Our law firm to expand its forex banking trade practice.
The increasing and complex foreign exchange control regulations implemented by the Argentine Central Bank (BCRA) are creating serious restrictions and risks for importers, exporters and holders of assets or debts abroad. Access to the official foreign exchange market for international financial and other transfers, prepayment of imports without timely presentation of appropriate import dispatch documentation to the banks, import quotas exceeded or wrongly used or computed, boarding permissions for exports without negotiation of foreign exchange in due course, exports pre-financings improperly settled from abroad and other forex transactions may result in administrative and/or judicial procedures whereunder huge fines and criminal liabilities are at stake.
Digital payments streamlined by Central Bank.
According to payretailers.com, an international payment solutions provider, 45% of all payment transactions are carried out in Argentina through cards (mostly credit cards), 18% are made in cash, 18% with e-wallets and 17% through bank transfers, while 87% of online purchases are paid for by using digital payment methods, by far the highest value among all neighbors in Latin America.
New conditions for blue chip swap transactions.
In line with certain communications issued by the Argentine Central Bank (the “ACB”) since December 2023, to gradually soften the restrictions imposed on the foreign trade and foreign exchange markets since 2019, the Argentine Securities Commission (Comisión Nacional de Valores) issued General Resolution No. 990/2024 (the “Resolution 990”), establishing new conditions for blue chip swap transactions, commonly used in Argentina due to the above-mentioned restrictions to acquire and transfer abroad foreign currencies.