Argentina: Currency & Financial System

The Argentine peso (ARS) is the official currency of Argentina, issued and regulated by the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA), headquartered in Buenos Aires. The peso has a long history of high inflation and periodic currency crises, and for decades Argentines have widely held U.S. dollars as a store of value alongside the peso. The banking system includes public institutions such as Banco de la Nacion Argentina alongside domestic and foreign-owned private banks, all supervised by the BCRA. Argentina has undergone several currency redenominations since the mid-20th century in response to sustained high inflation.

As of October 2026, Argentina's financial system continues to operate under reforms introduced by the government of Javier Milei, who became president in December 2023. In April 2025, Milei's administration lifted the longstanding currency and capital controls known as the "cepo cambiario," which had restricted access to foreign exchange since 2019, as part of a $20 billion financing arrangement approved by the International Monetary Fund. In place of the controls, the BCRA introduced an exchange rate band permitting the peso to trade between roughly 1,000 and 1,400 per U.S. dollar; since January 2026, adjustments to the band have been tied to inflation data published by the national statistics agency INDEC rather than a fixed monthly rate. As of late 2026, Santiago Bausili serves as BCRA president under the Milei administration.

Annual inflation eased to 31.5 percent in 2025, the lowest rate recorded since 2017, according to INDEC, though it remained high by international standards. The government has stated a long-term goal of further disinflation and has at times raised the possibility of eventual dollarization, though as of 2026 no formal timeline for replacing the peso has been adopted. The durability of the exchange rate band and the pace of further liberalization remain closely watched indicators of Argentina's broader economic stabilization effort.