It will cover all the expenses of tourists in the country, from tickets and excursions, to meals and tour packages.
From the Palacio de Hacienda they issued a guide of questions and answers to explain the main details of the measure.
How will the procedure of the new regulation be?
Tourists consume with the card. The card converts this expense at the exchange rate set for tourists from abroad. Tourists pay the cards in dollars and the card companies sell those dollars in Argentina through the financial market.
Then they pay businesses or services in pesos.
What is the main objective of this regulation?
The central idea of this regulation is that non-resident tourists who visit the country can use electronic means of payment for greater security and convenience. Argentina has been developing a national digital payment system.
How is the exchange rate calculated?
The exchange rate to be used will be the MEP dollar with the most liquid bonds. Until today the BNA was used. Credit card administrators may charge a commission for said operation
Since when will it be valid?
The norm will enter into force on Friday the 4th, after being published tomorrow in the Official Gazette.
Have you already talked to the banks so that they can implement it?
This regulation, unlike others, is not implemented through banks but through credit card operators.
Banks intervene in the expenses of Argentines abroad and not in those of foreigners in Argentina.
The banks of the tourist cards that pay the consumption intervene, to which nothing is altered.
To the extent are all credit card operators involved?
The operators will be able to sell the dollars in the financial market. They have the obligation to enter and settle them in the MEP dollar. It’s not mandatory.
Is it for all tourists, from any country?
Yes, for all people who have a card from abroad and do not reside in Argentina.
How do you identify that the card is from a foreigner?
Just as it is already done. The chips and the routing of the cards indicate which bank and in which country it was issued.
What happens to Argentines who have cards issued abroad?
If they reside abroad and pay with foreign cards, they have the same benefit.
What happens to Argentines with dual nationality?
If they reside abroad and pay with a foreign card, they acquire the same benefit.
Is it only for credit cards or also debit cards?
It is for credit, debit and also for prepaid.
Does the conversion do the business? Or the bank?
The business does not change anything. The bank does not intervene. The conversion is done by the acquirer of the credit card.
Is this going to affect BCRA reserves? Is the BCRA going to pay the price difference?
The BCRA will no longer receive the minimum amount that credit card operators used to sell in the MULC (approximately US$30 million per month).
The advantage is that the dollars that the credit card operators enter to sell now in the financial market will increase the reserves when they are deposited in the sellers’ accounts.
Source: Ambito
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