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Are there any guarantees for money deposited in Costa Rican banks? I only have a small amount in Banco de Costa Rica and am not worried about that, but later I would need to put in more.
We have the FDIC in the States and a it’s good thing too. We are seeing two banks PER WEEK fail in the States. I read that Costa Rican banks have always been conservative in the way they do business and so would not be exposed directly to the problems that are destroying thge financial system in the U.S.. However, the world has become a smaller place and I wonder just how exposed Costa Rica’s banking might be to the world financial contagion.
I’m pretty sure that the governmentally-chartered banks have a form of protection from the Costa Rican government that is roughly similar to the FDIC in the U.S. The question is what the government’s resources are to actually support a bank should it fail.
We don’t have a lot of cash anyplace, I’m sorry to say, but my inclination is to keep the bulk of our money in the U.S. and move just what’s currently needed to Costa Rica.
That is exactly what I am doing now. I only keep the minimum necessary in Costa Rica to pay bills in CR. The fact that we are losing two banks per week in the U.S. may not be enough to startle people. But if it is an increasing trend as indicated by the FDIC, there has to a tipping point after which time, the whole thing collapses in a panic. What to do between now and that possible point in time is the question I am contemplating here.
Edited on Mar 30, 2009 06:42
I also have state bank accounts with BN, which is significanr and there for a future real estate purchase. My philosophy is wahtever crosses the border never comes back. I am not complaining since the interest rate is significantly higher than here, but am curious as to the amount of protection offered. I am certain it is a fraction of the $250,000 now insured by FDIC, FSLIC and NCUA.
Here is another wrinkle regarding banking back and forth between Costa Rica and the U.S. Now that we can actually “see” our arrival date in Costa Rica, we are trying to figure out how to manage our U.S. accounts from Costa Rica. 60 Minutes (last night) had a big segment on the immense and growing problem with giant hacking programs that are infecting vast numbers of computers. The big computer security firms can no longer stay on top of the speed with which these theft viruses are invented, uploaded and implemented. In other words, ordering, banking and accessing your accounts is no longer secure. Essentially, the segment said that really, no matter what firewalls, anti-virus programs, etc. you have on your computer – you are probably still vulnerable.
Can some of the forum members give some ideas regarding how they manage their US accounts while living in Costa Rica??? This is a headache I didn’t expect! Also, is it really an immense pain to open a new Costa Rican bank account?? Thanks.
I simply use BCR’s web site to tranfer funds to the account of the party to whom I owe payment. The site is pretty standard for money management.
We have our pension payments and my Social Security deposited in our U.S. bank (Wachovia) each month. Neither payer will deposit directly into a foreign bank. From Wachovia, we use their bill payment system to pay our few remaining commitments in the U.S.
Each month, we march into HSBC here in Grecia and deposit a check which is drawn on the Wachovia account into our dollar account (we also have a colon account). It takes about ten days for the check to clear and be credited, so we have to have funds sufficient to endure the float. Once the deposited check is, indeed, credited to our account, we use HSBC’s online bill payment system to pay our ICE phone bills. And we buy enough colones to get us through the month using that same online banking system.
Neither HSBC nor Wachovia charges us for processing this check, so the monthly transfer is totally free. If we did an international wire transfer, the two banks would charge us a total of $95US. Enduring the float is well worth it to us.
I still help manage $50 million + in offshore investments for my international clients and do so online 100% – never had a problem but I am also extremely careful.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comCosta Rica Ranked 8th Most Politically Stable Country in the World and 1st in the Americas
Love this forum. Thanks David – great way to deal with bills, transfers, etc. Scott: What do you mean by “extremely careful”? On 60 Minutes, even the heavy hitters at Symetech said they were having a horrific time keeping up with these internet security breaches. The security teams said that the regular malware, virus systems, etc. that are available to the average user are very vulnerable. Do you contract with a special security organization? I know that you manage several big accounts, so your expertise and information would be very appreciated! Sue
Monitoring your account activity often is the safety net to hackers. Most POS (Point of Sale) transactions are credited instantly and all bills are paid on-line. Check use is zero these days.
Here is another option that I use. I have wired money to my account in CR, which is the name of an S.A (Corp.) so my name is not associated with it. I always keep the amounts under $3,000 so it is not red flagged by the FINCEN computer. Once the first wire was successful, a template for consecutive wires is established and can be done on-line. Wiring is 24 hours.International wire transfers are indeed fast and sure, but (in our experience) pricey. Once in a while, for some special reason, maybe, but to incur the costs we’d have to put up with every month is untenable. Wiring $3,000 at a cost of $95 (for us) constitutes a three-percent penalty.
My credit union charges me $15. Most banks charge $45 minimum. BN has no incoming charges either. Now it is as simple as paying a bill on-line.
It’s also true that Banco Nacional can arrange more-or-less direct deposit of U.S. Social Security payments. For $6.00 per month, they can set things up so that your SS check is deposited in a U.S. bank and then automatically wire transferred to your Banco Nacional account. That’s a very convenient arrangement.
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