ARSArgentina · CBU/CVUQuick answer: Pay contractors in Argentina by bank transfer in pesos to their CBU or CVU, which settles instantly, 24/7, on the central bank’s immediate-transfer system. Argentina lifted most of its currency controls in April 2025 and scrapped the annual dollar cap for freelancers in September 2025, so the old workarounds matter less than they did. Collect a W-8BEN before the first payment. Avvio for Business funds in USD or USDC, locks the quote, and delivers ARS to a CBU in seconds.
For a decade, paying someone in Argentina meant learning a vocabulary: cepo, dólar blue, dólar MEP, the 36,000-dollar cap. Contractors built elaborate routes to avoid converting at the official rate because that rate was fiction. A lot of that changed in 2025. Not all of it, and not forever, but enough that a US business in 2026 can pay an Argentine freelancer without a spreadsheet of exchange rates. Here’s the current picture.
What’s the best way to pay a contractor in Argentina?
The right answer depends on what your contractor wants to end up holding, which in Argentina is a real question. The comparison below is for USD to ARS as of August 2026, using provider-published numbers. Argentina is thinly covered by the big transfer platforms, so several cells say “not published.”
| Method | Sender cost | What the contractor loses | Time to pesos | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bank wire (SWIFT) | $35 to $50, median $45 (NerdWallet 2026 survey) | Rate markup, intermediary deductions, plus a local bank’s conversion | 2 to 5 business days | moneytransferreviews.com, 2026 |
| PayPal | Low from balance | 3% to 4% conversion spread plus 1.5% cross-border fee (paypal.com, 2026); withdrawing to Argentina is awkward | Varies | paypal.com, 2026 |
| Wise | Not published for USD to ARS in a form we could verify; ARS can’t be held in a Wise account (Exiap, 2026) | Rate at conversion | Varies | exiap.com, 2026 |
| Payoneer | Payer pricing not published | $1.50 flat to withdraw same-currency; up to 2% FX on cross-currency withdrawal (payoneer.com, 2026); many contractors withdraw via local wallets at the MEP rate (Global66, 2026) | Same day via some wallets | payoneer.com, 2026 |
| Deel (contractor management) | From $49 per contractor per month (pin.com, 2026) | Depends on withdrawal method | Varies | pin.com, 2026 |
| Stablecoin-settled bank transfer (Avvio) | Shown on the quote | Receives the quoted ARS amount | Seconds to the CBU | docs.avvio.xyz |
Argentina is the one corridor where your contractor may have a strong preference about currency, and where that preference is reasonable. Inflation ran 33.8% year on year in July 2026 (INDEC via IndexBox, 2026), down sharply from the triple digits of 2024 but still high enough that nobody wants pesos to sit idle. The fair approach is to show the exact peso amount before you send, pay instantly so the money isn’t in transit while the rate moves, and let the contractor decide what to do next. The general logic for comparing methods is in our guide to paying international contractors.
What does the contractor actually receive?
Pesos, instantly, to a CBU (a bank account) or a CVU (a fintech or wallet account such as Mercado Pago). The two behave the same for a payout.
Immediate transfers, 24/7. Argentina’s central bank runs an immediate-transfer system that moves money between any CBU and CVU in the country in around 15 seconds, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, at no cost to the recipient (BBVA, 2026). In May 2026 alone there were 43.9 million immediate transfers worth about 4.2 trillion pesos, split roughly evenly between bank accounts and payment accounts (BCRA, 2026). Your contractor uses this rail every day. A payout that lands on it feels domestic.
What changed in 2025. In April 2025 the government eliminated most of the cepo cambiario, the currency-control regime: individuals can now freely buy and sell dollars, hold them in accounts, and move them abroad (Trade.gov, 2025). Then in September 2025 the central bank removed the annual USD 36,000 ceiling that had capped how much freelancers and service exporters could receive without being forced to convert (Infobae, Sept 2025). As of 2026, an individual exporting services can keep 100% of their earnings in dollars with no obligation to sell them for pesos (Wallbit, 2026). Some rules survive: foreign-currency earnings still need to be brought into a local account in the exporter’s name within a set window unless an exception applies (Wallbit, 2026), and companies face residual restrictions individuals don’t (WSC Legal, 2026).
So do dollars land, or pesos? On a bank-transfer payout in ARS, pesos. That’s what Avvio’s Argentina corridor delivers today. If your contractor wants to hold dollars, she can now legally convert pesos to dollars locally, and many contractors already do that through their bank or wallet at the MEP rate. What’s gone is the trap where receiving from abroad forced a conversion at a rate nobody believed. Our explainer on stablecoin payouts for platforms covers how destination-side conversion on a locked quote works.
What tax paperwork do I need?
This isn’t tax advice, and Argentina’s rules move faster than most. Check with an accountant. For a US business paying an Argentine resident who works from Argentina:
- W-8BEN before the first payment. It certifies the contractor is a non-US person. For a contractor billing through an Argentine company (an SRL or SA), collect the W-8BEN-E. Our W-8BEN for foreign contractors guide covers each line.
- No 1099-NEC. That form is for US persons.
- Without a valid W-8, 30% withholding can apply. It’s the single most avoidable cost in this whole process.
- Work performed while physically in the US is a different case. Ask a professional.
On the Argentine side, your contractor issues a Factura E, the export invoice type required for services sold abroad, through the ARCA portal at or before the time of payment (Wallbit, 2026). Most freelancers are registered under the monotributo simplified regime, and a new tax framework specifically for freelancers working for foreign companies has been under discussion in Congress (Buenos Aires Herald, 2026). None of that is your filing, but the Factura E needs your business name and address, so send them in your onboarding pack. For what a clean cross-border invoice includes, see invoicing international clients.
How do payouts to Argentina work with Avvio for Business?
Avvio for Business is built to make an Argentine payout feel like a local transfer, because on the last leg it is one.
- Fund your business account in USD or USDC. Your balance stays in dollars.
- Add the recipient. Account holder name, tax number, and the 22-digit CBU of their bank account. Save it once.
- Quote in ARS and lock it. You see the exchange rate and the exact peso amount that will land. Confirming locks that quote. In a currency that moves, locking matters.
- Delivered by bank transfer. The dollars move as stablecoins, convert to pesos at the Argentine end, and the immediate-transfer system delivers to the CBU in seconds, on any day. Nothing sits in a correspondent bank for a week while the rate drifts.
- Dashboard or API. The same payouts are available via the REST API, the @avvio/payments Node SDK, and a CLI, with webhooks. Reference at docs.avvio.xyz.
Argentina is one of 150+ countries Avvio delivers to across 60+ currencies. Studios and consultancies that set up payments for clients hiring in the Southern Cone can join the partner program.
The plain version: Avvio is a financial technology company, not a bank. Accounts and payouts are provided through licensed partners, availability varies by jurisdiction, and W-8 collection and record-keeping stay with you.
Common mistakes when paying Argentine contractors
Applying 2023 rules in 2026. The 36,000-dollar cap is gone and the cepo is mostly gone for individuals. If your contractor’s advice or your own process still assumes otherwise, you’re both working around a wall that’s been torn down.
Leaving money in transit. A wire that takes four days in a currency running 2% monthly inflation isn’t just slow, it’s a pay cut. Instant delivery on a locked quote is the fix.
Confusing CBU and CVU. Both are 22-digit identifiers, both work on the same instant rail, and both are fine. Just know which one you’re being given: a CVU is a wallet, and for a cross-border payout you want the bank CBU.
Skipping the Factura E. Your contractor needs to issue one for every payment. If your AP process can’t accept it, sort that before you scale.
Assuming rules are fixed. Argentine FX policy has changed multiple times in five years. Re-check before a large batch, and pick a provider that stays on top of it so you don’t have to.
Frequently asked questions
Can I pay a contractor in Argentina in US dollars? A bank-transfer payout in ARS delivers pesos. Since 2025, individuals can hold dollars and convert freely, so your contractor can turn pesos into dollars locally if she wants. What matters is that she receives the quoted amount instantly, not after days in a correspondent bank.
What’s a CVU and can I pay to one? A CVU is the fintech-account equivalent of a bank CBU. Wallets like Mercado Pago issue them, and domestic transfers to a CVU ride the same instant rail. Cross-border payouts are a different question: Avvio delivers to a bank CBU, so ask your contractor for their bank account rather than their wallet.
Is the cepo really over? Mostly, for individuals. Since April 2025 people can buy, hold, and move dollars, and the September 2025 change removed the freelancer cap. Companies still face some restrictions, and rules can change, so treat this as the situation in 2026, not a permanent state.
Do I need a W-8BEN for an Argentine freelancer? Yes, before the first payment. It’s what confirms non-US status, prevents 30% withholding, and means no 1099. Use the W-8BEN-E if the contractor bills through a company.
How fast does the money arrive? The Argentine immediate-transfer leg is about 15 seconds, 24/7. On a stablecoin-settled payout, the full path from your USD balance to the contractor’s CBU is seconds to minutes. Wires take days.
Get a live ARS quote in the developer docs, or if you help businesses hire in Argentina, see the partner program.
