[Tango-L] ATM Issues in Buenos Aires

[Rick Jones]

My wife and I, who live in Buenos Aires, started
experiencing some ATM problems this past weekend. 
Specifically, we were both precluded from withdrawing
more than $100 pesos from the ATMs at Banco Boston and
HBSC using our various VISA cards.

Today on the Yahoo! BANewcomers group, the issue came
up.  It would appear a lot of people (foreigners) are
experiencing this down here.

Someone on BANewcomers stated that BANELCO, the force
behind the ATMs, I guess, has instituted this in the
name of protecting tourists in case their credit cards
get stolen.

Other than the fact that my wife and I cannot
withdrawl more than $100 pesos at a crack, I don't
really know what's behind this or why, and how it's
going to play out or for how long.

What I do know is this: I still get charged $2.64 USD
(total) for each ATM  transaction here.  If I can only
withdrawl $100 pesos (about $32 or $33 USD, I am
losing close to 9% of my currency.

So before you come to BsAs on your tango vacation or
whatever, you might want to inquire as to the status
of this issue, and how people are coping.  For all I
know, there are other ways to use the ATMs...there are
other ways to get money...whatever.  But in the
meantime, it is surely vexing for us, and I wanted to
pass it along to those of you who are thinking about
coming down anytime soon.

Cheers,

Rick Jones