A common question is whether one should take traveller’s cheques on a trip. In South America, traveller’s cheques are very inconvenient. They are difficult to cash. You usually can only do so in a bank and it often takes a lot of paperwork. You may feel secure with one or two traveller’s cheques as a financial backup, but don’t depend upon traveller’s cheques for your daily expenses. Most likely, you will just find the traveller’s cheques to be a hassle. The better option for a backup is to hide an extra amount of cash in a secure location.

ATMs are abundant in South America. With ATMs you can withdraw your money in the local currency. It’s recommended to use the ATMs that are only in or outside a bank building rather than the ones that are standalone.

The downside is that banks have increased their fees for international ATM usage. However, the convenience still outweighs the disadvantage of carrying large sums of US dollars or Euros in cash.

Note that different countries will have limits on how much money can be withdrawn in any one transaction. In Argentina, it’s usually no more than $400 or $500 pesos. To withdraw more, you will need to do another transaction, which unfortunately also means another ATM service charge. Of course, you can go a long ways on $500 pesos.

VISA/MC are accepted at many places, though small, local establishments usually take only cash.