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The Government of Alberto Fernández put into circulation on Monday, May 22, 2023, a 2,000-peso bill, which will be the highest denomination, at a time when annual inflation of 108% forces the use of huge amounts of paper money even for the smallest purchases.
To get an idea of how devalued the local currency is in Argentina, it is enough to compare the 57 dollars that a 1,000-peso bill was equivalent to in December 2017 -when this denomination was launched- with the little more than 4 dollars that it costs today in the official market.
The unstoppable devaluation, which forced the Government to issue a new, higher denomination, is also reflected in the fact that the 2,000 Argentine peso bill, announced in February, represented around 10 dollars at that time, compared to around 8 dollars today. .
On the new paper, dark gray and pink, appear the images of Cecilia Grierson, the first doctor to graduate in 1889, and Ramón Carrillo, promoter of social medicine since 1946, with a fund from the Malbrán Institute, key in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Among the main measures is the increase in purchase limits on credit cards through increases of 30% in margins for purchases in installments, 25% in margins for one payment and 25% in margins for advance in current account of PyMEs and MiPyMEs.
— Sergio Massa (@SergioMassa) May 22, 2023
“The 2,000-peso commemorative bill has strict security measures”, highlighted the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic. Among them, a watermark with the images of Carrillo and Grierson and optical variability ink that changes color, with a three-dimensional effect, among others, stand out.
The Central Bank says it is commemorative. However, analysts believe it logical that a higher denomination is due to the need to curb the bulky payments with bills that have lost much of their value.
Increase in ceilings on credit purchases to encourage consumption
The launch of the new banknote denomination was accompanied by other measures, according to what was announced by the Argentine Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa.
Among them is the increase in credit card purchase limits through increases of 30% in margins for purchases in installments, 25% in margins for one payment and 25% in margins for checking account advances. of micro and small businesses.
According to these new provisions, around 39 million Argentines will be able to increase their credit quota. The local media explain that, along these lines, if a family had 50,000 pesos of credit on their card, they will now have 65,000 pesos.
The head of the Economy portfolio emphasized that these new measures must be complemented with State actions to generate the necessary macroeconomic order to achieve a reduction in inflation, which in April was already close to 109% year-on-year.
With Reuters, EFE and local media
