Two international companies that provide credit cards in Argentina began to offer foreign tourists the possibility of paying for consumption in pesos with credit, debit or prepaid cards in dollars and accessing, through this means, an exchange rate similar to the MEP dollar. Market sources confirmed to Télam.
The companies Mastercard and Cabal agreed with Prisma -the main card payment processor in the country- the possibility that its non-resident users in Argentina can pay with their cards consumption in pesos at an exchange rate with the dollar close to $325 instead of the $176 (retail official) that had been reached up to now.
On the other hand, sources from the Visa company told Télam that “it has been ready to implement it for a long time” but that “there are other companies (in the ecosystem) that have to be ready” so that they can make the service effective, therefore, At the moment, the exchange rate does not apply to operations made with your credentials.
Thus the regulation that the Central Bank made at the beginning of November is put into operation, as a way of facilitating its operations and prevent them from going to change their tickets for cash in the informal market and, in addition, it allows a greater formalization of incoming tourism expenses.
Until now, the exchange rate of Banco Nación was used and although it will not be mandatory for companies to offer this service, those that do have the obligation to settle the dollars through the MEP dollar.
The measure – provided through Communication “A” 7630 – exempts from settlement in the exchange market payments made by “non-residents through debit, credit, purchase or prepaid cards issued abroad.”
This implies that all charges for any tourist service in the country contracted by non-residents, including those from wholesale and/or retail travel and tourism agencies in the country or charges for passenger transport services to the country by land , aerial or aquatic, They will be able to access an exchange rate 85% higher than the one they currently accessed.
As official sources explained to Télam, the procedure allows the dollars with which tourists pay to be exchanged for pesos through the financial market, instead of in the wholesale market, and then these pesos are used to pay businesses or services with the MEP dollar exchange rate calculated “with the most liquid bonds”.
Until now, the Banco Nación exchange rate was used and although it will not be mandatory for companies to offer this service, those that do have the obligation to settle the dollars through the MEP dollar.
Around three million tourists will visit Argentina this year, the majority from neighboring countries, equivalent to 85% of the level registered in 2019, before the pandemic, according to calculations by the Tourism portfolio.
The latter is a key factor, since MEP dollar operations -unlike those of the CCL dollar- imply that the person or entity that buys those dollars through the stock market operation then deposits them in a bank in Argentina, through its stockbroker .
In this sense, although the Central Bank will stop receiving the dollars that entered the country through the exchange market, they will serve to increase the gross reserves, since a part of the currencies that enter will form part of the reserve requirements of the deposits. in dollars from the sellers’ accounts.
According to figures handled by the Ministry of Tourism, until now the cards declared operations for an estimated amount of US$30 million per month, while with this new operation the billing could climb to US$250 million.
From the Ministry of Economy They trust that this measure “will push the gap reduction due to a greater supply of dollars” in the MEP.
Around three million tourists will visit Argentina this year, the majority from neighboring countries, equivalent to 85% of the level registered in 2019, before the pandemic, according to calculations by the Tourism portfolio.
