Best Way to Spend Money in South America? (Low FX Rates & Minimal Fees)

RickyPoontang on 05/01/2025 - 21:25

Hi OzBargain community,

I’m planning a trip to South America and want to know the best way to manage money while I’m there. I’ve seen how Citibank Plus or ING accounts are highly recommended for Europe due to great FX rates and zero overseas fees, but I’m wondering if there’s a similar "go-to" option for South America.

Specifically:

Which debit/credit cards work best for FX rates and minimal fees?
Are there any banks or cards that waive ATM withdrawal fees in countries like Brazil, Argentina, or Peru?
Any local payment apps (like Europe’s Revolut) that are worth setting up?
I’d love to hear about your experiences or tips for managing money efficiently in South America—things like avoiding hidden fees, the best ATMs, or any traps to watch out for.

Thanks in advance! 😊

Financial South America

Comments

  • Stewardo on 06/01/2025 - 00:15
    +1

    USD in cash is normally way to go. Many countries have a black market currency exchange rate.

  • alexason on 06/01/2025 - 00:56
    +1

    I used a Macquarie quiet successfully last year. Free overseas ATM withdrawals to get out USD for alot of day to day purchases that required cash and also used the card and just selected to to pay in local currency on the POS. No international transaction rates that way and a reasonable (probably not the best) fx rate. Simple and no need to transfer cash around or horde heaps of cash on your person.

    Macquarie were great to deal with when my account got locked (once - not unexpected as I purchased something for our return trip in Singapore from Ecuador) and got it unlocked in a couple of hours for me. Generally there app was great at picking up where I was to prevent the overseas transactions flagging. Always for a back up card for those times though!

    • pencilman on 06/01/2025 - 01:02

      Free overseas ATM withdrawals to get out USD

      Did you mean get out local currency or really USD?
      Can't imagine Brazil, Chile, Argentina or Peru etc giving out USD from their ATMs.

      • alexason on 06/01/2025 - 06:10

        Local currency in Ecuador is USD :) - But yes, obviously in Brazil, Argentina etc it wouldn't be.

      • 6079 Smith on 06/01/2025 - 08:09

        Argentina relies very heavily on USD, I’d suggest the OP have a look at Western Union as a way to get currency in Argentina if they don’t want to carry bulk USD
        Bolivia also has a black market rate but the difference is less significant

  • Bredo on 06/01/2025 - 05:45

    If you want the best FX rate, cash is the King, Bring the USD notes with you from Australia. Also, don't bring any small denominations (usd$100s notes only) and make sure it's the latest one (with the big head and the blue line) and in mint condition (no marks/cuts on them), otherwise you will have a hard time exchanging them and in the best cases lose a good chunk of money in the process because they don't want old/damaged/marked USD notes.

    I've never had a problem paying with cards like Macquarie, Bankwest zero, 28 degrees, Citi plus, ubank and Up. Just have at least two options in case of any issues with one of them.

    In my experience, ATMs do not give you USD notes, they'll give you local currency only.

    I almost never use ATMs in South America, it's only there for an emergency.

  • saltypete on 06/01/2025 - 10:44

    Lots of smaller purchases best to have a fist full of USD.

  • Artefact on 06/01/2025 - 16:08

    Not sure about Brazil or Peru, but ATM fees in Argentina were significant, something like AUD12-15. When I was there, we still had good ol' ING card that refunded the fee, so we had no issues with taking money from ATMs as needed. Not the case now, and I understand no cards in Australia refund foreign ATM fees. Americans have Charles Shwab that does that. Ecuadorian ATMs dispense USD, as it is the official currency of Ecuador, but it is not in the countries you have mentioned.
    ING, Macquarie, UBank, etc cards use Mastercard or Visa exchange rate, you can check the current rate at https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/personal/get-support/convert… for Mastercard at any time (just put 0% for bank fee) - this is the rate you'll be getting your AUD converted to pesos, sols etc when you pay for purchases or take cash from ATM.

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