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Has anyone ever done this?

How much are you looking to send. They are very picky about accepting wired money and will ask for all sorts of documentation, especially if it is your first time. I was looking to send some some money down and was told that I needed to get approval prior to wiring it and that they needed copies of my transaction records for how I obtained the money. It was a business sale and they wanted a lot of proof. If you wire a substantial amount prior to a banks approval, the bank will deny the transaction and you may loose your ability to ever wire in money to Costa Rica, also the person receiving it will probably have their account closed. Also they will report the transaction to the USA so if you are looking to hide money it is not going to happen.

It's only $3000, so not a very significant amount. I'll go to BofA tomorrow and see what they say. Thanks.

For down there that is a significant amount. If it is going to be a one time thing than you might just be asked what the purpose of the transaction is for and if you are related to the person you are sending it to or are you in business together. You will want to call the bank where the person you are sending the money to has their account and talk directly with them. You might need the person you are going to send it to go into the bank and have them call you while they are at the bank. Everything needs to be done the way the bank instructs or it will be refused. They do not screw around and treat everything with suspicion.

Thanks for the advice

It's a US-pressured thing, and not Costa Rica being tough. A first-time wire exceeding $2,500 will be blocked for the extra scrutiny, and thereafter, the $10k limit requires additional documentation.

A lot of this has to do with (US perspective) illegal gaming. The US are being assholes to CR about accepting money for games run outside of US control. Moneygram has several times this year been forced to stop money transfers to CR because the US wants to know who and to whom these funds are moving. Bank wires are also under scrutiny.

It amazes me that, in the "Land of the Free", you cannot take 10k in cash out of the country without reporting it to authorities. It's not so much the fact that you are taking it, but they demand a reason, which to me is an overreach.

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bypassin' kinky, and usin' the whole chicken!!!

I have never done a wire. I have written checks instead. They don't like to accept them but they do and it takes 4 to 14 days to clear but I don't rush for anything anymore. If you or I or they can't wait two weeks,then I'll leave my money in the USA bank. So far, everyone has agreed to accept my USA bank checks.

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* These are the "Good Ole Days". Enjoy Them.

* RENT but, "Don't Buy a Home in Costa Rica" until you have lived here for THREE years.

Actually its more about the US government wanting to keep us citizens from keeping untaxed money overseas - and to a lesser degree, money laundering.

Mostly its abut 'legal tax evasion' as our dear President termed it in his comments on the Panama Papers. We can't have US citizens using currently-legal means to legally not pay taxes!

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Any opinion or observation in the post above is purely presented for entertainment purposes and does not promote "sexual tourism" or "human trafficking". The laws of Costa Rica apply to all activities in Costa Rica. No warranty is expressed or implied. Void where prohibited by law. Your experience, observations or perspective may be different.

In exile in pu*sy prison

I have wired funds (last year) from my U.S. Bank account to an art gallery in CR to pay for artwork. Other than a bunch of forms to fill out it was simple. As I recall the wire transfer fee was in the $50 - $75 range. I negotiated an additional discount with the gallery so that in effect they absorbed the cost.

just send her a western union- easier, faster, and cheaper.

Phuck WESTERN UNION. Western union blocked me from sending any money to anyone and they will not tell me why. They are happy to take the money and try and send it from the place I used but then when my fiance would go to pick it up they would tell her there was a problem and the money was returned to me. I probably sent a total of $3000.00 over the course of 6 months and I got flagged for something but they refuse to tell me why. This happened over 2 years ago and I have only sent money to 1 person. Come to find out she is blocked from Western Union also as I had a friend try and send her money and that is what he was told when he went to pick up the money. It seems to me that WU does not want legitimate people sending money only the scammers that sell counterfeit goods, or that tell you that you won a prize, but you need to pay the taxes before they ship it.

Has anyone looked into or tried PayPal? Yeah the other party needs a bank account and the other required stuff. And maybe time to get cash out vs. in hand. I pay my spanish tutor in Venezuela as I go this way... granted peanuts compared to the sums we're talking about here.

Looks like you can move up to $10K US and the fee is 5.4%. Not sure how that compares to WU which I'm guessing is also obscene in terms of fees.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

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This post is provided purely for entertainment purposes and free of charge on the part of the author. No tourist or travel promotion is expressed or implied. The author of this post was not provided compensation (monetary or otherwise) for this potentially entertaining contribution.

You can get a second debit card for your own Paypal account in any name. No SS # or documentation
since it is an extension of your own account. If a bank transfer is done a few days before the money is needed she can withdraw it from an ATM in CR.

If your really daring you can open a second Schwab account your name, give her the card and do a transfer for the exact amount you want to give her. Can be withdrawn immediately.

Absolutely agree with the first 3 words.