Argentina’s Blue Dollar: Buying pesos on the black market (updated 2024)

Due to Argentina’s unstable economy, there is a widespread and easily accessed black market for currency, pinned to the US Dollar. The so-called “Blue Dollar” rate can be anywhere from 1.5-3x the “official” currency exchange that you’d get from a bank, so it really pays to understand this informal exchange process!

Buenos Aires used to be THE place to exchange USD in Argentina, offering a superior rate compared to anything you could find in other cities, but these days, there are comparable exchanges in just about every popular destination, including Mendoza, El Calafate, and Bariloche.

I’ve travelled through Argentina on 4 separate occasions for a collective total of more than 3 months (most recently in Feb/March of 2024), so I have a pretty firm handle on the Blue Dollar and how to get the best value for your money here in Argentina. This post is an explanation of what the Blue Dollar is, why it exists, and how to access it most effectively on your trip, as well as some useful tips I’ve picked up over the years!

What is the Blue Dollar?

Argentina’s informal exchange rate

The Blue Dollar (or Dólar Blue) is an informal exchange rate between US Dollars and Argentinian Pesos that offers a greater value than the official exchange rate you’d get if you pulled pesos directly out of an ATM in Argentina (or that you’d see if you Google the exchange from USD to ARS).

All these different rates can be a little confusing when you first arrive in Argentina, but here’s the gist of it: due to the demand for US Dollars in Argentina, you can purchase a LARGER quantity of Argentinian Pesos with the SAME amount of USD on the “black market”. This effectively makes the value of your currency higher and your trip cheaper overall.

As an example from 2023 (where the informal and official sat nearly 3x apart), a 1000AR beer might have been equivalent to $3USD with the official rate (if you pulled cash from an ATM), but would have been just $1USD with the informal rate (if you changed USD to Pesos in a currency exchange in Argentina). With this exchange, your money goes 3x farther in Argentina and you are STILL paying the locals the same amount of pesos.

The current Blue Dollar rate in Argentina

Both the informal and the official rates fluctuate wildly, but it’s not uncommon for these to be anywhere from 1.5-3x. The screenshot below is from Feb 2024 and this is the closest I’ve ever seen the rates in all my trips here!

The best source for current exchange rates in Argentina is BlueDollar.net, which updates throughout the day in response to the market (and a lot of financial factors that I really don’t understand). You should be looking at the BUY price below, since you are buying local currency using foreign currency.

Is the Blue Dollar legal?

Officially, no. But effectively, yes. When I first explained the Blue Dollar to my parents ahead of their trip to Patagonia, all they heard was “black market” and were immediately put off— it took a lot of coaxing to get them comfortable with the notion of exchanging cash around town rather than at the bank.

While the exact legality of these informal exchange houses is a bit of a grey area, they are widely used and broadly accepted here in Argentina— all of these exchanges take place in the open, often inside of legitimate businesses with signs advertising the daily rate.

Ten years ago, the best place to exchange cash in Buenos Aires was Calle Florida, a long shopping street where you’d struggle to take more than a few steps without someone stopping you and saying “cambio?” That would involve following a strange man into a dark alley to mass wads of money between you— no comfortable desk, no bill counter machine, no hope of ever finding this person again if he decided to rip you off.

Amazingly, I never had a bad experience doing this (I maintain that Argentinians are incredibly trustworthy!), but more recently, the Blue Dollar has been widely legitimised and it’s no longer a back-alley dealing but something that feels comparable to changing over cash at a currency exchange desk in a large international airport. Professional, comfortable, secure.

All that being said, the Blue Market is not monitored or regulated by the government, so it’s important to know the current rate and negotiate a fair deal for yourself before handing over any of your USD!

Why the Blue Dollar exists in Argentina

As neither an economist nor a historian, here’s a super condensed and vastly simplified explanation of what’s been going on in Argentina for the last 45 years:

A brief history of the economic crisis in Argentina

Dating back to the early 1980s, when a series of more than 70 financial institutions in Argentina collapsed in quick succession and the government defaulted on several large-scale debts, the country has experienced exorbitant inflation (at times exceeding 1000%) while the Argentinian Peso has lost more than 90% of its value.

Several attempts were made by the government to temper the crisis by introducing new currency, price caps, cuts to public spending, and even pegging the Argentinian Peso to the US Dollar at a rate of 1-to-1 in the early 2000s (for reference, it’s now 1100-to-1), but Argentina soon descended into a full depression that saw thousands of locals move their financial holdings outside of the country.

This led to a rapid depletion of Argentina’s financial reserves, which encouraged the government to impose strict capital controls and restrict the purchase of USD— and hence the birth of the Blue Dollar, a way to circumvent the restrictions and gain access to the vastly more stable US Dollar.

Current economic conditions in Argentina

In 2023, Argentina’s financial reserves dipped to negative $4.5 billion USD while national inflation reached a multi-decade high of 211%. For comparison, the US inflation rate was just 3.4% and Australia’s was 5.3% for the same year, numbers that have been felt across both nations and have inspired wild concern about the ability of locals to afford food and other essentials— but that make it nearly impossible to comprehend the breadth of the economic crisis here in Argentina.

The Blue Dollar is fabulous for tourism— your money goes incredibly far in an already inexpensive country— but it’s important to remember that this only exists because of the terrible economic conditions that people are living with in Argentina. I’d encourage you to be sensitive while travelling: avoid spouting off in front of waitstaff about how cheap everything is, tip generously, and spend your money with local small businesses wherever possible!

There’s absolutely no harm in using the Blue Dollar (you’re paying the same amount of pesos on your dinner bill regardless of the rate you purchased those pesos at), but you have a lot of power as a traveller in terms of where and how you spend your money, so just be conscious and considerate of the fact that locals often work an entire day just to make the money that you spent on a bottle of wine.

How to access the Blue Dollar

Where to buy Argentinian Pesos

Gone are the days when the only way to buy pesos at the Blue Dollar rate was in a dark alley— today, hundreds of shops, hotels, travel agencies, and even restaurants will change currency on the side of their usual business. You may still hear people yelling “cambio!” (and Calle Florida in Buenos Aires remains a hot spot), but you can also look out for posted signs around town with the day’s exchange rate.

As mentioned previously, the Blue Market is not monitored or regulated by the government, so it’s important to know the current rate and negotiate a fair deal for yourself before handing over any of your USD. Make sure you check the current rate on BlueDollar.net (the BUY price), and then expect to get a rate marginally worse than listed here (ex. cambios may convert at 110,000 when the official is 120,000 per $100USD). This is normal and you won’t ever find the EXACT exchange, but shop around to find something you’re happy with. 

It used to be vital to bring crisp USD bills (preferably hundreds) for the best exchange rate, but even this has relaxed over the years to the point that you can exchange 20s in most places without any issue. If you have a choice, hundreds are always a safe bet, but don’t sweat it if you also have a few 20s and 50s.

Western Union in Argentina

As of 2024, this is my preferred way to change currency in Argentina— Western Union offers the BEST rate without any need to shop around or negotiate, but also doesn’t rely on your ability to source USD before arriving in Argentina, which can be difficult if you’re travelling from anywhere other than the US!

Download the Western Union app and you can send money instantly from your bank to be retrieved at any of the hundreds of WU locations around Argentina. Western Unions are widely used by locals, so you’ll likely have several within walking distance of your hotel wherever you happen to be staying and it’s insanely easy to pick up cash; all you need is the transfer confirmation number and your passport.

Note that you’ll pay a $15-30 transfer fee with Western Union (so it’s worth sending a few hundred at a time), but NEW customers get their first transfer free << use this link to sign up for a discount!

Using your credit card in Argentina

As part of a government initiative aimed at increasing international tourism in Argentina (and preventing travellers from ending up down dodgy alleys, back when that was the thing), foreign credit cards were approved to convert currency at an exclusive pseudo-Blue Dolar rate called the MEP (Mercado Electrónico de Pagos). This came into effect in December 2022 and has been a total game-changer for travelling in Argentina!

Visa and MasterCard both offer this favourable conversion, meaning you can pay for expenses on your card without suffering the official (and much less desirable) exchange rate. MEP is not quite as good as what you’ll get with cash, but it’s far more convenient than carrying around millions of Argentinian Pesos for large purchases.

Argentina is still, in many ways, a very cash-based economy, so I wouldn’t recommend relying on this exclusively; use your credit card for bigger expenditures like accommodation or any online ticket purchases, and then reserve cash for food and other day-to-day expenses.

Blue Dollar tips

A quick summary of all the tips scattered throughout this article for mastering the Blue Dollar on your next trip to Argentina:

• NEVER pull money from an ATM in Argentina and plan to handle cash for the absolute best rate!

• Make sure you check the current Blue Dollar (informal) rate on BlueDollar.net before changing over any cash; you can expect to get something slightly worse than the listed BUY price from cambios and cuevas around town, and something slightly better from Western Union
• Download the Western Union app and send money instantly from your bank to be retrieved at hundreds of locations around Argentina for the highest exchange rate. This is super convenient and also doesn’t require you to travel with hundreds of USD!
• If you DO want to change cash, the best plan is to arrive in Argentina with USD already in-hand; but if you’re on the continent and searching for USD, it is still possible to find in other countries. Many airport ATMs around South America, particularly in Chile or Ecuador (the latter of which actually uses USD as their official currency) will dispense USD.
• Visa and MasterCard now offer a very favourable MEP exchange rate on purchases made with a foreign credit card. Although not quite as good as the Blue Dollar, it’s close enough that using a card is sometimes more convenient than hauling around a duffel bag full of Pesos. I’d recommend using your credit card for bigger expenditures like accommodation & online ticket purchases and reserving cash for food & other day-to-day expenses.
• Tip generously, support local, and be conscious of where and how you choose to spend your money, as it can have a profound impact on those living through this terrible economic crisis in Argentina!

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