Until 2015, individuals and companies were prohibited from purchasing foreign currency. This entailed that online payment services were unable to complete transactions between local and foreign currency. See for instance, https://developer.paypal.com/docs/classic/api/adaptive-payments/Currency_Restictions/ The restriction was lifted as of 2016. The 35-percent tax applicable to Argentine residents on the purchase of goods / services made abroad using a credit / debit card, also applicable to purchases made online through portals or Web sites, and purchases of foreign travel services made through Argentine travel agencies (among others), no longer applies