Opening a bank account in Argentina

For all practical purposes, it is impossible to open a bank account in Argentina without a permanent visa or residency.  Yes, from a strict legal standpoint you should be able to open one easily enough without either, but the banks simply refuse unless you have your DNI, national identity card.

They really do not have any lending system here for foreigners and they are not eligible for mortgages with Argentines themselve only having them available the last few years.  None of them really take out any mortgages or borrow any money as no one trusts the banking system here.

Also, there is no oversight her in regards to credit cards or ATMs/debit cards.  Not even the central bank has any control, so it is sort of like the final frontier here with banks and ATM providers charging whatever they like and placing whatever restrictions they want on transactions and there is nothing you can do about it with your credit card provider or financial institution backing your card. 

I remember when I first came here international transactions fees at ATMs were nominal and I could pull out my maximum daily limit as assigned by my bank. Then for about a year, I could only pull out USD 100.  Now I can pull out 1600 pesos per day which is much less than my bank's limit. 

I would not recommend banking here. It is difficult to get an account.  All accounts have monthly service fees that are very high and it does not matter how much money you have in your account.  Your money is subject to arbitrary seizure of unannounced withdrawel limitations in times of economic crisis here, which is cyclic occuring on the average every ten years (and we are in the midst of one now as well as hyperinflation). 

I would recommend people go to Uruguay and open an account there with the national bank.  You can do it with a passport, as they are part of Mercosur all your stuff works across borders here in the southern cone of South America.  Most of all the banks are stable in Uruguay as well as the currency and you need not have any fears associated with your account like there are here. 

Argentines are paid on the first business day after the 5th of the month and by law their employers are required to open a checking account for them and pay them through direct deposit to that account.  Every month you see long lines, typically halfway down the block or longer, with locals pulling out their entire paychech from the ATMs since they do not trust the banks here at all.

Thanks for your contribution WynnWoods!

Harmonie.

Everything WynnWoods said plus...
After I had my permanent residency and DNI, most banks still refused to open an account because I had no proof of Argentine income. I'm paid in the U.S.
I won't give all the details here, but while you're in the US and before coming to Argentina, check into a Citigold account. There are Citi banks in Argentina and using their ATMs to move money from the U.S., there are some distinct advantages to that type of account.

samwdavis.