Argentina is facing a major financial crisis as its inflation rate has skyrocketed by 287 percent over the past year. This has caused the country’s currency, the peso, to devalue significantly and made cash transactions cumbersome due to the need for hundreds of bills. However, virtual payments through electronic wallets and credit cards have helped ease this burden.
In response to these challenges, the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA) has introduced a new 10,000 peso bill, equivalent to about 10 euros. This new note is now the maximum denomination in the Argentine monetary system, which until now worked mainly with 1,000 peso and 2,000 peso notes. The new bill features the images of Manuel Belgrano and María Remedios del Valle, historical figures from Argentina’s fight for independence.
The government plans to introduce a 20,000 peso bill with the image of Juan Bautista Alberdi, a prominent figure in Argentine liberalism. The history of the Argentine peso has been marked by constant devaluation and changing names over successive monetary reforms. The current situation has led to challenges in the ATM system and banks creating special vaults to accommodate large volumes of physical money.
Despite these difficulties, there are hopes that inflation may be decreasing in Argentina. The new 10,000 peso bill is seen as a step towards providing greater value and convenience in everyday transactions for Argentines.