Argentine Bank Accounts, Currency Controls and Moving Money Abroad (2026)
Key takeaways
- Argentina’s exchange controls are set by the BCRA (Banco Central de la República Argentina) in its Exterior y Cambios rulebook.
- In April 2025 the government lifted the cepo for individuals, removing the USD 200/month purchase limit that had applied since 2019.
- Individuals can now buy dollars in the official market without a monthly cap and hold a USD savings account.
- The peso now floats within a currency band introduced in April 2025, rather than at a single fixed official rate.
- Dólar MEP and CCL (bought/sold via bonds) remain legal routes to obtain dollars and move funds abroad.
- A 90-day cross-restriction applies: buy dollars in the official market and you cannot sell MEP/CCL for 90 days (and vice versa).
- The cepo for companies has been kept in place; corporate access and dividend transfers remain more restricted.
- This regime is still being liberalised in stages — always verify the current rules with the BCRA before moving money.
How Argentina’s currency controls work — and why 2025 was a turning point
For years Argentina ran a strict cepo cambiario: individuals could buy only about USD 200 a month at the official rate (plus taxes), transfers abroad were tightly rationed, and a gap opened between the official rate and parallel rates. This is the crisis-era reputation many guides still describe — but it is now out of date for individuals.
On 11 April 2025, alongside a new IMF programme, Economy Minister Luis Caputo and the BCRA announced the end of the currency restrictions “put in place in 2019”, effective the following Monday. From 14 April 2025, the peso was allowed to float within a moving band (initially between roughly 1,000 and 1,400 pesos per dollar), with the BCRA intervening only at the edges. The USD 200 monthly cap for individuals was removed. The BCRA’s consolidated Exterior y Cambios rulebook reflects these changes (BCRA — Exterior y Cambios, texto ordenado).
Buying dollars as an individual in 2026
As an Argentine individual you can now go to your bank and buy US dollars in the official market without the old monthly quota, subject only to normal banking and cash-handling limits and applicable taxes. Since the April 2025 liberalisation, individuals have bought very large volumes of foreign currency through the banking system — a scale that would have been impossible under the old cap. You can hold those dollars in a caja de ahorro en dólares (dollar savings account) at your bank, which is the standard way Argentines keep savings in hard currency (BCRA — Exterior y Cambios).
For someone emigrating, this is the crucial shift: the ability to convert pesos to dollars legally and hold them is no longer rationed the way it was during the crisis years.
MEP and CCL: the market routes to dollars — and to moving money abroad
Two long-standing legal routes remain central, especially for larger sums and for getting funds out of the country:
- Dólar MEP (Mercado Electrónico de Pagos, “bolsa”): you buy a bond in pesos and sell the same bond in dollars, both settling inside Argentina. This gives you dollars in a local dollar account, legally, through a broker or bank.
- Dólar CCL (contado con liquidación): a similar bond operation, but the dollars settle in an overseas account. CCL is therefore the classic legal mechanism for moving money abroad.
With the dismantling of controls for individuals from April 2025, several historic obstacles to MEP — such as the old 90-day block for anyone who had bought the “solidarity dollar” quota — were removed, making these routes more accessible (BCRA — Exterior y Cambios).
The restrictions that still remain in 2026
Liberalisation does not mean a total free-for-all. The most important rule for savers to understand is the 90-day cross-restriction. Under a BCRA communication in force from 26 September 2025, if you buy dollars in the official market you must sign a sworn declaration (DDJJ) committing not to sell dollars via MEP or CCL for the following 90 days — and, conversely, buying in the financial-dollar market can block official-market purchases for a period. The aim is to stop arbitrage between the two markets, not to stop you saving in dollars (BCRA — Exterior y Cambios).
The other major carve-out concerns companies. The government has kept the cepo in place for legal entities: corporate access to the official market for saving/hoarding dollars and the transfer of certain dividends abroad remain restricted, and the BCRA has said lifting the corporate cepo is not an immediate priority. If you run a business or hold assets through a company, do not assume the individual rules apply to it (BCRA — Exterior y Cambios).
Moving your money abroad when you emigrate
When you leave, you generally have three practical channels, and many people use a combination:
- Bank wire from a dollar account. With controls eased for individuals, transferring dollars held in your account to an overseas bank is more straightforward than during the cepo years, subject to your bank’s compliance checks and the current BCRA rules.
- CCL (contado con liquidación). Buy a bond in pesos in Argentina and sell it for dollars credited to your account abroad — the standard legal route for larger relocations.
- Carrying cash. Physically taking currency across the border is possible but subject to customs declaration thresholds; declare amounts above the limit to avoid seizure.
Keep documentation of the source of your funds and the operations you use — banks and brokers apply anti-money-laundering checks, and clean records make onward banking in your new country much easier. Because the exact operational limits and the 90-day rule can change, check the live position before you initiate a transfer (BCRA — Exterior y Cambios).
What to do with your Argentine accounts after you leave
You can usually keep an Argentine bank account open after emigrating, which is convenient if you still receive Argentine income (rent, a pension, dividends) or need to wind down local affairs. Tell your bank your new tax status and address, since your tax residency may change (see our companion guide on Argentine tax residency). If you no longer need the account, close it in an orderly way rather than leaving it dormant, and move balances out via the channels above while the rules remain favourable.
A caution on stale advice
Argentina’s FX regime has been unusually fast-moving. Much of the online advice you will find still describes the strict crisis-era cepo — the USD 200 cap, heavy surcharges and blocked transfers — which no longer reflects the position for individuals since April 2025. Equally, the liberalisation is being rolled out in stages and further changes are expected. Treat this guide as an orientation and confirm the current rules directly with the BCRA (its Exterior y Cambios rulebook is updated as communications are issued) before you act on anything time-sensitive.
How Flyto can help
Flyto moves households from Argentina to Europe and worldwide, door-to-door; get a quote. We handle your belongings; for the money side, use a bank or licensed broker and the current BCRA rules, and take professional advice for large transfers.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still only buy USD 200 a month?
No. That monthly cap was removed for individuals in April 2025 when the government lifted the cepo; you can now buy in the official market without that limit (Source: BCRA — Exterior y Cambios).
Is it legal to move my money abroad from Argentina?
Yes. With controls eased for individuals, you can transfer dollars from a dollar account or use the CCL bond route to move funds to an overseas account, subject to current BCRA rules and bank checks (Source: BCRA — Exterior y Cambios).
What is the 90-day cross-restriction?
Since 26 September 2025, if you buy dollars in the official market you sign a declaration not to sell MEP/CCL dollars for 90 days, to prevent arbitrage between the two markets (Source: BCRA — Exterior y Cambios).
Do the same rules apply to my company?
No. The cepo has been kept for companies; corporate dollar purchases and some dividend transfers abroad remain restricted (Source: BCRA — Exterior y Cambios).
Can I keep a dollar savings account in Argentina?
Yes. A caja de ahorro en dólares is the standard way to hold hard-currency savings, and there is no monthly purchase cap for individuals to fund it (Source: BCRA — Exterior y Cambios).
Why does other advice still describe strict controls?
Because much of it predates the April 2025 liberalisation. The regime changed substantially and is still being adjusted, so confirm the live rules with the BCRA before transferring (Source: BCRA — Exterior y Cambios).
Sources
- BCRA — Exterior y Cambios (texto ordenado, consolidated FX rulebook)
- BCRA — Política cambiaria (exchange-rate policy)
- BCRA — Banco Central de la República Argentina (home)
- Boletín Oficial — BCRA Comunicación “A” 8226/2025 (April 2025 measures)
- Ministerio de Economía — Argentina.gob.ar (economic policy announcements)
- BCRA — Sistema financiero (bank accounts and regulations)