Although in 2022 those who bet on the dollar lost against inflation and against the yield on fixed maturities in pesos, A good portion of Argentines continues to invest their savings in the greenback.

In early 2023, the Savings Dollar is trading at $307 and it’s much cheaper than the blue one, which comes in at $353. But you can only buy US$200 a month, and expenses that you make in dollars — like paying for your Netflix subscription or Amazon purchases — are discounted by this share.

Additionally, there are a number of restrictions that exclude from the savings dollar those who receive social plans, have ever received paycheck through the government’s ATP Business Aid Program during the pandemic, or have no registered income.

For those who want to get dollarized, the MEP dollar is an alternative. This operation makes it possible to obtain foreign currency through the purchase of bonds or shares listed on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange in pesos and dollars. Unlike the blue dollar, it is a legal alternative that has no monthly limit for resellers. although it is conditioned by some restrictions.

How to trade in MEP dollars

To access the MEP dollar or the equity dollar, you need to have a savings account in pesos and another in dollars at the bank, both with the same name.

Additionally, you need to open a main account with a stock exchange (ALYC), commonly known as a broker, which can be done online.

From here, the first step is transfer funds in pesos from bank account to main account.

Once the funds have been transferred from the ALYC page, you choose how much to buy. While there are various bonds and stocks available for this transaction, One of the most used alternatives is to buy the GD30 bond in pesos and then sell it as GD30 in dollars.

The purchase is immediate, but to sell you have to wait one working day, according to the “parking” established by the government. This means that the price may vary between the purchase and the sale. Once the sale is complete, the dollars obtained are transferred to the bank account and from there they can be withdrawn or kept on deposit.

Although the operation is simple, it has some restrictions. LThe main thing is that it is available only to those who have not bought dollars through the bank in the last 90 days.

It is also not eligible for AUH or social plan recipients or those with no reported income.

Furthermore, they are excluded from this operation those who maintain or have requested discounted electricity and gas tariffs. In this way, those who want to dollarize themselves through the MEP must voluntarily give up subsidies and thus access the currency.

To complete this procedure it is necessary to enter the Register of Access to Energy Contributions (RASE) and click on “Modify or cancel the application”.

Once there, you’ll need to enter the DNI and management number you obtained when applying for benefits. Finally, the option to delete the registration appears.

In recent months, more than 100,000 users have unsubscribed from this registry to access the MEP dollar.