Western Union

[StatusNomadicus]

Venezuela

lots of hard workers here. and you'd think 100% of them would be as anti-Collectivist as so many of the Cuban exiles are in Miami/USA. or the people who fled the Soviet Union. or ex-North-Korean types. it's amazing that such an oil-rich country like Venezuela can add socialism and get mass-suffering in so short a time.

very nice story @GraceHill and very kind

@Darksider415 sounds way easier that way, but at a premium. for those new to WU, earlier in this thread there is advice on how to look for free transfer offers:

Western Union

I sent myself funds via WU today this morning. I got 1015 pesos for $1 US.

www.expatsba.com

 

[GraceHill]

lots of hard workers here. and you'd think 100% of them would be as anti-Collectivist as so many of the Cuban exiles are in Miami/USA. or the people who fled the Soviet Union. or ex-North-Korean types. it's amazing that such an oil-rich country like Venezuela can add socialism and get mass-suffering in so short a time.

very nice story @GraceHill and very kind

@Darksider415 sounds way easier that way, but at a premium. for those new to WU, earlier in this thread there is advice on how to look for free transfer offers:

Western Union

I sent myself funds via WU today this morning. I got 1015 pesos for $1 US.

www.expatsba.com

Thank you! Yes, I found the hardest working people and the best Uber drivers were from Venezuela. Not to say the Argentine Uber drivers weren't friendly but I haven't been too impressed in many stores with the local workers. It is almost as if they are doing you a favor to help you which is their job. I realize with the poor economy they are probably not in the best mood but I just thought it was interesting that the Venezuelans that we met wanted Argentina to improve so it wouldn't go the way of Venezuela. It was interesting to hear that.

 

[earlyretirement]

I never use WU to send funds to my local bank account. The fee always seems crazy high. I also just use Remitly to send funds to my local bank account when I need to. The exchange rate isn't as good but the fee is usually only $2.99 to send. Funds usually take 3 business days to land into my local Argentine bank account.

 

[Rick]

Rate hasn't moved. Today was 1239.50 pesos to $1 US.

 

[llantas]

Bummer. I did a transfer this morning and the rate was only 1,170 to $1 USD. Looks like MEP, Blue rate have also gone down too.

 

[MikeRoss]

WU rate is continuing to fall. Today I only got 1,156.67 to $1 USD.

 

[Vince]

Rate has been going down for the past week. My sister in town just got 1,108.50 this weekend.

 

[Flamingo]

The rate today by the way was 1,118.25 to $1 USD.

 

[Uncle Wong]

The WU rate is falling every day now. I got 1081 today. Ouch.

 

[Larry]

The WU rate is falling every day now. I got 1081 today. Ouch.

Every day it gets more and more expensive.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

1081

yep, looks like 1081 all weekend. https://www.westernunion.com/us/en/home.html

 

[fetch rover]

I am curious what do people use cash for? My husband said it was formally different before with two different rates but he was pleasantly surprised you can charge almost everything to our US credit cards at a favorable rate. We used Uber everywhere so we didn't need cash there either. The only thing we used cash was for tipping 15% for meals but that was really it. Even some shopping in San Telmo street market they took credit cards too.

Am I missing out on something? What do people need so much cash for now?

 

[StatusNomadicus]

Am I missing out on something? What do people need so much cash for now?

some people just use cash and prefer it. they're old-school

but you're correct; 90% of tourists/Expats can use Visa/MC with no issues, and will pay mostly the same as someone walking around with stacks of cash. it's just something that people repeat ad-nauseum so future travelers repeat it.

 

[Betsy Ross]

some people just use cash and prefer it. they're old-school

but you're correct; 90% of tourists/Expats can use Visa/MC with no issues, and will pay mostly the same as someone walking around with stacks of cash. it's just something that people repeat ad-nauseum so future travelers repeat it.

Agreed about some people just repeating about making sure to use cash. I still even see incorrect information on some blogs and Tik Toks telling people to make sure to exchange cash for the best rate. It is true that you can get some 10% to 15% cash discounts but it's a major hassle carrying around cash when the biggest bill that you normally get is only worth around $1 USD.

 

[Larry]

The rate is still 1081 to $1 USD today. I sent in funds today and that is the rate I got.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

I sent in funds today and that is the rate I got.

you don't need to send funds, you can just go to https://www.westernunion.com/us/en/home.html and type in "1" USD and check the "ARS" box

shows 1081 right now, as it did all weekend

 

[BuySellBA]

Agreed about some people just repeating about making sure to use cash. I still even see incorrect information on some blogs and Tik Toks telling people to make sure to exchange cash for the best rate. It is true that you can get some 10% to 15% cash discounts but it's a major hassle carrying around cash when the biggest bill that you normally get is only worth around $1 USD.

This is absolutely correct that there is still a lot of misinformation out there about the need to carry large amounts of cash around to Argentina. Credit cards are very easy to use in most places now and the MEP rate is close to blue. You also have to put a value on your time waiting at Western Union and also the risk factor of possibly getting mugged carrying around cash vs. just paying with credit card.

 

[Flamingo]

Rate continuing to go down. I exchanged today at 1059.22 pesos to $1 USD.

 

[GraceHill]

Adding my data point. The rate I got today was 1,052 to $1 US Dollar.

 

[Digital Nomad]

Looks like the rate continues to fall. I received 1,028 pesos to $1 USD this afternoon.