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Cost Money and Banks |
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The Argentine peso , divided into one hundred centavos, was exactly
equal to one US dollar at the time of writing. Recent political upheaval,
however, has led to a major devaluation of the peso and rapidly
fluctuating exchange rates. Please keep this in mind when referring to
any mention of costs throughout this guide. In Argentina, and throughout
this guide, the peso is represented by the "dollar sign" ($). There has
been off-and-on talk of dolarización (adoption of the US dollar as the
official currency and legal tender), but political and popular
resistance has so far stood in its way. Notes come in 2, 5, 10, 20, 50
and 100 peso denominations while 1 peso and 1 (rare), 5, 10, 25 and 50
centavo coins are in circulation. Sometimes people are loath to give
change, as coins are in short supply, so it's a good idea to have plenty
of loose change on your person; otherwise insist that they find change,
if they want to do business. Ask for small denominations at banks if
possible, break bigger ones up at places where they obviously have
plenty of change (busy shops, supermarkets or post offices), and
withdraw odd amounts from ATMs ($90, $190, etc) to avoid getting your
cash dispensed in $100 bills only. In theory you can use US banknotes
(in pristine condition only, and watch for fakes), but not coins or
travellers' cheques, though some places take only Argentine money. ATMs
often give you a choice of pesos or dollars and it might be a good idea
to keep a stock of both, remembering that Argentine money is difficult
to change outside the country, except in Uruguay, or border areas of
Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay, where it may be used as legal tender.
Although very worn or bedraggled notes are sometimes refused, there are
no out-of-date notes or coins still floating about as in some other
countries. In Tucumán and Catamarca provinces bonds ( bonos ) are still
issued, and are totally useless anywhere else in the country. Steer
clear of them if you can, but be aware that their face value is taken as
the same in pesos within the two provinces. Counterfeit notes come into
circulation from time to time, as in most countries, and many businesses
are equipped with authentication devices for checking all paper money.
Costs
Argentina will initially seem extortionately expensive to anyone
arriving from the neighbouring countries, even Chile. Buenos Aires, in
particular, is an expensive city and as a rule of thumb the further
south you travel in the provinces the more your...
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Changing money and getting cash
ATMs ( cajeros automáticos ) are plentiful in Argentina. Very few towns
or even villages have no ATM at all, though you can sometimes be caught
out in very remote places, especially in the Northwest, so never rely
completely on them. Most...
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Credit cards
Credit cards ( tarjetas de crédito ) are certainly useful in Argentina,
given that travellers' cheques are not that practical and in the light
of the abundance of ATMs. They are good for dealing with emergencies,
obviate the need to carry...
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