Banking in Argentina offers benefits for expats. However, Argentina is definitely not a country like the Cayman Islands when it comes to asset protection, but then again, few places in the world are.
Taxes on assets have to be paid back in the United States, and they are not protected with bank secrecy. In fact, the country has moved in the opposite direction of bank secrecy.
The Asociación de Bancos Argentinos (Association of Argentine Banks), ADEBA is the organization of Argentine-capital banks on the initiative of local banks.
Lief Simon is the managing editor of Global Property Advisor, Simon Letter, and Offshore Living Letter. He has purchased more than 45 properties, investing in 23 different countries around the world.
We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.
Start Your New Life Today, Overseas
Foreigners can open a bank account in Argentina, as long as the appropriate paperwork is in order. It is possible to open an account in pesos as well as in dollars.the country’s current necessity for foreign monies
However, it is important to know that accounts in dollars are much more scrutinized and controlled than those in pesos. This has to do with to repay its debt.
The forms most Argentine banks require to open the equivalent of a checking account (cuenta corriente) are:
A minimum deposit also is often required. In order to open a savings account, the individual must be a permanent resident in Argentina.
Start Your New Life Today, Overseas
The benefits for opening a local bank account are mostly related to doing business.
In order to have a local credit card, as well, it is necessary to have a bank account in Argentina.
While all places that accept credit cards in person also will accept foreign cards. But, any online purchases in Argentina are only possible with local cards.
Setting up automatic payment for bills, whether cellphone or other, also is only possible with a local card.
Anyone who is employed and paid legally on paper in Argentina will have a bank account, even as a foreigner.
Companies deposit employees’ salary at the start of each month directly into their bank accounts.
Each company chooses where it wants to bank, so, as a result, people might have accounts at different banks depending on where, say, their family opened accounts for them prior to them being employed.
Another current advantage to having an account in Argentina is for keeping currencies separate.
Most people who are making money in pesos and also have foreign money or funds overseas will try to keep the pesos separate and in Argentina.
Because of inflation in Argentina, a historically plaguing problem, the preference is to keep pesos separate and spend them separately.
Start Your New Life Today, Overseas
A few international banks operate in Argentina, including HSBC and Citibank.
Most importantly, for foreigners who already have accounts in those banks elsewhere, it is a streamlined and relatively easy process to open an account at that respective bank in Argentina.
Those two banks, along with Santander, are the largest in Argentina.
Foreigners are not usually allowed to borrow money from an Argentine bank.
Loans and financing options already are uncommon and rarely offered in Argentina as is.
What is common are payment options called cuotas, where many retailers and service providers (such as a travel agency) allow people to make payments over time rather than all upfront.
People often choose to keep their money out of the country and bring it in through wire transfers such as with MORE or Western Union at least for initial investments.
While this incurs a cost, it is lower than the loss of transferring the money at the black market rate.
Start Your New Life Today, Overseas
Lief Simon is the managing editor of Global Property Advisor, Simon Letter, and Offshore Living Letter. He has purchased more than 45 properties, investing in 23 different countries around the world.
We Value Your Privacy! We will not share your email address with anyone else, period.
In Argentina’s larger cities, an impressive amount of the local population speaks English. Plus, they are eager to practice with foreigners. Even though you can get by speaking only English, it’s always better to pick up a few basic Spanish phrases.
Sign up for FREE and learn how to live the good life on a modest budget, find bargain property, and more. Plus, check out our free report on the 10 BEST PLACES TO RETIRE.
RETIRE OVERSEAS AND LIVE LIKE ROYALTY
Sign up to receive the FREE daily e-letter, Overseas Opportunity Letter and we’ll immediately email you our editors’ latest research report…
BEST PLACES TO RETIRE
FREE REPORT:
© 2008 - Live and Invest Overseas - All Rights Reserved.
. '
. '
. '
. '
. '
