Has anyone gotten their account closed in the USA from wiring international wires to Argentina?

[ben]

If I can get some advice. I never messed around with wiring funds into Argentina before. I use Western Union and that's the only way. One time my American friend needed cash outside and I wired to his American account and he gave me cash here. But now that I have my DNI and opened up an account here and paying local taxes I need to pay ARCA and taxes here to Argentina. I don't want to use Western Union as it is too much. I have to wire about $6,500 USD per month.

My friend did that and he told me that his bank closed his account for too many wires to Argentina. Is a third party app like Payoneer better? Or maybe send to Wise and then send on?

I set up a local USD account and the bank told me "no problema" and to wire without problems but a friend said they wired to his USD account here and it never made it here. One is going on 3 weeks! Help!

I know there are cuevas but I don't like that option either as a friend used a cueva and it went out of business and they never gave him the money!

 

[Betsy Ross]

If I can get some advice. I never messed around with wiring funds into Argentina before. I use Western Union and that's the only way. One time my American friend needed cash outside and I wired to his American account and he gave me cash here. But now that I have my DNI and opened up an account here and paying local taxes I need to pay ARCA and taxes here to Argentina. I don't want to use Western Union as it is too much. I have to wire about $6,500 USD per month.

My friend did that and he told me that his bank closed his account for too many wires to Argentina. Is a third party app like Payoneer better? Or maybe send to Wise and then send on?

I set up a local USD account and the bank told me "no problema" and to wire without problems but a friend said they wired to his USD account here and it never made it here. One is going on 3 weeks! Help!

I know there are cuevas but I don't like that option either as a friend used a cueva and it went out of business and they never gave him the money!

Why don't you use a cueva? There are many trusted cuevas. I would NOT recommend wiring funds here. I have a US dollar account here and I wouldn't dream of wiring funds to it. I just talked to an American that did and their money is missing and that was 1 month ago. Many such people complaining on X.

 

[Wally]

If I can get some advice. I never messed around with wiring funds into Argentina before. I use Western Union and that's the only way. One time my American friend needed cash outside and I wired to his American account and he gave me cash here. But now that I have my DNI and opened up an account here and paying local taxes I need to pay ARCA and taxes here to Argentina. I don't want to use Western Union as it is too much. I have to wire about $6,500 USD per month.

My friend did that and he told me that his bank closed his account for too many wires to Argentina. Is a third party app like Payoneer better? Or maybe send to Wise and then send on?

I set up a local USD account and the bank told me "no problema" and to wire without problems but a friend said they wired to his USD account here and it never made it here. One is going on 3 weeks! Help!

I know there are cuevas but I don't like that option either as a friend used a cueva and it went out of business and they never gave him the money!

I wouldn't wire to Argentina. That is just inviting problems. Are you really paying that much in Argentina taxes? If so, sounds like you have a serious issue and might need a new accountant. Western Union is too expensive to wire in that kind of money and if you need dollars you are just paying twice. Just use a cueva. Never wire into Argentina. Too many stories. I have a Wise account but I don't think that is any different to wire vs. my bank. If you need an intro to a cueva DM me. Now reason to use WU and I wouldn't wire to an Argentine bank.

 

[earlyretirement]

If I can get some advice. I never messed around with wiring funds into Argentina before. I use Western Union and that's the only way. One time my American friend needed cash outside and I wired to his American account and he gave me cash here. But now that I have my DNI and opened up an account here and paying local taxes I need to pay ARCA and taxes here to Argentina. I don't want to use Western Union as it is too much. I have to wire about $6,500 USD per month.

My friend did that and he told me that his bank closed his account for too many wires to Argentina. Is a third party app like Payoneer better? Or maybe send to Wise and then send on?

I set up a local USD account and the bank told me "no problema" and to wire without problems but a friend said they wired to his USD account here and it never made it here. One is going on 3 weeks! Help!

I know there are cuevas but I don't like that option either as a friend used a cueva and it went out of business and they never gave him the money!

Definitely do NOT wire money to Argentina. Even if you have a US dollar account in Argentina. The banks are the WORST! See this DM I got on X from one of my old clients that has a DNI. His money is lost in space. The USA bank says it was sent to Argentina. The Argentine bank says, "we can't find it". LOL. Who do you think is more believable? Of course the USA bank sent it! Many such stories. Do NOT trust the Argentine banking system.



Don't use Western Union either. It's too expensive. @ben, feel free to DM me. I have a private bank here. I offer wire transfer services for all my clients and I will offer it for any member on ExpatsBA. It's very reasonable on fees. You just wire from your bank to a USA Bank and they charge a small % fee. DM me for details but I have a long standing reputation in the Buenos Aires investment community. My bank has 3 locations. Downtown, La Lucila and Tigre. You can collect your money at any of those locations typically the next business day after you wire it.

One of the perks of being a member in good standing on ExpatsBA.

 

[Johnny]

Definitely do NOT wire money to Argentina. Even if you have a US dollar account in Argentina. The banks are the WORST! See this DM I got on X from one of my old clients that has a DNI. His money is lost in space. The USA bank says it was sent to Argentina. The Argentine bank says, "we can't find it". LOL. Who do you think is more believable? Of course the USA bank sent it! Many such stories. Do NOT trust the Argentine banking system.

View attachment 9366

Don't use Western Union either. It's too expensive. @ben, feel free to DM me. I have a private bank here. I offer wire transfer services for all my clients and I will offer it for any member on ExpatsBA. It's very reasonable on fees. You just wire from your bank to a USA Bank and they charge a small % fee. DM me for details but I have a long standing reputation in the Buenos Aires investment community. My bank has 3 locations. Downtown, La Lucila and Tigre. You can collect your money at any of those locations typically the next business day after you wire it.

One of the perks of being a member in good standing on ExpatsBA.

Ben just go with @BuySellBA. They have their own private bank now. I have wired down about $25,000 for furniture and furnishings. I also had to pay a few other things. It was very easy. I just wired from my USA bank to their USA bank. I got charged a small % fee and the funds hit the same day. Very very easy. I would just go with that method. That way your bank doesn't even have to see an international wire. All effortless.

 

[James Bond]

Definitely do NOT wire money to Argentina. Even if you have a US dollar account in Argentina. The banks are the WORST! See this DM I got on X from one of my old clients that has a DNI. His money is lost in space. The USA bank says it was sent to Argentina. The Argentine bank says, "we can't find it". LOL. Who do you think is more believable? Of course the USA bank sent it! Many such stories. Do NOT trust the Argentine banking system.

View attachment 9366

Don't use Western Union either. It's too expensive. @ben, feel free to DM me. I have a private bank here. I offer wire transfer services for all my clients and I will offer it for any member on ExpatsBA. It's very reasonable on fees. You just wire from your bank to a USA Bank and they charge a small % fee. DM me for details but I have a long standing reputation in the Buenos Aires investment community. My bank has 3 locations. Downtown, La Lucila and Tigre. You can collect your money at any of those locations typically the next business day after you wire it.

One of the perks of being a member in good standing on ExpatsBA.

First mistake was wiring cash into Argentina. It doesn't matter if Milei is president or not. The banking system is totally f*cked up in Argentina. Argentina is not a serious country. Even with Milei the country is screwed up. Why anyone would wire money to an Argentine bank sounds crazy. People think that because Milei is in power that things magically work overnight. The country is a banana republic.

I would just use a cueva like everyone else. If @BuySellBA offers that service it sounds like a no brainer. Their reputation is like gold in Buenos Aires for 20+ years.

 

[French jurist]

Americans banking sounds terrible too. My American friend told me his bank threatened to close down his account as he lived in Argentina. I believe some investments accounts are limited to living in the USA which sounds crazy. Maybe the banks in the EU are heading down the same path. They want to ban cash transactions soon.

I wouldn't wire to Argentina. That is just inviting problems. Are you really paying that much in Argentina taxes? If so, sounds like you have a serious issue and might need a new accountant. Western Union is too expensive to wire in that kind of money and if you need dollars you are just paying twice. Just use a cueva. Never wire into Argentina. Too many stories. I have a Wise account but I don't think that is any different to wire vs. my bank. If you need an intro to a cueva DM me. Now reason to use WU and I wouldn't wire to an Argentine bank.

Totally thought the same thing. My first thought was you are getting raped on taxes. Why in the world would you need to pay so much taxes in Argentina? You my friend sound like you need a new accountant.

 

[David]

Ben just go with @BuySellBA. They have their own private bank now. I have wired down about $25,000 for furniture and furnishings. I also had to pay a few other things. It was very easy. I just wired from my USA bank to their USA bank. I got charged a small % fee and the funds hit the same day. Very very easy. I would just go with that method. That way your bank doesn't even have to see an international wire. All effortless.

This is great! I have a cueva that I have used but lately they are taking longer and longer to allow me to pick up. The entire cueva thing makes me nervous as I literally have to wire first. But if @BuySellBA is standing behind the wire I would feel very comfortable. I will send you a DM @earlyretirement. Thanks!

 

[nikad]

This is great! I have a cueva that I have used but lately they are taking longer and longer to allow me to pick up. The entire cueva thing makes me nervous as I literally have to wire first. But if @BuySellBA is standing behind the wire I would feel very comfortable. I will send you a DM @earlyretirement. Thanks!

Agree about the worry of cuevas. It is a trust based system. Some are going out of business overnight. I would be comfortable using @BuySellBA if they are offering that service.

Definitely do NOT wire money to Argentina. Even if you have a US dollar account in Argentina. The banks are the WORST! See this DM I got on X from one of my old clients that has a DNI. His money is lost in space. The USA bank says it was sent to Argentina. The Argentine bank says, "we can't find it". LOL. Who do you think is more believable? Of course the USA bank sent it! Many such stories. Do NOT trust the Argentine banking system.

View attachment 9366

Don't use Western Union either. It's too expensive. @ben, feel free to DM me. I have a private bank here. I offer wire transfer services for all my clients and I will offer it for any member on ExpatsBA. It's very reasonable on fees. You just wire from your bank to a USA Bank and they charge a small % fee. DM me for details but I have a long standing reputation in the Buenos Aires investment community. My bank has 3 locations. Downtown, La Lucila and Tigre. You can collect your money at any of those locations typically the next business day after you wire it.

One of the perks of being a member in good standing on ExpatsBA.

Totally. You never want to wire USD into Argentina. I have friends that have a USD account and they mistakenly believe that the banking system here works like back in their home country. Nothing works here in Argentina.

Ben just go with @BuySellBA. They have their own private bank now. I have wired down about $25,000 for furniture and furnishings. I also had to pay a few other things. It was very easy. I just wired from my USA bank to their USA bank. I got charged a small % fee and the funds hit the same day. Very very easy. I would just go with that method. That way your bank doesn't even have to see an international wire. All effortless.

@Johnny what kind of rate did you pay? If I can ask. Was it a flat % fee? So you just wired to a USA bank account? That was the destination bank? That seems like a dream for Americans.

 

[ben]

Thanks everyone! I guess I have a lot to learn. I have always just used Western Union but it wasn't for large amounts like now. Now that I am living here full time and have permanent residency AFIP is taking a more keen eye on how much I am spending. I have an American based LLC and had a banner year last year. The Monitributo limit is very low and I made much more than that. Being an American citizen living here in Argentina is not without aggravations.

I wish someone told me before getting residency here about the tax situation and living here full time. There is NO tax treaty with the USA so I'm paying over 42% tax rates. Ouch.

 

[Finance Prof]

Thanks everyone! I guess I have a lot to learn. I have always just used Western Union but it wasn't for large amounts like now. Now that I am living here full time and have permanent residency AFIP is taking a more keen eye on how much I am spending. I have an American based LLC and had a banner year last year. The Monitributo limit is very low and I made much more than that. Being an American citizen living here in Argentina is not without aggravations.

I wish someone told me before getting residency here about the tax situation and living here full time. There is NO tax treaty with the USA so I'm paying over 42% tax rates. Ouch.

Are you taking advantage of the Foreign Income Tax Exclusion? $126,500 USD per year. If you are married you can also get it for your spouse as well.

Figuring the foreign earned income exclusion | Internal Revenue Service

If you are eligible for the exclusion this section will assist you in determining how much you can exclude.

www.irs.gov

 

[ben]

Are you taking advantage of the Foreign Income Tax Exclusion? $126,500 USD per year. If you are married you can also get it for your spouse as well.

Figuring the foreign earned income exclusion | Internal Revenue Service

If you are eligible for the exclusion this section will assist you in determining how much you can exclude.

www.irs.gov

Yes I am single and do take advantage of this as I'm outside of the USA the entire year. I'm a legal resident of Argentina now. I take that write off but I have to pay self-employment tax of 15.3% and I can't offset that in Argentina. So unfortunately I am stuck. I don't want to have issues with the IRS. I read about that American that was bragging about dodging IRS taxes but I don't want to have problems like that guy.

 

[earlyretirement]

Are you taking advantage of the Foreign Income Tax Exclusion? $126,500 USD per year. If you are married you can also get it for your spouse as well.

Figuring the foreign earned income exclusion | Internal Revenue Service

If you are eligible for the exclusion this section will assist you in determining how much you can exclude.

www.irs.gov

Yep. I did that when I lived in Buenos Aires full-time. It was great as I did it for my wife too. So we utilized the Foreign Income Tax Exclusion for both our salaries. It was amazing! I did it for all 9 years living in Argentina.

Yes I am single and do take advantage of this as I'm outside of the USA the entire year. I'm a legal resident of Argentina now. I take that write off but I have to pay self-employment tax of 15.3% and I can't offset that in Argentina. So unfortunately I am stuck. I don't want to have issues with the IRS. I read about that American that was bragging about dodging IRS taxes but I don't want to have problems like that guy.

Correct. Nothing you can do about self-employment income. You are hosed there. I was in the same boat.

 

[Johnny]

Agree about the worry of cuevas. It is a trust based system. Some are going out of business overnight. I would be comfortable using @BuySellBA if they are offering that service.


Totally. You never want to wire USD into Argentina. I have friends that have a USD account and they mistakenly believe that the banking system here works like back in their home country. Nothing works here in Argentina.


@Johnny what kind of rate did you pay? If I can ask. Was it a flat % fee? So you just wired to a USA bank account? That was the destination bank? That seems like a dream for Americans.

Hi @nikad. I would never even own an apartment in Buenos Aires if it weren't for @BuySellBA. I have invested with them in Mexico for many years. I have known @earlyretirement for 14 years. No way I'd buy in a place like Argentina without their help! At least in Mexico I can easily jump on a plane and get there in 3 hours. NOT the case in BA. It's too dang far without competent and honest managers.

Mike has a great system for my other properties. I have a smart lock on the door so I get an instant notification when someone goes in and out. It's so cool! On my property in Mexico I have a smart camera on the doorbell so I know if people are trying to have a party. I have never had any problems. They do such a great job managing my properties! I'm making so much money with them both in Mexico and in Buenos Aires. I love it. I will keep buying more. My 2nd property is done in January 2028 and I can't wait as it's bigger.

The entire cueva thing sounds like it could fail miserably if someone wanted to exit scam. I would never do that either without their help. I paid 2.5% flat fee of the amount I wired. I believe the rate fluctuated based on supply and demand locally. I paid at the cheapest 2.25% and I think the most was 2.75% once. I am very happy I didn't have to wire during the blanqueo. It skyrocketed up to 5% during that fiasco.

I just wired to a USA bank account. I work for a large American Bank. I just did a wire to @BuySellBAs account and it hit the same day as I wired it! I visited the bank when I was there a few weeks ago. It was downtown. The account manager was great and spoke English. They told me they have an office in the Northern suburbs too. And my Escribano Angie is in La Lucila and the bank had an office there too. Was easy.

 

[Betsy Ross]

Thanks everyone! I guess I have a lot to learn. I have always just used Western Union but it wasn't for large amounts like now. Now that I am living here full time and have permanent residency AFIP is taking a more keen eye on how much I am spending. I have an American based LLC and had a banner year last year. The Monitributo limit is very low and I made much more than that. Being an American citizen living here in Argentina is not without aggravations.

I wish someone told me before getting residency here about the tax situation and living here full time. There is NO tax treaty with the USA so I'm paying over 42% tax rates. Ouch.

To be fair you do NOT have to declare all your USA income to ARCA. You have to be the ONLY American that is doing something like that. I have permanent residency here and I'm not declaring all my assets and income to ARCA. Why are you declaring your LLC based income to ARCA? That sounds totally foolish and you need a new accountant ASAP!

The first thing my accountant here told me was don't declare more than you need to. ARCA has NO access to your USA banking records or tax returns. Rule of thumb is only declare as little as possible. I can't for the life of me figure out why you would declare USA sourced income.

 

[sophos]

To be fair you do NOT have to declare all your USA income to ARCA. You have to be the ONLY American that is doing something like that. I have permanent residency here and I'm not declaring all my assets and income to ARCA. Why are you declaring your LLC based income to ARCA? That sounds totally foolish and you need a new accountant ASAP!

The first thing my accountant here told me was don't declare more than you need to. ARCA has NO access to your USA banking records or tax returns. Rule of thumb is only declare as little as possible. I can't for the life of me figure out why you would declare USA sourced income.

Agree with @Betsy Ross. You need to fire your Argentine accountant ASAP. Why would you willingly declare this to Argentina? The saying a food and his money are soon parted would apply to you if you are declaring all your USA sourced income. I have never heard of an expat doing this. I have never heard of anything so insane before. That is almost embarrassing to admit on an expat forum.

 

[LongIslander]

Listen to the others! You have to be ignorant to be self declaring all of your US income! I never heard of someone so silly. You deserve paying all of that if you're self declaring all your income. I have my DNI and you would need to have your head examined if you think I will tell AFIP how much I am making. I get that to my USA bank. Monitrubuto just declare minimal amounts to keep your DNI. Anything more is crazy.

Hi @nikad. I would never even own an apartment in Buenos Aires if it weren't for @BuySellBA. I have invested with them in Mexico for many years. I have known @earlyretirement for 14 years. No way I'd buy in a place like Argentina without their help! At least in Mexico I can easily jump on a plane and get there in 3 hours. NOT the case in BA. It's too dang far without competent and honest managers.

Mike has a great system for my other properties. I have a smart lock on the door so I get an instant notification when someone goes in and out. It's so cool! On my property in Mexico I have a smart camera on the doorbell so I know if people are trying to have a party. I have never had any problems. They do such a great job managing my properties! I'm making so much money with them both in Mexico and in Buenos Aires. I love it. I will keep buying more. My 2nd property is done in January 2028 and I can't wait as it's bigger.

The entire cueva thing sounds like it could fail miserably if someone wanted to exit scam. I would never do that either without their help. I paid 2.5% flat fee of the amount I wired. I believe the rate fluctuated based on supply and demand locally. I paid at the cheapest 2.25% and I think the most was 2.75% once. I am very happy I didn't have to wire during the blanqueo. It skyrocketed up to 5% during that fiasco.

I just wired to a USA bank account. I work for a large American Bank. I just did a wire to @BuySellBAs account and it hit the same day as I wired it! I visited the bank when I was there a few weeks ago. It was downtown. The account manager was great and spoke English. They told me they have an office in the Northern suburbs too. And my Escribano Angie is in La Lucila and the bank had an office there too. Was easy.

2.5% is a very reasonable rate. I will send a DM as I routinely need to send down money. I have some expensive habits!

 

[Bingo]

Yep. I did that when I lived in Buenos Aires full-time. It was great as I did it for my wife too. So we utilized the Foreign Income Tax Exclusion for both our salaries. It was amazing! I did it for all 9 years living in Argentina.


Correct. Nothing you can do about self-employment income. You are hosed there. I was in the same boat.

Wow! I never heard of this! So if I have Argentine residency I can take $126,500 in tax free income from the USA? Do I need to share anything with ARCA about this? Or could I take that deduction and not declare that income in Argentina? That sounds too good to be true! All I would pay is the self-employment tax? Wow!

Listen to the others! You have to be ignorant to be self declaring all of your US income! I never heard of someone so silly. You deserve paying all of that if you're self declaring all your income. I have my DNI and you would need to have your head examined if you think I will tell AFIP how much I am making. I get that to my USA bank. Monitrubuto just declare minimal amounts to keep your DNI. Anything more is crazy.


2.5% is a very reasonable rate. I will send a DM as I routinely need to send down money. I have some expensive habits!

I just got a place and furnishing it. I need to send in a rather large amount. 2.5% sounds great! @earlyretirement I sent you a DM. Thanks!

 

[Jenn]

Definitely do NOT wire money to Argentina. Even if you have a US dollar account in Argentina. The banks are the WORST! See this DM I got on X from one of my old clients that has a DNI. His money is lost in space. The USA bank says it was sent to Argentina. The Argentine bank says, "we can't find it". LOL. Who do you think is more believable? Of course the USA bank sent it! Many such stories. Do NOT trust the Argentine banking system.

View attachment 9366

Don't use Western Union either. It's too expensive. @ben, feel free to DM me. I have a private bank here. I offer wire transfer services for all my clients and I will offer it for any member on ExpatsBA. It's very reasonable on fees. You just wire from your bank to a USA Bank and they charge a small % fee. DM me for details but I have a long standing reputation in the Buenos Aires investment community. My bank has 3 locations. Downtown, La Lucila and Tigre. You can collect your money at any of those locations typically the next business day after you wire it.

One of the perks of being a member in good standing on ExpatsBA.

My friend told me all kinds of horror stories. Her friend had a DNI and he bought a bunch of stuff on Mercado Libre and the Argentina IRS came and asked him all kinds of questions I guess as he didn't declare any local income.

He also tried wiring in money for his residency and it vanished for over 2 months. I am not sure how that turned out but I read a lot of posts on X of the same thing happening. You would have to have a death wish to wire money to Argentina!

My friends all used cuevas. They were paying between 2.5% to 3%. I think sending USDT is even cheaper. I was set to come to BA and then canceled due to the mosquito situation (I'm allergic to mosquitos) and then others suggested I skip winter there. I am very happy in Malaga.

@earlyretirement I have a friend there now that needs to wire some money down there. Can she use you? She is not on this forum. Is there a minimum amount? I will DM you.

 

[James Bond]

Hi @nikad. I would never even own an apartment in Buenos Aires if it weren't for @BuySellBA. I have invested with them in Mexico for many years. I have known @earlyretirement for 14 years. No way I'd buy in a place like Argentina without their help! At least in Mexico I can easily jump on a plane and get there in 3 hours. NOT the case in BA. It's too dang far without competent and honest managers.

Mike has a great system for my other properties. I have a smart lock on the door so I get an instant notification when someone goes in and out. It's so cool! On my property in Mexico I have a smart camera on the doorbell so I know if people are trying to have a party. I have never had any problems. They do such a great job managing my properties! I'm making so much money with them both in Mexico and in Buenos Aires. I love it. I will keep buying more. My 2nd property is done in January 2028 and I can't wait as it's bigger.

The entire cueva thing sounds like it could fail miserably if someone wanted to exit scam. I would never do that either without their help. I paid 2.5% flat fee of the amount I wired. I believe the rate fluctuated based on supply and demand locally. I paid at the cheapest 2.25% and I think the most was 2.75% once. I am very happy I didn't have to wire during the blanqueo. It skyrocketed up to 5% during that fiasco.

I just wired to a USA bank account. I work for a large American Bank. I just did a wire to @BuySellBAs account and it hit the same day as I wired it! I visited the bank when I was there a few weeks ago. It was downtown. The account manager was great and spoke English. They told me they have an office in the Northern suburbs too. And my Escribano Angie is in La Lucila and the bank had an office there too. Was easy.

The smart locks are the way to go! That is what my mates did on their property. I never thought about the video doorbell. I think you have to put some warning on Airbnb listings so that might make people not want to book but probably small price to pay to make sure people won't have parties or steal stuff.

@Johnny what brand door lock do you use if I can ask? Did you buy it In Argentina or bring it down with you from the States? Wow if they have 3 offices around BA it must be a huge financial operation. I have to send some money into BA once in a while to my girlfriend's mother. I may reach out.

My friends all used cuevas. They were paying between 2.5% to 3%. I think sending USDT is even cheaper. I was set to come to BA and then canceled due to the mosquito situation (I'm allergic to mosquitos) and then others suggested I skip winter there. I am very happy in Malaga.

Cuevas sound scary but they work quite well. Key Is to go with one around long enough. Some will do crypto but I didn't mess around with crypto. 2.5% to 2.75% or so is normal. @Jenn I am also in Malaga! Let me know if you're keen to meet up.