Argentina central bank allows salaries in U.S. dollars

Argentina’s central bank authorized salary payments in U.S. dollars and instructed private banks to open dollar-denominated salary accounts in Communication A 8460, issued Friday. The document addresses the rules for “Savings, Salary, and Special Accounts.”

The communication requires private banks and financial institutions to accept deposits and withdrawals in U.S. dollars for formal salary accounts and to provide those services free of charge. The central bank wrote that banks must include the U.S. dollar as an accepted currency for deposits into the Salary Account established under point 2.1 of the consolidated rules.

The authorization follows changes in the Labor Modernization Law that allowed wages to be paid and collected in foreign currency. The central bank noted that previous rules excluded digital wallets; the latest order applies specifically to traditional bank salary accounts. The measure comes alongside a Deregulation bill presented to expand activity in the national financial market.

Companies that receive revenue in dollars are the primary candidates to use the new accounts. The central bank cited sectors such as commodity exporters, software developers, and digital design and marketing firms. Many of those employers have been paying wages in dollars through foreign accounts or other informal channels; the new accounts provide a formal option within Argentina’s banking system.

Firms that do not receive payments in dollars remain limited from accessing the official foreign-exchange market and are unlikely to switch payrolls to dollars. The currency of payment must be agreed between employer and employee, so adoption will depend on workers’ willingness to receive and hold dollar wages in local bank accounts.

The central bank highlighted public memory of the 2001 cash withdrawal limits known as the corralito. That episode has left some Argentines with lingering distrust of banks, which could affect how many employees accept dollar salary accounts. The regulation leaves the choice of currency to employers and workers and does not change past controls.