| Author | Message | ||
     Roberto Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 634 Registered: 12-2004 |
This topic deserves its own thread... | ||
| Cynthia Edelberg New member Username: Morggan Post Number: 1 Registered: 7-2006 |
Hello everyone, I'm a new member. There seems to be a wealth of information out there on how to purchase property in Argentina. Still, I'd like to ask some questions and this forum looks the perfect place... 1. When buying a property... is it necessary to be in Buenos Aires to get the CDI (the tax id)? Or you can name a rep? And if you can, must be a lawyer? I know some real estate companies or advisors that will do this for you, but you must pay them thousands of dollarswhen you enroll in the whole process, and I think I can do it by myself (I know, you will say I'm taking to many risks, but I have a pretty fair judgment myself). 2. For someone who's interested in purchasing an apartment in Buenos Aires, the best way, as I read, for wiring money is through a "casa de cambio". Is it Piano the most reliable? Could you recommend another name? Someone named a Private Bank. Is it the same as Casa de Cambio? What private bank is that one? 3. Do you need to open an account at casa de cambio to receive your own money in Buenos Aires? 4. Do you need to be there to cash in your funds? Or you can name a rep? 5. Suppose the money arrives safe and sound to casa de cambio (or wherever). Then, once the money is there, what do you do? Hire a gunned guard to help you leave the place with a bag full of dollars? How do you handle the cash? Well, that's more than enough for a first timer. Hope I don't bother you too much with so many questions. And thanks in advance to all of you. Hope someone can help. | ||
| Riyad Anabtawi Member Username: Riyada Post Number: 61 Registered: 12-2005 |
Hi Cynthia My experience: You need a CDI to purchase property or a car, and you have to do it yourself. It is (was) very easy, you need 2 witnesses to testify your residence : could be any temporary residence. No need to open an account in casa de cambio. Just ask for wire instructions, and wire the funds. The cash is handed to you over the counter. Piano is well known. Reputable place. When the funds arrive, make sure you use an address of someone you dont like very much, cos some insider in the casa de cambio might want to call some thieves to go get your money. hahaha.. True here in Mendoza. Most casas de cambio will offer an armed guard, whom they have on location, to follow you to your car, after all, they made money on the commission. Cheers | ||
| Cynthia Edelberg New member Username: Morggan Post Number: 2 Registered: 7-2006 |
Riyad, thanks, that's speed of light! Thanks for the thorough reply. So you mean I must be there to get the CDI? I read somewhere (I guess it was apartmentsba.com but am not sure now) that you can hire someone who will get the id for you. Otherwise, how someone who's overseas may end up buying property without even stepping on the plane? Yes, I think the story is at apartmentsba.com. What I want to know is if you can hire a rep to get the CDI for you? | ||
| Riyad Anabtawi Member Username: Riyada Post Number: 62 Registered: 12-2005 |
Cynthia That I am not sure about hiring a rep.. In my view, I wouldnt want to be away or not present when I am making such important decisions such as investing heavieshly. If you know woot oy mean. Riyad | ||
| Cynthia Edelberg New member Username: Morggan Post Number: 3 Registered: 7-2006 |
I see your point. it's true. Has anybody here did the actual purchase through a casa de cambio? Is it easy to get away (even with an armed man) with a bag full of dollars? Looks to me nuts. Is it the real story or is it that may be the big guys like apartmentsba.com who are doing their own business (like real estate brokers) would hire a place in a bank, and you would, let's say, would wire your money from your own acct at Citibank US to Citibank BA, and do the whole transfer of deeds in the same bank. That would make more sense, right? than running with tons of cash around the city. Is anyone here able to tell his experience? | ||
| Tom Woodson Member Username: Diverdown48 Post Number: 93 Registered: 6-2006  |
I have a question What is the fee for Cambio. It has been my experience that fees can be very high when dealing with financial institutions. I know that American Express has an office in Buenos Aires where you can cash Amex travelers checks and recieve pesos or dollars. I have done it myself. They charge a fee but you can find out the exact amount by calling American Express. Good luck. | ||
| Roberto Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 625 Registered: 12-2004 |
Welcome Cynthia! Only someone who has done so can really answer. You can't get away with "in-bank" transfers. All money transfered into the banking system is settled by the central bank and there is paperwork to be filled, unless it is up to 3k/month from personal account to personal account for the purpose of 'family help'. The 'casas de cambio' may do something even simpler. They may ask you to wire funds to a bank in an offshore location and then you could collect the equivalent in pesos in Argentina. So no transfer takes place. Casas de cambio can fund this type of operations. Argentines wouldn't mind because they *know* how this works but for the average american this may look like an out-of-the-body experience. No receipts, no reference numbers... notin. The best and most secure route would be to go through a bank and cope with all the paperwork. Walking out any place with a bag full of dollars is always risky. | ||
| Cynthia Edelberg New member Username: Morggan Post Number: 4 Registered: 7-2006 |
Hi Roberto, Sorry, but I still don't get it. You say there is no way to transfer "in-bank" unless it's under 3k. So how do you go then and do "the best and most secure route" which is to "go through a bank and cope with all the paperwork"? Is there a way to transfer 100.000 from Citibank US to Citibank BA? | ||
| Roberto Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 626 Registered: 12-2004 |
> would wire your money from your own acct at Citibank US to Citibank BA I said that in response to the above, meaning that although the accounts may belong to one owner in one bank, you are actually dealing with 2 countries and 2 different banking systems. So it is not like wiring from your Citibank account in Mississippi to your Citibank account in New York. This can't be thought of as an intrabank transfer. Your funds travel from one country to another. Because of this, many more regulations come into play. Some may not make sense at all and are regulations that have been created due to specific problems in each country. Yes, you can transfer all the money you want from your Citibank account in USA to the one you or someone else owns in Citibank Buenos Aires but be prepared to fill out a lot of paperwork. Even so, this is a safe route. You can transfer up to 3k from any place in the world to your savings account in Argentina for purposes of 'family help' with minimum paperwork, just filling in a simple form when the funds arrive. Remember, these are dollars that need to be converted into pesos and the central bank will not do so if they can't "account" for that transaction. So 'family help' helps them categorize all those annoying minor transactions. But anything above this may require a different justification. If someone sells you property and you wire a large amount, the argentine bank may ask the seller for an invoice. In Argentina, the official currency is pesos. Whatever money arrives through banking has to be exchanged. The central bank does this while accounting for the operations, like when argentine exporters receive foreign payments for selling grain. Transactions that are less common are difficult to handle by the domestic regulations. An argentine based company that sells over the internet -and only to foreigners- will have to cope with a nightmare of paperwork to justify the incoming foreign funds. They will have to present special type of invoices that can only be obtained through the local IRS. And they will have to do this every time there are incoming funds. So it is not like you can wire dollars and magically have argentine pesos in you *argentine-american* bank account... There is a reason why people would opt for the "casas de cambio" greater risk and walk through the door with a bag full of money. Should you find someone that has done this in a different way please post the information here! | ||
| Cynthia Edelberg New member Username: Morggan Post Number: 5 Registered: 7-2006 |
Roberto, thank you. Your information is priceless. So you mean most people would rather use casa de cambio for their wiring. But someone said wiring money through casa de cambio is not quite legal. What portion of the transaction is black? Would that hinder my possibilities of getting the money safe and sound, and as quick as possible? Being both illegal (please correct me if I'm wrong) and risky, isn't it worth to fill the paperwork? | ||
| Roberto Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 630 Registered: 12-2004 |
Cynthia, I do not know what most people do. I only said some people would opt for that option, according to what I heard. Furthermore, I do not know with certainty why they would make that decision as I have never talked to anyone who has done this and I have never requested myself a transaction like this through a 'casa de cambio'. I only know about the banking system because I have dealt personally with local banks in order to transfer different amounts of money. And in light of my experience with how the whole system works, I stated a personal opinion expressing no surprise in people looking into alernative ways of handling transfers. This is as much as I can say... For what is legal or not you may want to contact a lawyer in each country, or at least, one in Argentina. | ||
| Roberto Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 631 Registered: 12-2004 |
I am adding this too... The answers you are trying to obtain will very likely not be found in any forum or private messaging. I am pretty sure anyone trying to transfer funds has found what worked for them through small trial and errors, first ATMs, then small transactions through banks, then friends, then casas de cambio, then other friends and so on. Along this route, you may bump into a solution that fits your needs, perhaps. | ||
| Tom Woodson Member Username: Diverdown48 Post Number: 94 Registered: 6-2006 |
It is my understanding you have to be an Argentine citizen to open a bank account there. Does anyone know for sure about this? Banks charge fees for their services. I do not know the amounts. I once had a small check for forty or fifty dollars. I found out that to cash it at the local bank in Argentina would cost more than the check was worth. So I just waited to get back to the US to cash it. If you are going to use Citibank call them or visit their web site. Here is a list of banks in Argentina http://www.escapeartist.com/argentina12/banco.htm If you call citibank It would be interesting to know what they said whether you decide to go that route or not. Good luck | ||
| Cynthia Edelberg New member Username: Morggan Post Number: 6 Registered: 7-2006 |
Roberto, thanks again for your insight. The idea of trying different ways is interesting, although I don't have much time to do my own search... that's why I posted my question here. I have an account with Citibank and I will call the officer during next week and post his answer. I thought having a Citi Gold Card would allow me to cash out from a BA branch all the money needed to purchase the apartment. I have no idea if this will be more difficult or more expensive than a regular exchange office. Moreover, if it were so easy as to go use both Citibank ends for the whole transaction, then why people would stick with the primitive and risky way? I'm scratching my head... If there is any other guy out there who would like to contribute with their experience, I'd be glad to know. I read Apartmentsba.com use a system called "private bank", and there seems to be a lot more guys who have been doing quite a lot of transactions and know exactly how to do it. I'd be happy to hear from them. | ||
| Riyad Anabtawi Member Username: Riyada Post Number: 64 Registered: 12-2005 |
So much confusion Dont have to be an Argentinian to open an account here in Arg. Only need a CDI, plus I wouldnt even dream about opening one permanently. | ||
| Roberto Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 633 Registered: 12-2004 |
Like Tom suggested, please post here the answer of the officer when you have it. I would not be surprised if the answer is that you can't do it. If 'private bank' refers to private banking, then, what you may need is to open an account with a broker such as Goldman or Merrill or many others. Most commercial entities are now associated to their own private banks whether they have purchased an institution or struck a deal. For example, Regions in the US works together with Morgan Keegan (I think they were bought by UP, which were bought in turn by Regions). A private banking account is different than a commercial or savings account and is subject to different regulations too. I am not an expert on this subject but even if you move your money through private banking you may still end up -at some point- depositing/collecting/transfering that money to a commercial bank. Another hurdle, since many of these brokerage houses have left Argentina or have small offices... That is why Uruguay always come back. Let's wait to hear from your officer... Tom, if I am correct you do not need to be an argentine citizen to open an account. What you need is PROOF of residence, which normally means that your DNI has your argentine address. Which in turn may require a signed declaration from your closest police station called proof of address. Expats/foreigners who have become residents may know more about it. | ||
| Tom Woodson Member Username: Diverdown48 Post Number: 95 Registered: 6-2006 |
thanks Roberto Hopefully someone does have that answer. I know that you can transfer funds from a US bank account to a foreign bank account. But again the guestion goes back to can a foreigner have an account in Argentina. I will be in Buenos Aires soon. Anyone know what the weather is like there now. | ||
| Tom Woodson Member Username: Diverdown48 Post Number: 96 Registered: 6-2006 |
Riyad What documents do I need to bring with me to open an account in an Argentine bank besides my passport? I know for a fact I cannot get a regular cell phone account in Argentina. I can buy a phone and the little prepaid chips but not a regular account that is billed by the amount of usage. I have tried unsuccessfully to do so at several different phone dealers. | ||
| Riyad Anabtawi Member Username: Riyada Post Number: 65 Registered: 12-2005 |
Tom Get the dough over via a casa de cambio. Someone here said it was illegal. I dont get that .. Documents to open a bank account: CDI (for that you need 2 witnesses to prove your residence, could be temporary) and ID (passport) CDI is like a Social Security Number. It is an unique ID number. You would need that to do all financial transactions, like buying property, cars etc.. This is getting frustrating. Why so much queries to such a simple task? | ||
| Tom Woodson Member Username: Diverdown48 Post Number: 97 Registered: 6-2006 |
One who knows how to do a task can call it simple. One who doesn't can question how to make it simple. Thanks, now I know. And maybe someone else does also. | ||
| Cynthia Edelberg New member Username: Morggan Post Number: 7 Registered: 7-2006 |
Me too, I find this thread really enlighting, and I thank everyone for sharing their piece of information. I'll post what I hopefully get from citibank. Have a great weekend (gosh, here's 100 *F, we're melting) | ||
| movingtoargentina.typepad.com Junior Member Username: Sapphos Post Number: 39 Registered: 2-2006 |
Cynthia, regarding getting a CDI without being here, probably it is possible but it would essentially require someone being paid off somewhere along the way to turn a "blind eye" to the fact you're not there. We had a difficult time getting our CDI (Clave de Identificacion) in the province of Buenos Aires. This was because AFIP (this is the office that issues your CDI http://www.afip.gov.ar/) has begun a campaign to require foreigners to get a Power of Attorney for a local rep/contact from someone who is a resident. Theoretically this POA means that AFIP can make sure you pay your taxes when you're supposed to and that you don't just let your property sit for several years accumulating taxes they want to collect. Residents often let their taxes accumulate until they sell a property but the tax office has started a campaign to collect back taxes on everything from property to luxury cars etc. However in the city itself, it's often for whatever reason much easier. You need to go to the local police station near where you are living (you could be living in a hotel for a short term) with your passport and ask for a Certificado de Domicilio. They will usually show up within 24 hours to verify you live there (in the suburbs this is one thing they didn't do for us, they issued it right there with our lease). Next, you take your certificado de domicilio and passport and go to the AFIP office in the area that covers the residence which you can find by going to this link at AFIP http://www.afip.gov.ar/servicios_y_consultas/consu ltas_en_linea/datos_de_dependencias/agencias/agenc ias_main.asp put in your street address and the local office will pop up. Get there early as a line forms outside. The tricky part is that once you get in, everyone runs like crazy to get a ticket so they won't be there all day, but you have to know which area to head for. A good way is you have someone with you who speaks Spanish, and then if you're not sure, you collect numbers from all of them  If you sleep here, you'll definately be the last one in line. With your CDI as has been said, you can buy property, cars, and you will be able to open a savings account at places like Banco Rio - although it could take you a few banks to find one willing to open the account. About the cambista or casa de cambio. There are possibilities to have the seller meet you at the cambio and do the transfer thereby taking the worries off of you to walk out with the cash. Many people have done this. Also, remember that if you transfer money to a bank account here, it will go to pesos and then back to dollars effectively causing a slight loss in your transfer. Last but not least. Citibank Argentina is a separate entity from Citibank N.A. You must get used to the fact that this is how it works. I was told that by more than one person in the U.S. as well as here. It's the same for HSBC and many other international banks. We don't even use our Citibank card here to withdraw money at Citibank atms as we get a better exchange rate at other banks. However, we are allowed to take out more money at one time than many other U.S. atm/debit cards allow. Hope this helps to clarify some things. | ||
| Apartmentsba.com Member Username: Saint Post Number: 68 Registered: 5-2005 |
There is so much false information out there. Personally, I wouldn't use message boards to make important financial decisions. The information above is wrong when one poster says that getting a CDI "essentially requires someone getting paid off along the way" if you aren't in the country". That couldn't be more wrong. You should use a proper Power of Attorney apostillized with a Hague Convention Seal and sent to Argentina and you can have your lawyer or representitive get your CDI number for you. I've done it over 100 times for my clients. Actually you can purchase a property never even stepping foot into Argentina. The sad fact is that most foreigners don't know the complex ever changing laws/regulations here. The poster WAS correct when they said that as a foreigner you must have a local resident or Argentina corporation in charge of handling tax matters including paying your property "asset tax" each year. Most foreigners aren't even aware they are supposed to pay this asset tax since their realtors or lawyers never mentioned it. There are very severe penalties for not being up to date on it. I can't tell you how many people aren't aware of this until they try to sell their property. Remember, as a foreigner you can NOT sell your property without a permit from AFIP allowing you to sell it. They will of course check to make sure you are up to date on ALL your taxes including asset taxes and rental taxes (if you are renting out your property). If you aren't paying asset taxes, you better find a local or a local company to represent you. You will have problems if you don't. It IS possible to open a bank account without a DNI number but it's not easy. Most don't allow you to and technically you should have a DNI number. Personally, I wouldn't keep much money in it. Due yourself a favor and keep most of your cash offshore in the USA/Europe. Remember that most of these casa de cambios are not "white". Granted the majority of the transactions are in "black/blue" but that is no excuse if you have problems later. Also remember you should use a known and trusted entity. Basically what you are doing is wiring cash to THEM. It's unfortunate but many people buying here in Argentina have no clue about the process or laws or procedures and they act in a way they wouldn't in their home country. For example, in the USA, you wouldn't use an attorney that doesn't speak English, you wouldn't buy without knowing the regulations, you wouldn't wire cash to a stranger, etc. Don't do it just because you are in South America. If anything, you should be even more vigilent. Just some free advice for you. Good luck all. | ||
| Cynthia Edelberg New member Username: Morggan Post Number: 8 Registered: 7-2006 |
Thank you to you both (movinargentina and apartmentsba) for taking time to answer to my question. Thanks Roberto to open this interesting thread (I stemmed out of my question! wow) Saint, your free advice is appreciated. Seems to be more there that you know and that you wouldn't release so easily. I spoke with a friend (A) today who did sent money to Argentina recently. Actually, it was money he lent to a friend (B) who's living and working in Argentina in a translation company. This is what he did: A, who lives in NY, wrote a check of $15,000 and sent it to Argentina with an acquaintance (C) who was traveling that night. C in turn, handed the check to B. B went to casa de cambio and spoke with someone called D there. This is the tricky part of the thing. You must know "someone" at casa de cambio. D was an acquaintance of my friend's father (E)! (believe me it's true). So A from NY called E in Argentina, who then called D and said: "John is OK". D opened the back door of casa de cambio to John and received the check. Now, listen what happened!! Without even asking a question, without even waiting for clearance (which would have taken days), D gave B $15,000 in cash!!! A pile of cash and no receipt!!. Amazing!!!! And I must tell you that my father's friend is not a politician, not a movie star, just a regular person who happens to do lots of business with casa de cambio, and is a well known and respected person there. So all one needs is someone who knows someone at casa de cambio and the whole world is at your feet!! Now I understand how so many people end up getting hundreds of thousands of dollars there without moving a finger. I guess the "illegal" part of it is that the money actually never hit the Argentine bank system. It's always offshore. I guess the same can be done with, not just $15,000 but $100,000 to purchase a house. Is it? | ||
| Cynthia Edelberg New member Username: Morggan Post Number: 9 Registered: 7-2006 |
Actually, it was somewhat less than $15,000 as casa de cambio cashed in a commision of 1.5% | ||
| Roberto Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 636 Registered: 12-2004 |
Cynthia, you just witnessed an argentine-out-of-the-body experience... On a more serious note, the only part that was illegal in that transaction was not the 'out of the system exchange' but getting into a plane with more than 10k without reporting it. Someone correct me, but I think you cannot enter or leave the US with more than that. Or is this cash only? Checks travel back and forth all the time as commisions get paid this way. And casas de cambio can act as clearing houses as much as Publix or Kroger can cash you your checks locally. Even private prestamistas can. | ||
| Cynthia Edelberg New member Username: Morggan Post Number: 10 Registered: 7-2006 |
For what my friend said, I understand that it's illegal the way casa de cambio handled the transaction, because it didn't deposit the check in an Argentine account. They just sent the check to some fiscal paradise, and gave the guy cash dollars. So in fact the check "never was" there (the guy at casa de cambio could have said "I didn't see any check. What check?"). It's like the check flew straight from NY to a fiscal paradise. Was a win-win situation, as my friend's friend ended up getting bucks righ on the spot. Moreover, he paid a comparable low commission. I heard commisions can be much higher. And the exchange house will charge commisions two times! --dollars to pesos and the back to dollars. Because no deposit was made, he saved "one way". | ||
| Apartmentsba.com Member Username: Saint Post Number: 69 Registered: 5-2005 |
Just so all of you know how these casa de cambios work let me explain it to you. Officially, all money entering Argentina is supposed to go through the Central Bank. All u$s dollars are by law converted to pesos with a spread so the bank makes some money off the exchange rate. Then most purchases are in u$s dollars so the pesos must be converted back to u$s dollars. Also with a spread. There is NO free way of getting any large sum of money in u$s dollars short of carrying it on the airplane and not declaring more than u$s 10,000 which is also illegal. The way these exchange houses work is your money NEVER enters Argentina. You send it from your USA bank (or wherever your money is) and you send it to most likely Frankfurt, Switzerland, London or New York City in a bank account of the casa de cambio. Then they charge a commission. (Going rate these days is about 2% of the amount you are sending). They give you the amount you sent minus their commission of usually 2%. Your money never officially entered Argentina. That's why they say it's "black". Most transactions take place this way. Really, the reason why many people including locals do it this way is not to save money but to save time. It's a real hassle going through the Central bank and it involves paperwork and time. On many complex or even easy deals, there is no time to wait for the processing of the transfer through the Central bank. I've never heard of a casa de cambio accepting checks. Checks are NOT common in Argentina. Cash is king. | ||
| Roberto Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 638 Registered: 12-2004 |
> I've never heard of a casa de cambio accepting checks. Not common, but it's one of those 'who you know' things. If you happen to get paid by foreign checks for some reason, say a commision, and have developed a trusted relationship with someone in a casa de cambio, they'll take it -at a discount, of course-. | ||
| Cynthia Edelberg New member Username: Morggan Post Number: 11 Registered: 7-2006 |
1.5% or 2.0% is really no big deal. I don't think Citi Gold would give me a better deal. As of what Saint said, that checks are not common in Argentina, well, my friend (the guy who sent money) told me that people used to work with checks all the time. They just transfer the checks from hand to hand, like cash. They just sign on the back and the check is yours, and then is passed to the next. Wired. He doesn't know whether they keep doing the same, but some years ago was everyday business. He says it was even more common than cash. | ||
| Roberto Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 640 Registered: 12-2004 |
> They just transfer the checks from hand to hand, like cash. I think many years ago legislation was passed to ban this behaviour and that only one 'endorso' was authorized for post-dated checks. Someone may know more about the present regulations. This was common in the old days for what became known as 'cheques voladores'. I saw some myself that had been signed by 20 other people. By the time the check was ready for clearing, that last guy never saw a coin. | ||
| elizabeth gordon New member Username: Babeth Post Number: 5 Registered: 5-2006 |
I just tranfered over US100,000 with BNP Paribas. No casa de Cambio needed. All I needed to open the account was a CDI number and reference from my bank. THe entire transfer includung the exchange from dollar to peseos back to dollars was 1%. I talked to Banco Patagonia and Banco Frances and there requirements were pretty similar. CItibank needs you to already have a bank account set up as does Bank Boston (for a least 6 months and HSBC. The annoying part is showing where the money is coming from (salary, stocks you may have sold...). They just want to make sure you are not laundering money. Every bank now asks that inclusing Banco Piano. | ||
| craig shell New member Username: Craig Post Number: 2 Registered: 8-2006 |
I would like to compliment you on this forum, This is my first time posting here.Yesterday I spoke to HSBC new york office, international banking division. I was told I could open up a international dollar denominated account. Witch would allow me to deposit dollars in the USA then withdraw dollars in Argentina with no charges. To do this one would need to satisfy two Argentine banking requirements 1.) a CDI 2.) the account would need to active for one year prior to withdrawing funds in Argentina. dos this sound plausible or am I missing something? | ||
| Eric Baeder New member Username: Doggieboy Post Number: 3 Registered: 7-2006 |
Craig: You are correct, this is an excellent forum. I can't wait for the response to your post. It's gonna be an eye opener. Eric | ||
| Apartmentsba.com Member Username: Saint Post Number: 70 Registered: 5-2005 |
Do yourself a favor and do NOT listen to what the banks say in the USA as they have no clue what goes on in Argentina. NO, the information they gave you is NOT correct. HSBC in New York City has nothing to do with HSBC in Argentina. Trust me on this. | ||
| craig shell New member Username: Craig Post Number: 3 Registered: 8-2006 |
Saint, as the "resident expert" I must defer to you knowledge on this subject.However can you explain to me how elizabeth gordon transferred $100,000 using BNP Paribas (witch I think is a bank?) and only payed 1% for the entire transfer including the exchange from dollar to peseos back to dollars? Is the rate set by the central bank of Argentina or dos the individual bank have the desecration to charge what they like? It seams to me that if they can charge 1% instead of the standard amount they could just as easily wave the fees if they so desired? | ||
| Apartmentsba.com Member Username: Saint Post Number: 71 Registered: 5-2005 |
Craig, I only posted that because I hear on an almost daily basis Americans emailing or calling me telling me "But Citibank/HSBC/etc told me this...... and it's NOT true". As I mentioned, the banks here are not traditional branches of their USA counterparts. Most of the people you are calling in the USA is some person that doesn't understand the laws/regulations in Argentina. Many give out false information. Elizabeth pointed out that she paid a 1% fee which is quite good. As I mentioned, there is no "Free" way to get u$s dollars here. Your post mentioned, "they said I can withdraw dollars with NO FEES". That is not correct. As Elizabeth pointed out, she paid a 1% fee on the amount she transfered. The fee differs from bank/exchange house to bank/exchange house. Some are more competitive than others. More banks are making it easier to open up accounts with only a CDI number because they are starting to figure out that foreigners are a good source to make money on with transfer fees, etc. They are making good money not doing really anything so it's a good business. Yes, BNP Paribas is a bank. I've closed deals with them before in their Recoleta office. They are quite good and have a security guard at the door all the time. You ask, "could they waive the fee"? Hmm....sure...I guess. But so could a plastic surgeon doing a breast augmentation and the last time I checked..no girls I know got a freebie so expect to pay a % to get money here. Good luck. | ||
| Riyad Anabtawi Member Username: Riyada Post Number: 67 Registered: 12-2005 |
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