By the middle of every month, Victoria Pereira, a 33-year-old who works at a multinational company in Buenos Aires, runs out of money and borrows just to buy groceries. She recently had her credit card cancelled under the weight of rent, utilities and Wi-Fi bills, and now drives for Uber and Didi to fill the gaps. Soledad Ramirez, a teacher with two decades of experience, has started a second job and brings bread to hungry students on Mondays and Thursdays. Their stories are becoming the norm in Argentina, where borrowing for basics has shifted from a coping strategy to a way of life.
The numbers back them up. Central Bank data shows the delinquency rate on bank loans hit 11.5% in March, more than triple the 3.3% recorded a year earlier. Digital wallets and fintech lenders are faring even worse, with arrears at 30.5%, up from about 20% the previous year. The IMF, in its latest Staff Report, flagged the rapid growth of these unregulated lenders and warned their weakening loan books could spill over into the wider financial system.
Economists trace the problem to a squeeze on household budgets since Javier Milei took office in November 2023. Prices have climbed 303.6% since then, while formal wages fell 13% in real terms to February 2026, with public sector workers hit hardest at a 22% drop. Utility bills in Buenos Aires have surged around 800%, and now consume 42% of household earnings. The result: credit cards are being swiped at supermarkets, pharmacies and grocery stores, not for discretionary spending but for survival. Banco Provincia's chief economist Matías Rajnerman calls it a macroeconomic problem, not a change in consumer habits, pointing to job destruction and collapsing purchasing power.
The government tells a different story. Central Bank president Santiago Bausili blames a "blind wave of credit" issued without proper risk checks, while Economy Minister Luis Caputo argues families over-borrowed at steep rates expecting inflation to shrink their debts, a bet that failed as price growth slowed. Bankers, represented by Adeba's Javier Bolzico, say delinquency is stabilising and lenders are offering rate cuts and extended repayment terms, with reserves in place to absorb bad loans.
Former Central Bank director Jorge Carrera is sceptical about a quick fix. Public banks often refinance problem loans to keep them off the delinquency statistics, he notes, so official figures likely understate the damage. Real recovery, in his view, requires both lower interest rates and recovering wages, and neither is on the near horizon.
For travellers, this isn't background noise. Argentina has long been a budget-friendly draw thanks to a weak peso, but the crisis behind that exchange rate means visible hardship in cities like Buenos Aires: rising utility-driven costs passed on to services, businesses closing, and communities under strain. Visitors should expect locals to be stretched thin, tip generously where service allows, and understand that the favourable exchange rate reflects a difficult economic moment for the people who live there.
