The mandatory quarantine, added to the delicate economic situation that the country was already going through, has left many companies and businesses on the verge of collapse. And the exchange houses are far from being the exception.
In the downtown area of ââBuenos Aires, "little trees" are no longer observed which - at the cry of "change, change" - promised interesting quotes. Nor are the tourists and other classic customers of these informal currency sellers. The busy pedestrian today is deserted land: at these times, there are no food outlets, large clothing stores, and much less crowds of people walking through its streets. Only some pharmacies remain open with minimal care.
And, just like what happens in the City, the legal money exchange offices are not open either: a curtain covers those luminous blackboards with which they try to seduce thousands of individuals eager for currency. The situation is worse than ever, to the point that many companies are already talking about bankruptcies and mass layoffs, while they are still waiting for the government to throw a rope at them.
To the limit
The flexibility of isolation has not yet reached this sector, which, in general, depends heavily on on-site care and also on tourism, now non-existent. That is why it is desperately asking that the Executive provide some kind of solution so as not to put hundreds of jobs at risk.
There are 22 entities, with their respective branches, that operate throughout the country. Although the situation differs according to the size of each company, in most cases the clients are the thousands of Argentines who are looking for dollars, the tourists who need to exchange currencies and the importers who need them to buy abroad. The problem is that many of these firms do not have the option to operate online and, therefore, the quarantine has left them "on the canvas". The uncertainty and despair is such that the companies in the sector act with extreme caution and avoid public statements so as not to "muddle" the negotiations that are taking place at this time.
From Banco Piano, which is not only dedicated to currency exchange but also to pension payments and other activities, they indicate to iProUP that they prefer not to give statements as a result of the current context. "" As the activity is not exempt from quarantine, at the moment there is no attention. It is a lethal blow to the entire sector from which many companies will not recover, "they indicate from one of the most important exchange offices in the City.
For larger entities the situation is pressing, but for medium-sized ones it is even worse. "We have permission to manage the 'table' of operations from home, since we can operate with other entities through transfers," Facundo Cabrera de Cambios Roca explains to iProUP, detailing that only the owners work due to low activity. "We are holding on," he added, referring to the attempt not to fire the employees who used to work on the premises that for weeks have kept the blinds down. Operations with local audiences involves the purchase and sale of foreign currency by hundreds of savers who can now only purchase up to $ 200 a month. Today, the activity is practically paralyzed.
"After the PASO and the stocks were imposed, we are under a regime that aims to protect jobs, with very few operations and some foreign trade," reveals Cabrera. In fact, many SMEs that require imports usually turn to exchange houses to acquire dollars, since they tend to offer better prices than banks. The problem is that foreign trade has also collapsed in recent weeks. "The crisis hits us very badly," Cabrera resigned himself, adding his voice to that of his colleagues. "It affected us all a lot," he says. Indeed, these companies are operating - at best - at 5% or 10% compared to the rate they were experiencing prior to the start of quarantine.
"Today the exchange houses are completely closed," says Gonzalo Gallo, manager of Valuar, with branches in the City of Buenos Aires, Rafaela, Santa Fe, Paraná and Córdoba. The businessman details that, although the firm is doing "some operations" with importers and exporters, they are a minimum volume, since 90% of transactions are based on buying and selling by individuals. "The foreign trade is very punctual," he says, indicating that more than anything it is an invoice or ticket that a company must pay or collect.
The situation is even more desperate for the exchange agencies, also called "exchange operators", small establishments dedicated solely to transacting tickets (this is the big difference with the exchange offices, which are also enabled to operate by transfers, checks, gold , etc).
A few days ago, the Central Bank backed down with a deregulation that was in force since 2018 and from now on the foreign exchange agencies will have to close their doors.
During the Macri government, the capital requirements had been lowered to open this type of entities and that is why they proliferated. Until before the quarantine, there were around 500 distributed throughout the country. Since these were one-off operations, most transacted small volumes. Some firms also complement them with other activities, such as sending remittances, paying services, mini-markets, etc.
That was the case of Magui Express, a company of the well-known Maguitur exchange house, which offers money orders and could take advantage of currency transactions. But, being this a purely face-to-face activity, the operations in these premises had literally dropped to zero.
Furthermore, although in recent days the opening of mini-markets, kiosks and even collection networks (Rapipago, Pago Fácil) was allowed, in many cases the stores had not even been opened.
The owner of a foreign exchange agency that operates in a mini-market of Tribunals details to iProUP that, despite having enabled the premises for the sale of products, it was not opened either, since its clientele was composed mostly of foreigners. In fact, the tourism industry is the most affected and it is also expected to be the one with the most problems to recover.
Urgent request to the authorities
In this context, many exchange houses evaluate to close definitively if they do not achieve an opening or a more flexible way of working. "We were coming at 100 an hour and we went down to 20", exemplifies Cabrera, from Cambios Roca, recalling the situation of the sector prior to stocks.
The scenario raised by the manager coincides with that of Valuar, which began to operate at a rate of just 30% of the usual. The decline was greater when the Macri government set a maximum of $ 200 a month, which is maintained after Alberto Fernández's assumption.
In the case of Valuar, a benchmark in the interior of the country, activity fell by about 80%. If we add to this the drop in activity in recent months and the productive paralysis due to quarantine, the present situation in the sector is extremely delicate.
"We are regulating at 5 or 10 kilometers per hour," says Cabrera to emphasize that at this moment, the priority of the company only goes to safeguard, as far as possible, the jobs. "The market situation is critical," agrees Gallo de Valuar, a company that has dozens of employees distributed in its 5 locations.
Although it is true that the government prohibited layoffs for 60 days, Gallo acknowledges that "it is very difficult to maintain the structure in this situation." From the City they agree that the immediate future for this sector is puzzling. "At this time, activity is practically nil," economist Agustín Monteverde told iProUP.
Meanwhile, there is a widespread demand from the sector for the government to enable the locals to operate even partially. Even their leaders have proposed various actions, from being retirement payment agents to the possibility of operating in stock companies through bonds and shares. However, none of these proposals has been heard.
At this point, the consultant Agustín Monteverde, who has some exchange houses as clients, believes that the exchange market will open shortly because the situation is extremely delicate.
"If they intend to extend it for another month, there will be a formal claim from the exchange houses," he adds. Meanwhile, in the sector anxiety reigns. "Hopefully it will pass quickly so that there will not be so many companies on the road," concludes one operator.
