Argentina's Central Bank is working to enable dollar debt cards

Argentina’s Central Bank is working with banks and credit card companies to enable debt cards denominated in dollars, bank chief Santiago Bausili said in a post on X.

The move is part of a push to adopt the dollar as the South American nation’s official currency. 

“We are coordinating and working with the cards, the buyers and banks so that they are available as soon as possible,” Bausili said in a response to a question on X, formerly known as Twitter. “The regulations are all ready, the implementation requires systems and security that is being developed.”

The Central Bank governor didn’t give a timeline for the introduction of the cards, though Infobae earlier reported that they would be ready by year-end, citing the central bank.

President Javier Milei had said during his campaign that he would quickly shut down the central bank and dollarise the economy. However, since coming to office he has moved more gradually, curtailing the supply of pesos and enabling the use of dollars for a wider range of transactions.