Paypal No Longer Available to Circumvent Argentina’s Poor-Performing Peso

What’s the Latest Development?

In Argentina, the inflation rate has pushed up the price of goods 24 percent each year. This devaluation Argentina’s peso has forced Argentinians to look for a more stable currency to invest in. To compound this problem, last year the Argentine government placed restrictions on the purchase of American dollars, a much more stable currency. To circumvent these restrictions, Argentinians have been setting up multiple Paypal accounts to send themselves pesos converted into dollars at a much better rate than can be found on the black market. Now, new rules make it so “only one account per person can be registered within Argentina.”

What’s the Big Idea?

“The government’s rules were designed to curb the flight of savings from the country and make the economy less dependent on the US dollar.” Additionally, Paypal users in Argentina will only be allowed to purchase goods internationally. “In September the government established a new 15% tax on all purchases made abroad, affecting credit cards and purchases made on international websites like Amazon and eBay, and transactions made on Paypal.” Argentinians are now forced to invest in their country’s currency or suffer inflated black-market exchange rates.

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