Email Q&A: Banking/Money Issues in Costa Rica
Hi Bruce,
You might have already answered these questions in a previous blog, but I don't remember reading about it. I just had some questions in regard to money, as far as what you're doing. How did you go about changing U.S. dollars to colones--traveler's checks, ATMs, other? Is it hard to set up a bank account down there, for the checks you get down there? I was just wondering about that. Thanks again for the blog!
Response:
Thanks for the email, and to be honest I'm not sure if we've talked specifically about money/banking in the blog yet (although I had meant to on a number of occasions).
To address your questions:
How did you go about changing U.S. dollars to colones--traveler's checks, ATMs, other?
Lisa and I both opted at the beginning to use ATMs down here to withdraw money from out US bank accounts. Obvious drawback being ATM fees (Bank of America charged me upwards of $6 to withdraw), so the "solution" there is to withdraw a decent amount at a time and only carry a fraction with you at a time. I'm not sure how well the traveler's checks would work, but that's only because I never tried.
Is it hard to set up a bank account down there, for the checks you get down there?
Thankfully for both Lisa and me, the company that we are currently working for pays us through direct deposit, and in order to do so, the company sponsored us so that we could open bank accounts with Banco Nacional (a big Costa Rican bank). This has been great as there are a lot of ATMs around and no service charge, but the problem is that I still pay my US credit card online and it subtracts from my Bank of America account (you do the math: I'm depositing salary into a Banco Nacional account, yet subtracting each month from the BoA...)
As for setting up an account yourself, I would presume that it IS possible. I just needed my passport (but I also had a letter from my company endorsing an account), so I'm not entirely sure how possible it would be.
Hope this helps,
Bruce
7 comments:
Yes, that is helpful. When I studied in CR before we were told to bring traveller's checks. We had it worked out to exchange them for colones from someone in the Llobet department store, but I had to do it at the bank one day and was able to. I guess I'll just see what happens with whatever job I get, and if nothing else I'll have my ATM card.
Odd that you mention high fees from Bank of America. I specifically opened an account with them to use in Costa Rica because I understood them to have an agreement with ScotiaBank so there would be no ATM fees when using a SB ATM. And I thought Scotia had quite a few locations in San Jose.
It's funny you say that about Bank of America because I was ALSO told that I could use a Costa Rican bank's ATMs without fees, but not ScotiaBank - Banco Popular de desarollo. Well, I've used both that bank and ScotiaBank and I've been charged over $5 at both. I emailed BoA explaining that I was told I wouldn't be charged and they refunded the fees for THESE transactions but said they do not have agreements with any banks in CR and that in the future I would be charged.
My girlfriend uses a regional bank in the US and she's charged like $2 - which is better, but still not great.
Yep, it's possible. I'm not a resident, but I opened a bank account with Banco Nacional, as well. All you need it your passport (the original) and two recommendations from account holders (ask any Costa Ricans you know, as BN is one of the most popular banks here).
If you'd like to check out all the different options, here's a great link.
Bank of America allowed fee free withdrawals from Scotiabank ATMs while I was in San Jose in 2005 & 2006 for 2-3 month visits. Of course, both times I had to send BOA a secure message when they charged me a fee the first time I used one. But BOA refunded the fees and didn't charge me again.
On my last visit, I also discovered a money-saving ATM tip. My hostel preferred payment in dollars because the owners deposit the rent in a dollar account in a Costa Rican bank to protect their assets from the more rapid inflation of the colon. I had tried to withdraw dollars from several ATMs that claimed to allow it, but never was successful until another hostel guest tipped me off to a standalone ATM in Mall San Pedro. What I discovered is that my US bank, USAA, did not charge me the usual foreign currency transaction fee of %1 that I experienced when withdrawing in colones. So I saved a whopping $2 by paying the hostel for a month or rent. However, it got me thinking that perhaps other merchants or restaurants would prefer dollars too; I just hadn't thought to ask. Of course, you have to be careful with the exchange rate. With my hostel, it was actually cheaper to pay in dollars, but with other enterprises, the savings of the %1 foreign currency transaction fee might prove to be cancelled by an exchange rate lower than available through an ATM.
Hey guys, I know this is not what you're talking about, but I'd like to know, specially Bruce and Lisa, how do you get a job in CR being a foreigner, cuz I'm costarican but I'm married to an american and he is worried about the fact of not being able to get a good job down here and I really want him to move here instead of me moving down there with my three kids...
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