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I just moved a bunch of money on a Swift transfer. It cost me $20 from my US bank, and $20 to be recieved into my Banco Costa Rica US$ bank account. It took less than 48hrs to go through and all my problems were with my US bank! The money did get held in San Jose for a checking process but the guy called the bank account contact info and left a message in English with all his contact info for us to call him. It only took a fax from me justifying the reason for the transfer and a conversation or two (in English) with the guy in the San Jose banch of banco CR. This is one of 5 transfers I’ve done this way. They all worked out well and it was fast and efficient getting the Swift info from my bank in Costa Rica, some provide it on their websites (in English) and my bank are very rural and 2 hrs + from San Jose. As Dave says, bank cheques are a pain in the ass. While you get set up you might want to leave a bit in the bank in the US and draw it out with your Visa card at any ATM incase you have cash flow issues with the transfer or life in general 🙂
I just found out there is a maximum allowance for some banks (e.g. banco Costa Rica) of US$50,000 per month before they will hold the money pending you producing evidence that the money is to be used legally in CR and not to buy drugs. 🙂
I agree, we just bought a farm 2 hrs from San Jose and are now starting to look for an architect and sourcing building supplies, qualified quality electricians and so forth in addition to pricing furniture and kitchen appliances to get an idea of costs. As I’m new to Costa Rica we don’t really know where to start so such a directory would be amazingly helpful. All those speciality or US style shops would be great resources and a refreshing change from the local “el colono”!
Alex
