Do I need cash in Argentina, or can I use cards?

For years the move was to bring US dollar cash and change it at the street rate for far more pesos. That gap has closed. A foreign Visa or Mastercard is charged in pesos at a rate that is now competitive, so cards are the easy default for hotels, restaurants, shops, tours and Uber. Visa applies the rate at the moment of purchase, while Mastercard charges the official rate and refunds the difference within a few days, which can look odd on your statement and is nothing to worry about.

Amex is rarely accepted, so do not make it your only card, and bring a backup from a different bank. Your own bank's foreign transaction fee still applies unless your card waives it, which is the one cost you control before you leave. Ignore the alarming card-dollar figures in the local press: those describe what Argentine residents pay on foreign spending, not what a visitor's card gets here.

Cash still handles ordinary street taxis, small shops, market stalls, casual cafes and every tip, and it leans more essential the further you get from Buenos Aires. Card receipts here often have no tip line, so a tip left on a card may never reach your server: pesos in hand are the sure way.

Keep small notes. The largest peso note is worth only a handful of dollars, so a big note is hard to break in a kiosk and awkward in a taxi. The better value for a larger cash top-up is exchanging US dollars at an official casa de cambio or picking up pesos from Western Union, both of which sit close to the street rate. In Buenos Aires, note that the subway and buses take a SUBE card rather than cash, so pick one up at a kiosk or station early.

When a card terminal or an ATM asks whether to charge you in dollars or pesos, always choose pesos. Choosing your home currency is dynamic currency conversion, and it adds a few percent at a rate set by the machine rather than your bank. Decline it every time, on every screen.

Argentine ATMs are the pricey option: per-withdrawal limits are low, often the equivalent of 70 to 150 dollars, and the flat fee can run 10 percent or more of a small withdrawal. A fee-refunding card such as Charles Schwab is the main way to make them bearable. Withdraw inside a bank in daylight, take the largest amount the machine allows, and check the rate shortly before you travel, because inflation is still high and figures move fast. This guide is written for US travelers departing the US. For more, see tipping in Argentina, taxis and ride-hailing in Argentina, and the Argentina money guide.

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More on Argentina

The little money things nobody warns you about.

• Tipping in ArgentinaTipping here is modest, almost always cash, and rarely on the bill. About 10 percent at a sit-down restaurant covers it, with a couple of local quirks worth knowing before the check arrives.
• Taxis in Argentina, and which apps workTaxis are cheap, plentiful and metered, and the money question is mostly about how you order one. An app or a radio taxi gives you a record and a price, which is why they are the better default here.
• Common money scams in Argentina, and what they cost youThe US State Department calls Argentina generally safe for travelers and rates it at its calmest advisory level. Almost nothing here is dramatic. What tourists do meet is a small, well-documented family of money tricks, and nearly all of them happen in or around a taxi you flagged down in the street. One decision, pre-arranging your ride instead of hailing it, removes most of the list. Here is each one, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
• Staying connected in Argentina.Argentina is the country where the cheap option is real but awkward. Local data costs very little, buying it as a foreigner is inconsistent, and none of it helps once you are on Ruta 40.
• What does getting sick in Argentina cost a visitor?For decades the Argentine story was that the public hospital treated everyone, tourists included, for nothing. That era is ending: since the 2025 migration reform, public hospitals now bill non-residents for non-emergency care, and Argentina expects you to arrive already insured. Emergencies are still stabilized first.