in spite of Dual economy It is still promoted by the government of Javier Miley Far from settling in Argentina, Several signs appear that speak of A Increasingly common use of the dollar In coexistence with the peso in local operations. One of them is Growth in foreign currency remittances: They increased in October by 35% year-on-year.
According to another Central Bank Retail Payments Report, Direct transfers in dollars increased month after month this year. In October, the last month the organization reported, this Volumes have increased by approximately 48%, Although it remains marginal if the total movements of money in the economy are observed. while Financial transfers in pesos exceeded 690 million transactions, while transfers in dollars reached 2.7 million transactions.
The relevant fact is that after the exit of stocks and various government measures to encourage dual cash payments, More than US$4.5 billion was transferred between bank accounts in October. This figure also reflects another relatively new phenomenon in the current economy: the growth of dollar bank deposits to record levels, which already reach a third of the total.
So far, despite strong demand from fintech, Dollar transfers are enabled only for accounts linked to the Common Bank Code (CBU). Virtual wallets are “the norm” when it comes to sending pesos instantly: According to the BCRA, 75% of local currency transfers made in October had an origin or destination account linked to CVU, which identifies users of digital wallets.
Economist Martin Kallos, of Epyca Consultores, highlighted that this trend is occurring in response to regulatory changes linked to the end of stocks intended for humans. “Obviously, this is generating More confidence In particular, transferring dollars will not create a problem. “Since there are already fewer restrictions, today banks are also applying a slightly more flexible interpretation of regulations.”
Kallos explained that these movements in foreign currencies occur to cover payments and obligations associated with specific sectors, such as the business sector Tourism, real estate purchase, or automobile industry. “This is also evident in recent years with services, where many professionals prefer to put their fees in dollars as a way to avoid inflation, which although falling is still structurally high.”
There are two pieces of evidence that speak about A Increased use of dollars within the formal financial system. On the other hand, the index prepared by COELSA, prepared by the company of the same name, intended to compensate for all operations between banks and financial technology, was reported until last September. A 17% increase in the number of new dollar accounts in banks.
In parallel, salary payments in foreign currency also witnessed strong growth. Again, though, they correspond to a limited universe within the economy’s total salaries, which draws attention to the speed of their growth. As reported by Interbanking, which processed more than 2.3 million salary transfers in October, wage payments rose in dollars and went from 50 transactions in 2024 to 3,239 transfers this year: this represents an increase of more than 2,600% in the number of transactions and 60% in the amounts credited.
“Although it is still a small percentage, the growth in dollar salary transfers is notable, which shows that the dual monetary system is starting to become a reality in some sectors and that we will have to follow it closely in the future,” said Sebastian Butcher, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Interbanking.