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Before selecting a bank it is necessary to decide
what services you will need.
There are branches of Costa Rica's state-owned banks
in San José and in other large cities and towns.
The headquarters of Costa Rica's largest banks: Banco
Nacional, El Banco de Costa Rica and Banco Crédito
Agrícola are in downtown San José near
the Central Post Office. The government guarantees
all monies deposited in these state banks.
Here is a list of banks:
BAC San José (private)..........................................
Tel: 295-9595
Banco Promérica (private)
E-mail: solucion@promerica.fi.cr.............................Tel: 296-4848
Banco Banex (private). .......................................... Tel: 287-1000
Banco Bantec (private) .......................................... Tel: 242-2222
Banco Cathay (private).......................................... .Tel: 290-2233
Banco Central de Costa Rica
E-mail: webmaster@bccr.fi.cr. ...............................Tel: 243-3333
Banco Crédito Agrícola de Cartago........................ Tel:
550-0202
Banco Cuscatlán (private)...................................... Tel:
299-0299
Banco de Costa Rica
E-mail: bancobcr@bancobcr.com ..........................Tel: 287-9088
Banco Interfín (private) ......................................... Tel:
210-4000
Banco Nacional ..................................................... Tel: 212-2000
Banco Popular ....................................................... Tel:
257-5797
Citibank (private) .................................................. Tel:
201-0800
Mutual de Alajuela (private) .................................. Tel: 437-0865
Scotia bank (private)
Email: scotiacr@scotiabank.com ............................Tel: 287-8700
When making deposits in national banks, you should
consider the following. Checks from outside Costa Rica,
including bank cashiers checks, require 30 to 45 working
days minimum before funds will be usable after they
are deposited. Checks issued by Costa Rican private
banks will usually take a couple of working days before
the funds will be available. Checks deposited from
the same bank and branch are usually available the
same day. Wire transfers are usually available in 2
to 4 days.
There are also numerous private banks affiliated with international
banks. In the last few years there has been a trend toward
privatization. Now private banks can offer many of the same
services the state banks do. When the minimum deposit is not
maintained, service charges for account operations at private
banks can sometimes be higher than at the national banks.
Costa Rican Banks Offer a Full Range Services
Many private banks pay higher interest than state banks but
cannot guarantee your deposits as the government banks do.
Remember, the higher the interest, the more the risk. In the
mid-1980s private finance companies were offering up to 45
percent interest in colones. As recently as 2002, several
other companies were paying as much as three percent monthly.
Needless to say they all failed and the investors lost everything.
Some of the better private banks are BAC, Scotiabank,
Banco Interfín, Bancrecen, Cuscatlán
and Banex. Check the yellow pages for more private
banks. It is advisable to open an account at one of
these banks or state banks so you can have a dollar
account to protect against unexpected currency devaluations,
cash personal checks, obtain a safety deposit box for
your valuables and facilitate having money sent to
you from abroad.
Regarding the latter, you should make sure that the
bank you choose works with a U.S. correspondent bank
to avoid untimely delays in cashing checks.
Warning: Be careful of Scotiabank. We have heard many
foreign residents complain about unfair treatment at
this bank. They complain about having to open their
safety boxes for random inspections (which is illegal
without a court order) and general lack of privacy
at this overly intrusive bank. Banex also seems to
be making it extremely difficult for foreigners to
open accounts, and asks for extensive paperwork.
Here is what one resident said about Scotiabank, I was with
Scotiabank for over a year. They were awful. And I mean bad.
Their statements were impossible to read. But worse is they
didn't know how to read them and often took two months to
research the problems. The worst was telling me they would
have a decision for a home loan in two weeks and then taking
three months. In the end they said the property was worth
$4 per square meter when all other sales in the neighborhood
are $25 to $35. I moved to Promerica and they have been tons
better. Not to say they are perfect. But compared to Scotiabank,
they are amazing.
Another local who works in the real estate business said
about Scotiabank: Atrocious service, and they outright mislead.
I have seen them pull the rug out of a sale at the last minute,
when sellers and buyers both had their house packed up to
go. No good reason. I have heard this tale from others, too.
Overall, I regard them as the worst because they seem so up
to date and modern with the fancy air conditioning and slick
offices. I avoid them like the plague and have no clue why
they behave this way.
This is another bad experience a local resident had at Scotiabank.
I have a good excuse to report an experience at Scotiabank
from several years ago (downtown branch). I withdrew some
money, which the teller gave me after opening an unusual number
of drawers (not all at his window) and roaming about a lot.
Within 10 minutes of leaving the bank, I discovered I had
been given a $100 counterfeit bill. I returned and they wouldn't
do anything about it saying, of course, You left the bank.
Whenever I had occasion to be in the bank, I would look at
him in passing and he would duck his head and look away. I
think he was just waiting for someone to pass it to. I avoid
Scotiabank every opportunity I get.
We have a safety deposit box at Banco Nacional that
is readily accessible during working hours. We also
have a dollar account, certificates of deposit and
an ATM card. Our only complaint is that service in
state run banks tends to be very slow. You can spend
up to an hour in the bank waiting to make a simple
transaction.
ATMs are found all over the country in banks, supermarkets
and other convenient locations. These 24 hour automated tellers
disperse a few hundred dollars at a time from your account,
cash advance in colones only. When using one of these machines,
be sure to exercise the following precautions:
- Look for an ATM that is not isolated or unknown.
- Use ATMs located in well-lit area with good visibility.
- Use an ATM that allows you entry and a door to lock rather than one on an open
sidewalk.
- Cancel the transaction at the first sign of suspicious activity.
- Take all paperwork with you and do not throw away anything that has your account
number printed on it.
- Do not carry your ATM card with you unless you are going to use it.
- Don't go alone.
- RESIDENCY ATM receipts will NOT work as proof of exchange.
Other banking services are high-yield certificates
of deposit in colones, certificates of deposit
in dollars on par with U.S. interest rates and credit
card related services.
All banks have different requirements for opening
accounts or obtaining credit cards, possibly entailing
banking or personal references, identification and
most certainly minimum deposits. Requirements will
vary slightly from bank to bank, so check with the
banking institution of your choice.
Permanent and non-residents may open a savings account
in state and private banks. All that is needed is a
minimum deposit, in some cases a letter of reference
and a passport or cédula. To open a local
checking account, you have to be a resident and may
be asked to provide a Costa Rican ID card or passport
as a form of identification.
You may be asked to show your water, telephone and
electric bills in your name to prove you live here.
If you cannot provide these documents you will need
two references from banks in the United States or from
two account holders in the same bank where you wish
to open your account. If opening a checking account
in local currency you will need an initial deposit
of about $500. A local dollar checking account may
require an initial deposit of $2,000.
If you have a Costa Rican corporation, you may also
open a local corporate checking account, or cuenta
corriente empresarial. You'll have to provide the
following: passport or cédula (Costa
Rican ID), the name of the corporation or personería
jurídica, proof that it is active, a letter
from the person who has general power of attorney of
your corporation authorizing who can sign on the account,
along with their ID numbers, and an initial deposit
of about $1,000 for an account in local currency or
$2,000 for a local dollar account.
International dollar checking accounts are offered
through the BAC. Individuals and corporations may open
these accounts, but specific requirements must be met.
Check with the bank of your choice.
Most banks are normally open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday
through Friday. Two branches of the Banco Nacional in downtown
San José open at 7:30 a.m. A few branch offices such
as the one in Plaza Mayor in Rohrmoser, don´t open until
10:30 a.m. The Banco Nacional in the San Pedro Mall and a
few of the private banks open on Saturdays. Mutual de Alajuela
has a new service called SERVICAJA. Some of its branches are
open after regular banking hours, on Saturdays, Sundays and
holidays.
Warning: Never plan to do any banking on the second
or last Friday of the month; this is payday for most
Costa Rican workers and lines sometimes extend outside
the bank.
The state banks are also very crowded after holidays
and on Monday and Friday mornings. It is always best
to get to the bank at least a half-hour before it opens
to get a good place in line. Bring some good reading
material, since the lines often move at a snail's pace. |
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