I’ve just arrived into Argentina and have been advised that as of the 4th November, international cards will charge at approximately the blue dollar rate, ie you get nearly twice the amount of pesos against the official exchange rate. Does anyone know how this works with monzo since it’s based in pound sterling?
Link to the article below
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-02/argentina-lets-tourists-tap-parallel-fx-rate-to-bring-in-dollars?leadSource=uverify%20wall
Can’t read the article as it’s behind a register-wall, but… they will either force merchants/POS to charge you a different amount in pesos if they see a foreign card, or force to charge in the card’s home currency without giving you a choice, using whatever rate they want.
In normal places there is a choice - charge card in local currency (which is the amount you see on the product label, or the one you have negotiated with the seller), in which case the banks can’t do anything about the rate as it’s set by your own bank in your home country, OR charge card in card’s own currency using the merchant’s bank’s/govt’s exchange rate (which is usually set to a thieving amount).
Not sure what amazing new ways the Argentine govt has come up with this time, please do keep us posted as to how it works.
Also, slightly off topic but really important, try to dress casual (no walking around in an expensive-looking suit), never ever use your wallet or show any amount of cash outside (if you are buying from street stalls keep some cash or a card loose in your pocket so you don’t have to take your wallet out of wherever it is), keep wallet and phone zipped up in inside pockets or bags that hang in front of you, and try not to use your phone too much outdoors while walking abour either.
We’re in Argentina and wondering the same thing. Would very much help if they updated the rate. Here’s an article that’s not paywalled:
(As an FYI, until Monzo / Mastercard updates the rate - look into using Western Union to get cash out at the blue dollar rate in the meantime)
Confirmed Monzo works at the higher MEP rate (blue dollar) with a refund process. It actually turned out to be a bit higher!
22/2/2023 Paid 1990 ARS at 8.60 GBP (231 ARS per GBP)
25/2/2023 Refunded 3.6 GBP, resulting in final rate of 398 ARS per GBP.
For comparison, I exchanged dollars in person here (Patagonia) at a rate of 345 ARS per USD (also offered 360 ARS per USD). Which would mean ~300 ARS per GBP.
Thank you very much for this information. I will be using Monzo in BA and it is great to know I can use my card abroad using the MEP rate.
I would like to add to my previous commnet that I used my Monzo debit card for a payment in pesos and it took a few days but part of the transaction was refunded. For example my $5,220 coffee bill worked out to be £15 at first but in 3 days £6.50 was addded back into my account. So, it worked out to be a exchange rate of $614 for £1.
Hope my comment can add some value to this thread.
Hi there, is there a limit for refunds? I had all my payments doing what you have described but they stopped like a week ago. Is there any limit for refunds?
Hi there,
Any news here, is it confirm that if you pay with Monzo you got the MEP Dollar exchange rate? I am assuming then that it’s better now to pay with card than with cash (even if it’s the debit one)?
Many thanks.
Best,
Alonso