Banking in Argentina
 

My daughter will be traveling to Argentina for School for a year. Does anyone know about the process by which we can open a bank account for her to access funds in Argentina that I can deposit money into from the U.S.? I live in Southern California. If not, is there a good way to handle this? I am particularly interested in finding out about local banks that have branches in the U.S.

Hi
I am just now researching a trip to Buenos Aires myself, if no one can answer your question, here is another information source.
My understanding was that Americans should not keep much money in Argentine Banks... but I am too ignorant of it all to be able to help with that :)

http://www.travelsur.net/forum/messa...rd-topics.html

She can withdraw money from an American bank, provided she goes to an ATM working with Cirrus--or whatever network you work. Of course, there will be fees + the charges for giving you pesos, instead of dollars.
As an Argentine, let me tell you that you should find out every single detail before depositing a really large amount of money in a local bank--and I don't think opening an account would be particularly difficult for a foreigner.
You could also wire transfer the money to her using Western Union or another similar company.
M.

I think you have to have a DNI number to open an account in Argentina, but I am not absolutely certain of this. What I do know is that you don't want to deposit much money in an Argentine bank....better to use ATMs or Western Union, despite the enormous charge for transfers....

Citibank has quite a few branches in Argentina, I've withdrawn money with my ATM card at their locations in BA and Mendoza with no additional fees. I would open an account with them and give your daughter an ATM card to use for when she needs money. The card also works with other banks in AR and I don't remember ever being charged a fee to withdraw my own money. Just remember, the account needs to be tied to a checking account.

Check with your bank to see if they have operations in Argentina.

I have seen Citibank branches there.

Citibank Argentina is not the same legal entity as Citibank in the USA. Don't assume that you can do as you would do in the United States and use branches interchangeably. It is more complex than that. This being said, you can use citi bank ATMS without problem...but don't expect wire transfers or other services....

We had bad luck sending money through Western Union in Brazil. My brother spent half a day getting to their office and they wanted to know exactly how much had been sent to him.

He knew roughly how much it was. Despite his passport and license, they wouldn't release it since he couldn't say exactly. He was leaving the country and ended up having to abandon the money.

My gut reaction is use the ATM mavchines, you can use a debit card from an account opened in the US to miminilize charges, the one I use charges very little and gives a great rate. As some said be extremely cautions in dealing with banks in Argentina and opening accounts. Even if you can do it, there are many official regulations.
The atm machines I use in Argentina are the ones of Paribas Bank, Itau Bank and Bank of America.

Graziella

Where in Buenos Aires have you found Bank of America ATMs? I bank with BOA in the United States and I can use their ATMs without fees, but I have never seen one of their machines in BsAs. I learn something new every day :)

I had a 1 semester Fulbright at a national university in Argentina and opened a account only because someone from the university I was assigned to was married to a bank employee who helped me open the account. I was advised not to do it otherwise and barely used the account. I found it easy to access funds from home using an ATM, had a supply of old-fashioned traveller's checks, and 2 credit cards- (just in case I had a problem with one.
Is she going independently or with a group or international student program? If so, they should have a process established.