Companies will be able to display prices in dollars and banks are preparing the bimonetary card

While banks prepare cards to use laundering dollars, the Government will implement a measure to encourage consumption in that currency. Starting January, companies will be able to display prices in both pesos and the US currency a decision that aims to capture dollars from the financial system and promote sales of technology, cell phones and appliances, in addition to cars and real estate.

For this, The Secretary of Commerce, headed by Pablo Lavigne, must repeal Resolution 2 of 2002which establishes that “in cases in which movable goods or services are offered directly to the public in foreign currency, their price may be displayed in said currency, in less relevant characters than those corresponding to the respective indication in Pesos.” In this way, prices can be shown on equal terms.

“We have a rule from 2002 that governs the display of prices and we are working on modernizing and updating it. It is a rule from 22 years ago, it has nothing to do with it, before payments were made and you sent the receipt by fax. The idea is to go towards the exhibition in pesos and dollars, we are in the preparation stage and in January it will be ready“official sources confirmed.

Today, operations can be arranged in dollars in almost all sectors. For example, to buy a property, a combine harvester or a car. In the case of vehicles and properties, Platforms and real estate agencies already show prices in US currency. But in the chamber of developers (CEDU) they believe that the officialization of the new measure would provide greater transparency and facilitate operations.

“This would reduce interpretations about the exchange ratesince currently many values ​​are expressed in dollars informally,” said the executive director of CEDU, Mali Vazquez. “To sell mass consumption goods and services in dollars, a change is needed in the regulations of the Secretary of Commerce and of the Central Bank,” said Gonzalo Brest, Legal Partner at KPMG.

The Ministry of Economy seeks to channel the supply of dollars from laundering towards mass consumption. This is US$ 22,165 million in cash that is deposited in the CERA accounts in the banksaccording to the latest official data. A part of the laundered currency flow fueled dollar credits and financial investments (bonds, mutual funds and corporate debt). Now, they are looking to go one step further.

In principle, the focus is on items such as mobile telephony, technology, cars and houses. All in a context where although consumption with credit facilities began to recover, the sale of household appliances accumulated a drop of almost 30% in 2024, according to Analytica. “There is a lot of money from laundering and the intention is for it to circulate through the economythat it is possible to display them in dollars,” they point out in official offices.

The initiative is in line with the announcement made by the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, in August, when he anticipated that it would be regulated that money laundering dollars could be used without paying a fine and that it would be possible buy anything from a soda to a 0km car with those currencies through the debit card. In the government they assure that ARCA and BCRA have already ordered the first, while the second depends on banks and broadcasters.

“Everything is moving forward, It is assumed that in February the cards should be operational to make payments. They are all working for that, banks, processors, credit and debit cards,” they said in a banking chamber. “We have the solution ready, it only remains for the ecosystem to finish the adjustments so that people can make payments in pesos and dollars in the country with its debit cards,” Mastercard said.

In the first instance, debit operations will be enabled, but the issuer assures that it already has everything ready to extend it to credit and prepaid cards although he warns that regulatory changes are still required. “If it is not clarified that the debit always has to be in the account currency in the same currency, it could conflict with the foreign exchange regime,” said Brest.