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We were wanting to open an initial account in Costa Rica that had an affiliat with a US bank to make transferring funds easier… but we can’t seen to find any banks that do business in both the US and in CR. Any suggestions?
All the Costa Rican banks have correspondent banking relationships to wire US$. Wiring USD is never a problem.
It is not easy opening an individual bank account (especially if you are an American) in Costa Rica unless you can show that you are a legal Costa Rican resident or, that you have applied for your residency
Scott
I have transfered from by US based Chase account into the BCR with no difficulty at all.
There is one perplexing item that no one can give an answer… There is an additional US$15 missing from the funds transfered into the account. Chase and BCR don’t have an answer. It’s like it never existed.
If you do transfer a large amount, you may have to prove what you are doing with the large sum, as in the instance of a property purchase, using a contract as proof.
Some other reading is here https://www.welovecostarica.com/members/forum/openthread.cfm?forum=1&ThreadID=407
Enjoy Costa Rica
Bill MaesHi:
I agree with Scott and Bill, there are some banks that work both in US in Costa Rica like BICSA and BAC San Jose, but Banco de Costa Rica and Banco Nacional works pretty good regarding International transfer, Banco de Costa Rica is my recommendation to open a checking account whether be personal or corporate.
Best,
As Americans, we had no problem opening a bank account at Banco de Costa Rica. We showed the bank agent our our SA paperwork, passports and a few other ‘closing documents’ from our recent real estate transaction. We finialized the deal in less than 45 minutes, with a language barrier to boot. All in all
it was easy, despite our fears. Our debit cards and pin numbers were even given later to a gringo resident friend as we were leaving to come back to the states to receive them. Handled very well!L & J
L&J
This seriously MUST, HAS TO BE, GOTTA’BE be some kind a Costa Rica banking record! Congratulations!
And thanks for sharing …
Scott
rz,
I tried opening a BICSA account at their Miami branch. But was not able to without CR residency documentation. I had hoped to establish a banking relationship with a CR bank, “before” getting my CR papers in order. Not sure if that’s possible?
Cheers…
It-s perfectly possible, I can state that at Banco de Costa Rica you can open a checking account with your passport. If you need some help I will be more than happy to make some phone calls and help you with that rzamora@costaricaabc.com
Best
rz,
That’s good news… I’ll be down in CR for a few weeks mid June through July. I’d like to take you up on your offer. Its always good to have a name when you walk into a bank.I’ll drop you an email with my local cell #, once I get in.
Thanks again,
rd
I opened a bank account at the Banco Nacional in Atenas using my US Passport, my Corporate Cedula, and a copy of my land purchase contract. We will apply for pensionado status later, after our house is built and we are living in it.
Using the ATM card for either dollars or colones is a snap. Online banking at the BN Website is in Spanish, but with a little coaching is as easy as any US bank, and better in some respects – one can find out their utility bills and then just click to pay them. Also if you wish to make payment to someone with a Banco Nacional account you can do that instantly online at no cost!
Good luck.
Edited on May 31, 2006 11:31
Hi
I have been doing wire transfers monthly and the missing $15.00 is what the banking exchange charges for receiving the transaction. It is just like the fee the bank charges you on the sending end as it passes through the international banking exchange in NYC.
FYI Washington Mutual has a free Gold checking account that does not charge for the transfer on the sending end. A savings of $40 per mnth for me.
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