We are getting the same as ricardo.

It seems the ever increasing ATM withdrawal fees are indeed the norm, see below. It might be that a Citibank card, at a Citibank ATM may avoid the fee but I wonder if that is accurate.

http://www.argentinepost.com/2010/03/atm-withdrawal-fee-rises-to-15-50-pesos.html

I was in BA in February and my limit was ARS 900. It seems it varies depending on your bank/card. But definitely the ARS 300 limit from 2008 has been changed.

The use of a Citbank card will not eliminate or reduce the fee. Citibank Argentina is not the same as in the States or elsewhere in the world.

The only cards which will eliminate the fee are locally issued cards(Argentine citizens) or special high deposit overseas accounts will write off all fees for their customers due to special arrangements.

Hi London!

I know with metaphysical certitude that you can get 1,000 Argentine Pesos at a time, because I did it multiple times in February and March, 2010.

We experimented at several machines, trying to increase the yield beyond 1,000. None would give MORE than 1,000 Pesos, but several machines in different cities gave me 1,000 each time.

A few notes for you:

- Not all machines worked for me. A minority seem to be set to local networks that didn't recognize me as a customer. If you run into one, take back your card and go on to the next bank. You should be fine at the next bank.

- One machine was still set to an old lower limit of just 650 Pesos. I harrumphed and went on to the next bank. It gave me 1,000.

- Argentina seems to have certain exchange controls in place that prevented me from exchanging my Argentine Pesos back to either Chilean Pesos or, when I arrived home, Canadian dollars. Even the Canadian bank where I regularly do business turned me down. Don't bring a wad of Argentine Pesos out of the country. If you reach the airport with a lot of Argentine cash still in your wallet, consider blowing it in the duty free shop.

Happy travels, and let me know if I can help further. And if you need a couple hundred dollars in Argentine cash to get you started, I'm at your disposal!

David

capetien10@gmail.com

Citibank does charge you a fee, but it has a higher withdrawal limit (only if you already have a citibank account in another country from which you are withdrawing the money)

Three weeks ago, I withdrew 2500 pesos in a single transaction from the Citibank ATM on Santa Fe and Colonel Diaz. I was charged a fee of approx. 40 pesos. (I think it's a percentage, so you would be charged lesser for a smaller amount)

Go during banking hours, and ask the lady at the helpdesk before you withdraw your money. Apparently only 2 out of the 4 machines give you the higher limit, and she will point out which ones to use.

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Capetien,

Argentina isn't prohibiting you from converting your AR cash back to Canadian currency at home. In November, 2008, Canadian currency wholesalers – those Canadian businesses that supply our banks with the bulk of all their foreign currencies – just lost confidence in the stability of the peso and decided to no longer trade in it. (I ‘phoned the wholesaler to find out why it de-listed the peso. This was the reason given me.) Our banks have no other formal supplier for foreign currencies and so they de-listed it as well. They’d be happy enough to sell it if they could obtain a reliable supply. This has gone on for 1 1/2 years already.

We'd been begging our bank to get us some peso cash for our next trip. Knowing this and the sum we were after, a local branch waited until the next returning traveler from BA asked it to exchange his pesos for him. The bank bought his pesos just to sell them to us. The exchange rate was poor but it was just enough to cover the cab in from EZE and our first 3 days’ expenses.

I don’t recommend that travelers blow their leftover pesos before leaving Argentina. If you hang onto up to or about $US100. worth of them, you’ll avoid a huge hassle of visiting banks each workday at home, making ‘phone calls for 2 weeks and pleading before your next trip to Argentina. I’d value being free of all that stress and wasted time at about $500.

The only 2 countries' wholesalers who have stopped trading in pesos are Canada and Britain.

Thanks for the clarification on that, Ottawa. On my next trip to Bangor, ME I'll see if I can trade my leftover Pesos for US dollars. No one here in Nova Scotia seems to want to take them off my hands.

David