name I would be grateful.

Sky

[Closet Boy]

What's the interest rate on a savings account?

[Andres]

Guys:

I'm not sure that you can open a checking account in BA that easily. To do so, you need to present a copy of at least the last-year tax presentation to the local IRS, AFIP (if not the previous 3 years).

Frauds with checks were very common in the past, so authorities and banks had to exert caution on applicants.

Hope this helps,

Andres

[Khoofoo]

I've also tried to open an account at HSBC in Buenos Aires, but I've opted for the branch in Palermo (they're all over) and just a typical "local" account.

So far, it looks like they've managed to open my account without the DNI and I have been able to deal with someone who speaks English, for the most part.

So far, so good, but still too early to tell if this will actually work. It's been almost a MONTH waiting for the debit/ATM card and their customer service is of typical Argentine standard: after the first day my wonderful English-speaking account rep stopped replying to emails and is impossible to get on the phone. The "tramites" necessary to open the account are also of typical Argentine standard.

If simply opening my account is this much fun, I can't wait to see what happens when I have a problem (or there's another run on the bank).

[Bacchus9]

Well, the great White (and the offices are white) Hope ends up in the "almost there" column.

Visited the main office of HSBC at 201 Florida. If you haven't been to this part of BsAs it's worth the sight seeing trip for a taste of the serious business world. Lots of suits and mondo foot traffic.

In short I was told that Argentina doesn't have International accounts where you can go in and open an account with your passport. We knew this all ready but had hope for HSBC's worldly approach to banking.

What you can get with a CUIT right away is the saving account.

What you can get with documents (passport, evidence of address like an electric bill or phone bill or copy of a lease and a stamped ticket that shows that you're in the process of acquiring a DNI and applying for resident visa. You don't have to actually have the docs, but prove you're in process) are two accounts: a peso and a dollar account. This all ready is more than Citibank will offer. However, if you wire money into your account from the U.S. they can pay out only in pesos. And there's a U$50+ fee. So to get them back to U$ you'd have to pay the wire fee, the HSBC transaction fee and the conversion fee of pesos to dollars. I think it's called "dry cleaning".

However these accounts would allow you to conduct business in Argentina. Depositing, writing checks, atm trxns, probably a credit card. You can also get overdraft protection at 2 levels and I forget the exact levels of overdraft but the small level requires a minimum $1,000 peso CD and the next level requries $100,000 peso CD.

However again and this was the disappointment, forget being able to deposit a check drawn on an account outside of Argentina, or at least as I presented it, a check for U$ from the U.S. or Canada. They're not set up for clearing checks from outside the country. Maybe you could deposit a check from another South American country, didn't ask, but seems unlikely.

The good news, you can get one.

The bad news, it's a long ways from being "international".

[Bacchus9]

Traveled to Manhattan from BsAs last week with a list of "things to do", one of them banking. As noted previously HSBC has come to BsAs in a big way recently. In the Tribeca branch, after establishing the fact that I had a New York address, I was able to open an International checking account which supposedly will allow me to operate same through any HSBC branch anywhere, making deposits and writing checks. BsAs will certainly be the test of this theory. I'm awaiting the ATM card and all paraphenalia before bringing my papers to their office on Santa Fe.
Will post again.

[Bacchus9]

Yesterday the peso was weaker against the dollar than it has been in a couple of weeks. Arriving here on Jan. 2, '05 I exchanged dollars at the airport bank for 3 pesos to the dollar. That was the last time I saw that rate. And last week the peso hit 2.85 against the dollar.

Back to yesterday, the online converter sites were showing the interbank rate at 3.03, a recent high, so I grabbed some cash and headed for the bank to try to grab some cheaper pesos. I tried the Citibank machine first withdrawing in pesos and received 2.887 pesos to the dollar. I then went to information desk and the guy quoted 2.86 p to d for over the counter exchanges. When I asked him why the difference he said the window exchange rates are independent of the machine rates. This is the same guy that told me that after getting all my papers in order, and on the basis of having 3 Citibank accounts in the U. S., I could open a savings account only in BsAs.

I stopped at an HSBC bank, they're popping up like mushrooms here just now. They required a minimum exchange of $300 U.S. and offered the sell of a dollar at 2.86 pesos. But when asked about opening a checking account they said that after getting papers in order, a normal checking account could be opened no problem. Maybe, as a result of their new level of activity, they've got a better arrangement with the government than Citibank.

[Jackson]

Thread Starter.