From Monday, Argentines can buy dollars without the old monthly cap and the peso will float inside a band of 1,000 to 1,400 per dollar, backed by a new US$20 billion IMF program.
For years, getting dollars in Argentina has meant navigating the cepo, the informal name for the web of currency controls that limited who could buy foreign currency, how much and at what rate. On Friday, April 11, 2025, the government of President Javier Milei announced that most of those controls on individuals end on Monday, April 14. "From this Monday the cepo is over," Economy Minister Luis Caputo said, speaking alongside central bank president Santiago Bausili.
The announcement came the same day the International Monetary Fund's board approved a new US$20 billion loan to Argentina, giving the central bank the reserves it needs to let the currency trade more freely.
Argentina reintroduced controls on buying dollars at the end of Mauricio Macri's government in 2019, and they were tightened under the governments that followed. Individuals could buy at the official rate only up to US$200 a month, many people were excluded altogether, and a range of taxes and surcharges applied. Companies faced limits on paying for imports and sending dividends abroad. The result was a set of parallel exchange rates, with savers and businesses turning to alternative markets to obtain dollars.
Under what the Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA), the central bank, calls phase 3 of the economic program, the peso will float freely within a band:
A crawling band of this kind is a halfway house between a fixed rate and a free float: the market sets the price day to day, while the central bank limits extreme moves.
For individuals, the changes are broad:
Companies get more limited relief. They can pay dividends to foreign shareholders through the official market, without prior approval, from profits for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025. Payment timelines for imports are shortened, and the cross restriction for companies is lifted on a one off basis. Older dividends and older debts to related companies remain subject to the previous rules, and the central bank is preparing new bonds to address them.
The IMF agreed terms with Argentina on April 8 for a 48 month arrangement worth US$20 billion under the Extended Fund Facility, the Fund's lending tool for countries with longer term problems. The Fund described it as anchored on fiscal discipline. According to the government, US$15 billion will be freely available during 2025. The economy ministry also expects about US$3.5 billion from other international lenders, the central bank plans a repo facility of up to US$2 billion with international banks, and a swap line with China has been extended for 12 months.
For people with ties to Argentina, the practical effect is that money should become easier to bring in, convert and take back out. Under the cepo, foreigners who brought dollars into the official system were often reluctant to do so, because getting them out again was uncertain. A single market rate that floats within a known band removes much of that friction, and Argentine banks, where dollar accounts are common, should become simpler to use for both pesos and dollars.
Two cautions apply. First, the central bank's announcement is framed around Argentine individuals and companies, and the detailed regulations for non residents are worth checking with our local team in Argentina before moving significant sums. Second, Argentina has removed and reimposed controls before, most recently in 2019. Keeping a bank account outside Argentina as well as inside it remains sensible, and our international banking service helps clients open primary and backup accounts in other jurisdictions.
An Argentine passport offers visa free travel to the Schengen area and the United Kingdom and residence rights across much of South America, and Argentina has long granted citizenship after two years of legal residence. Until now, the currency regime has been one of the biggest practical obstacles to living or investing in the country. If the new framework holds, it removes a large part of that obstacle. We will follow how the band performs in its first months.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.
Unveiled in Paris on October 2, Argentina’s citizenship by investment program will take a US$350,000 Treasury contribution or an US$800,000 bond, with applications expected before the end of 2026.
Read
Moody’s raised Argentina by one notch on July 21 and turned its outlook positive. After Fitch in May and S&P in June, the three major agencies now agree on Argentina’s rating for the first time in over a decade.
Read
The Senate gave final approval on February 27 to the labour modernisation law, changing severance, trial periods, working hours and collective bargaining in one of Argentina’s largest labour overhauls in decades.
ReadThis is a big decision, and there is a lot of information to take in. That is why we start with a free 15 minute call: we look at your situation and your goals, then tell you which programs genuinely fit you, and which do not. We never push one program over another. If staying where you are is your best move, we will tell you that and sell you nothing.
