Tourists Still Not Receiving New Exchange Rate With Credit And Devit Cards After Announcement In Argentina

After an announcement by the Argentinian government regarding an alternate exchange rate made specifically for the credit and debit cards of tourists, reports on Wednesday show that it has yet to be implemented by U.S. banks.

Many tourists in Argentina report that credit cards being used in the country are not using the newly-announced tourist rate, which was made in order to curb the “blue dollar” black market that allowed tourists to receive more Argentinian peso per dollar compared to the official exchange rate, according to ABC News.

One of the tourists in Argentina to experience their credit card using the official exchange rate instead of the announced tourist exchange rate is 34-year-old Fernando Bernini, who said that he called up his bank and found out that many were unaware of the new announced exchange rate, which is why they were not implementing it, the AP News reported.

“On Friday I called Itau Uruguay and at first they just told me nonsense,” he said.

Another tourist, 68-year-old Joel Roossin, used his credit card on a 4,400-peso lunch with the belief that the new tourist exchange rate is currently in place, only to find out that the credit card companies are still using the official rate instead.

“My gut feeling is the US banking system either isn’t aware of it or doesn’t know what to do with it,” Roosin, who worked for the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency before retiring recently, said.

A Central Bank official who spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity said that many banking companies were still adjusting to the change, but that they would likely adhere to the new exchange rate soon because otherwise, “they’ll lose business.”

“The norm allows credit card operators from abroad the possibility to (offer a better rate), not the obligation,” the official said. “They have to adapt their systems to be able to do that and I imagine it will take a few days.”

“Leave your credit card at home and bring cash,” Roosin quipped, as he suggested a potential action for tourists in Argentina while the exchange rate has yet to be implemented.