banking

Beverley
I was told that you need to create a corporation and the Corp opens the account. If you do not speak Spanish well I would chose a bank with English speaking employees. Any of the National Banks are safe. Either Bank of Costa Rica or Banco National. Chose the branch closely because where you open the account is a contract between you and the bank any problems will need to be dealt with at that branch.
You will need a letter from a lawyer that states that you have the right to act on behalf of the Corp. You will need to meet with an accountant so he can give you a letter stating how much money you can put in every month. Take about 4 or 5 months of bank statements with you for the accountant to review. He will tell the bank how munch you can deposit each month
You will also need two letters of recommendation from a Tico. You will also need a water bill. Borrow one if you need to. Have an address to give them even if it is not yours at the time. Fix it when you get a permanent address.
Hope this helps. Chet

Ah, the good ol’ days, eh, John. I’m afraid things have changed in the past eight years.

All the nationally-chartered banks are perfectly safe as repositories for your money. I would not recommend putting my entire net value into any Costa Rican bank. Only keep here what you’ll need for immediate business and living expenses. By limiting your exposure thus, you’re perfectly safe using the private banks as well.

You should be prepared for a major bureaucratic hassle getting an account open. Bring two years of tax returns, six months or more of statements from your home bank, and proof of the source of your income. Bring a letter of reference from your U.S. bank, too. Be ready with your passports and a local address. And line up one or two locals (Costa Ricans or Americans) who will write you a letter of reference.

Then, go to the local bank near where you’ll be living that looks the best to you. Here in Grecia, a lot of folks bank at Banco Nacional where you can spend a pleasant morning waiting for a teller. We bank at HSBC where the wait is rarely five minutes. Stick your head in and look around.

You’re going to need the services of a local attorney for many day-to-day business matters anyway, so you might as well establish a relationship with one early on. Then ask his or her advice or, better still, ask for a personal introduction. Your attorney will know the local branch manager where he or she banks. That’s a good place to start.

None of the banks pay enough interest to matter, so forget that. You can open a savings account or a checking account, but not much business here is done by check, so why bother.

While you’re at it, you’ll want accounts in both colones and U.S. dollars. That way, you can deposit a check drawn on your U.S. bank to the dollar account. It’ll take about two weeks to clear.

With an account in colones, you’ll also be able to pay bills online if you have an account in colones. It’s a real convenience.

[quote=”cfry”]Beverley
I was told that you need to create a corporation and the Corp opens the account. If you do not speak Spanish well I would chose a bank with English speaking employees. Any of the National Banks are safe. Either Bank of Costa Rica or Banco National. Chose the branch closely because where you open the account is a contract between you and the bank any problems will need to be dealt with at that branch.
You will need a letter from a lawyer that states that you have the right to act on behalf of the Corp. You will need to meet with an accountant so he can give you a letter stating how much money you can put in every month. Take about 4 or 5 months of bank statements with you for the accountant to review. He will tell the bank how munch you can deposit each month
You will also need two letters of recommendation from a Tico. You will also need a water bill. Borrow one if you need to. Have an address to give them even if it is not yours at the time. Fix it when you get a permanent address.
Hope this helps. Chet[/quote]
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Is this the same Chet that took George’s tour during the end of January 2010??? If so, hey, what’s going on? This is Karen and Rafael from Las Vegas! Here is my e-mail karengoldfeld@yahoo.com We’d love to see how you are doing 🙂 If this isn’t the same Chet, nevermind. LOL

I just opened an account with Promerica. Didn’t need corp. or attorney. Put my deposit in and use their internet banking to pay my bills. This is a dollar account also. I do know that this bank is uninsured but are the others (really) insured. I have had experience with this bank for 5 years and they are top notch.

John, my understanding is that there is provision for governmental insurance of the nationally chartered banks in Costa Rica that is similar to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the U.S. The question is whether the government really has the wherewithal to stand behind a bank failure. If I recall correctly, however, there was a bank failure in the mid-1990s and the government did stand behind the deposits.