Free help with money in Argentina

Everyday money and banking

• Herramientas y Conocimientos Financieros (financial tools and knowledge, BCRA)The Banco Central’s section for users of financial services (usuarios financieros), with plain guides to savings accounts, fixed-term deposits, cards and loans, a page on users’ rights, how to avoid online scams, and links to its complaint services.www.bcra.gob.ar/herramientas-conocimientos
• Programas de Educación Financiera (financial education programs, BCRA)The Banco Central’s financial education programs, including a free online course for secondary school teachers and free workshops for teenagers on topics such as a personal budget, digital payments and saving. Schools can write to educacion.financiera@bcra.gob.ar.www.bcra.gob.ar/programas-de-educacion-financiera
• Caja de ahorro: cómo usarla de forma segura (savings accounts, BCRA)A caja de ahorro (savings account) is free to open, with no monthly maintenance fee and a free debit card. A bank can’t make you take another product, such as a credit card or a loan, as a condition of opening one. The page lists what can cost money.www.bcra.gob.ar/caja-de-ahorro-caracteristicas-y-uso
• Comparar comisiones de productos financieros (compare bank fees, BCRA)Tables published by the Banco Central comparing the fees, charges and rates that banks and finance companies charge for their products.www.bcra.gob.ar/comparar-comisiones-de-productos-financieros

Credit reports and disputes

• Central de Deudores (register of borrowers, BCRA)Look up online, by CUIT, CUIL or CDI (tax ID numbers), a consolidated report of the loans and other financing reported to the Banco Central by banks, card issuers and other lenders.www.bcra.gob.ar/situacion-crediticia
• Conocer qué es la Central de Deudores (understanding the register, BCRA)What the register shows (the last 24 months, updated monthly), what each situación (rating) from 1 to 5 means, and what to do about a debt you don’t recognize. Being listed is not a ban on borrowing: the decision to lend is the lender’s.www.bcra.gob.ar/conocer-que-es-la-central-de-deudores
• Rectificar o suprimir registros en la Central de Deudores (correcting the register, BCRA)A free online process for individuals to ask the Banco Central to step in when data in the register is wrong or out of date, after complaining to whoever reported it. Complaints about private credit information companies go to those companies.www.bcra.gob.ar/rectificacion-supresion-central-deudores

Borrowing and checking lenders

• Préstamos personales: qué tener en cuenta antes de decidir (personal loans, BCRA)What to check before taking a loan: compare the Costo Financiero Total (CFT, total financial cost), which includes interest, insurance, IVA (VAT) and other charges, not just the installment. Also covers the plain-language contract summary, changing your mind and paying off early.www.bcra.gob.ar/prestamos-personales-comparar-costos-y-condiciones
• Claves sobre préstamos (key points about loans, BCRA)One page on what to check before borrowing, how to look up your credit situation, and where to complain if something goes wrong with a loan.www.bcra.gob.ar/claves-sobre-prestamos
• Entidades Financieras (financial institutions, BCRA)The Banco Central’s database of the financial institutions operating in Argentina, with their contact details and the people responsible for serving users of financial services.www.bcra.gob.ar/entidades-financieras
• Otros Proveedores No Financieros (non-bank lenders, BCRA)The Banco Central’s register of non-bank credit providers, with each one’s CUIT (tax ID), legal address and phone number.www.bcra.gob.ar/proveedores-no-financieros

Tax and benefits

• Clave fiscal (tax password, ARCA)The secure, personal and non-transferable password for handling procedures online with ARCA (Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero, the national tax and customs agency). You can get, recover or reset it in ARCA’s mobile app.www.arca.gob.ar/clavefiscal
• Servicio “Mis retenciones” (my withholdings, ARCA)Check online the tax withheld from you or collected in advance (retenciones and percepciones), as declared by whoever withheld or collected it.www.arca.gob.ar/genericos/retenciones.asp
• ANSES (Administración Nacional de la Seguridad Social, the national social security agency)The ANSES section of the national government portal: family allowances, retirement and other pensions, the payment calendar, the Clave de la Seguridad Social (social security password), and queries and claims.www.argentina.gob.ar/anses
• Asignación Universal por Hijo (universal child allowance, ANSES)A monthly allowance for a parent or guardian caring for children who is unemployed, in unregistered work, a domestic worker or a monotributista social. Children must be under 18, with no age limit for a child with a disability. ANSES’s phone line is 130.www.anses.gob.ar/hijos/asignacion-universal-por-hijo
• Consulta Mis Asignaciones (check your allowances, ANSES)A free check, in mi ANSES or its app, of the allowances you are due, with the reason if one is suspended or denied and how to fix it. You need your CUIL and Clave de la Seguridad Social.www.argentina.gob.ar/servicio/consulta-mis-asignaciones

Scams and complaints

• Cómo prevenir estafas virtuales (preventing online scams, BCRA)Common online scams, such as fake messages and calls, SIM swapping and fake loan offers, and their warning signs. The Banco Central does not ask for passwords or bank details by phone, email, messages or social media, and its board and officials do not promote investment platforms.www.bcra.gob.ar/como-prevenir-estafas-virtuales
• Reclamar por fraude o estafa (fraud complaints, BCRA)For transactions you don’t recognize or unauthorized access to your accounts, cards, homebanking or digital wallet. Complain formally to your bank or card issuer first; after at least 10 business days without a solution, you can file a free online complaint with the Banco Central.www.bcra.gob.ar/realizar-un-reclamo-ante-el-banco-central-por-fraude-o-estafa
• Reclamar por productos o servicios financieros (other banking complaints, BCRA)A free online complaint about cards, accounts, ATMs, loans, insurance, homebanking or debt collection, after 10 business days without a solution from the institution. You can also contact Defensa del Consumidor (consumer protection) directly on its free line, 0800-666-1518.www.bcra.gob.ar/reclamo-productos-servicios-financieros
• Iniciar un reclamo ante Defensa del Consumidor (consumer complaints)A free online complaint, through the Ventanilla Federal Única de Defensa del Consumidor (single federal consumer complaints window), when a business, including a bank or financial service, does not keep its commitment. It is passed to the body that should handle it.www.argentina.gob.ar/servicio/iniciar-un-reclamo-ante-defensa-del-consumidor

Your personal data

• Conocé tus derechos respecto a tus datos personales (your data rights, AAIP)The Agencia de Acceso a la Información Pública (AAIP, the data protection authority) explains your rights under Ley 25.326 (personal data protection law), including to access, correct, update or delete your data, and to have credit information deleted. Guidance: (54-11) 3988-3968 or datospersonales@aaip.gob.ar.www.argentina.gob.ar/aaip/datospersonales/derechos
• Denunciar incumplimientos de la Ley de Protección de Datos Personales (data protection complaints, AAIP)A free complaint to the AAIP if a company or public body refuses to tell you what data it holds on you, or to correct, update or delete wrong information. You can file it online through Trámites a Distancia with a clave fiscal, or on paper.www.argentina.gob.ar/servicio/denunciar-incumplimientos-de-la-ley-de-proteccion-de-datos-personales
• Inscribir una línea telefónica en el Registro Nacional No Llame (do-not-call register, AAIP)Register a landline or mobile number, free, to stop advertising calls. Companies you bought a product or service from may still call about it, and registration can take up to 30 days to take effect.www.argentina.gob.ar/servicio/inscribir-una-linea-telefonica-en-el-registro-nacional-no-llame

Learn it in a session

Free one-hour Fluent sessions, each with a take-home sheet for Argentina.

• Everyday money: A budget that survives a real month, what to do when income is irregular, and starting a small emergency fund.
• Banking without the fees: Choosing an account, avoiding overdraft and check-cashing costs, and what protects your money in a bank, a credit union or a payment app.
• Credit reports and scores: What a credit report holds, how to get yours, how to dispute errors, and how a score is built and rebuilt.
• Borrowing safely: How interest and fees add up, comparing offers, and recognizing high-cost and predatory lending.
• Tax time and benefits: Free filing help where it exists, credits and benefits people often miss, and keeping the records you will be asked for.
• Scams and fraud: Scams as bank fraud teams see them: impersonation, payment redirection, romance and investment scams, identity theft, and what to do in the first hour.