Have you ever heard about the blue dollar? It’s something special in Argentina.
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.
What does that mean in practice?
As of 13th September 2023, I do get 375 Argentinian Pesos (ARS) per Euro
If I pay with a credit card or use a local currency exchange office, I do get around 700 to 710 ARS per Euro
If someone sends you money via Western Union (and yes, you can also send it to yourself) you will get 770 ARS per Euro
and really crazy does it get if you pay in EUR in stores; for example, 900 ARS per Euro:
How does it work?
Visa Card immediately charges you only for the blue dollar. If you pay by Apple Pay and do get a notification from your bank account, it looks, for example, like this:
(701 Pesos per Euro)
If you have MasterCard and American Express, they will charge the original price and refund the money up to 7 days later (MasterCard) or up to two invoice cycles (American Express).
Please have a look here for more information:
What are the “funny” side effects?
- This works well if you get cash at the ATM, so even getting cash is cheaper… You should bring the money home and return it to your currency.
- It really does not help with expensive things like Smartphones or Clothes. For example, a Patagonia sweater costs (in blue dollars) 208€, which is more than twice the price in Germany. Or a Samsung phone is just because of the “discount” at the same price as in Germany. Why? I heard about 50% inbound customs tax….
- Do you plan to have dinner with the locals? You should pay for everyone by credit card and get cash from your friends, dividing the win 🙂
- If you ask the locals what do they think who pays the “discount”, the answer is “our inflation”.
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