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To my misfortune, I have a little experience banking in this country. Here are some issues I feel you should be made aware.
1. Unless you hold a CR passport or are a legal resident, you cannot get a personal account at a CR bank.
2. If not a CR resident, you need to incorporate.
3. Banks are a disaster. Unlike a US bank where they will give you a checklist of all that is required, here each week they will tell you, you need another piece of paper or a lawyers stamp. Next week repeat. Next week repeat. Next week repeat. It took me six weeks after sitting down with the Bank branch manager of the Guadalupe Citibank to get the account opened, all with my lawyer and the branch manager getting a cut.
4. Once the account is opened, since nothing here is mailed, one week you will get the checkbook, next week the debit card, next week the pin number. Each week, I would stand on line for an hour. One week, they told me that my checkbook was in the Tibas branch after being in line for an hour. Went to Tibas, waited in line an hour and they said no it is in the Guadalupe branch. I wait in line at Guadalupe for another hour and am told yes its right here in the desk waiting for you. Another day lost standing in line and drooling over myself with 60 other Ticos.
5. Once the account is set up, no direction or password is supplied for access. You would have to wait in line an hour to request it, come back in a week and wait in hour on line to receive that information. The passwords for the colones and dollar accounts would change very often to a new 40 digit (exaggeration) password. If you get it your account gets frozen and you wait on line two more times for an hour each time.
6. I would wire to Citibank NY. Citi would wire to Citi CR. Every wire $20 would be deducted for a US wire and then another $20 would disappear. There was never a record of the second $20 missing. Nowhere, on any statement, would this $20 discrepancy be listed. No one at Citibank could tell me where the $20 went or who took it. I understand the cost of a wire transfer but, it should show up somewhere as a fee instead of just disappearing.
7. I would wire out of the Citi CR accounts to other CR businesses (not back to the states). I would wait in line an hour to do it. Nobody could supply direction to wire on line. They wanted me to come back to the branch and stand in line for an hour for each wire and fill out 40 pieces of paper. I needed to stand on line for another hour to get a manager to supply direction for on line wires.
8. Moving money from my dollar account to my colone account and visa versa resulted in outrageous fees.
9. My ath card worked for 3 weeks. Then the Citibank ath machine stopped recognizing my pin. The ath machines at citi all seem to be in the branch offices and can only be accessed when the branch is open. Stand in line out front, take your hat off, pull the metal out of your pocket, and the machine doesn’t work.
10. I hated Citibank but it was too much of a pain in the ass to open an account with another bank. The last straw came when I had 2 checks in colones from another business, to deposit in my colone account. Total maybe $300. I stood in line for an hour and 15 minutes. Got to the front and the teller said there is a problem. She talked to the manager and said I have to get on line and speak to an account representative. I pull the ticket. 2 hours later my number is called and I go to the front. What is the problem with my checks or account? The account rep looks my account up, shrugs her shoulders and goes back to the same manager who told me to talk to an account rep. She comes back to me and says there is no problem, you can deposit the checks. Ok, I say, lets deposit the checks. She looks at me and tells me in order to make a deposit, I have to get back on the other line that I started on three hours ago. I almost throttled her!!! I started cursing in English, screaming close my accounts NOW!!!!!!!!!!! I waited another half an hour for her to get the paperwork in order and instead of closing the accounts, I walked out the door when she asked me to sign here and here and here and here, etc. I let accounts go dormant.
11. I went to Scotiabank next and applied for an account. I was interviewed by an account rep who told me that everything seemed fine. She needed her bosses approval and we could open up the accounts at the end of the week. She would contact me in two days. Three days later, I have not heard from. I send her an email. No response. Two days later I send her another email. No response. Third time might be the charm. I send her another email. No response. Next bank.
12. I hear good things about Cathay bank. I send their customer service an email, requesting a business account. No response.
13. I give up! I avoid all banking in CR. I move money down $500 at a time using ATM machines. If I need $3,000, I go to ATM machines everyday for a week. I wire a couple of times a month from the US, to other businesses accounts. I am at peace.
I advise banking in Panama.
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