Netgems wrote:
Not sure why you are asking, Costa Rica no longer requires ss checks sent to one of their local banks for residency.
I keep my loot in my USA bank acct, have ss send there, then transfer to Schwab or Cap 1 360 for no international fee withdraws at local ATM's plus I get 6 or 7 points higher on crc/usd ratio than people having to use the banks here.
I have had some headaches dealing with Scotia in the past, one time tried to make an atm w draw of $200, their atm machine whirred and made noises for 15 minutes then spit my card back out. No cash dispensed.
Later that night I saw they withdrew my $200.
I went there but they blew me off and said it gets resolved at the end of the month, 2 weeks away, nothing they could do, 2 weeks later it was returned.
Years ago I was in the mortgage biz and an investor client of mine from Florida was trying to buy a home, standard condo here, easy to estimate it's value. He applied for like a 50% loan, he was a resident, he had proveable big assets, fat income, perfect credit 700+++ scores and Scotia said his loan was approved.
Later they denied him for no reason, and explained "approved" meant they initially liked the loan and had to submit it to higher authority, higher authority didn't "approve".
That's my experience with them, no way in Hades would I send my ss deposit to them, just my 2 cents...
Hi Netgems,
Thanks for the info!
I have had accounts with Scotia for the 11 years I have been here and never had any issue (I’m sure others have and with other CR banks as well - including those in the USA). I never had to send money directly to a CR bank for residency either - I don’t remember that as a requirement when I first became a resident years ago but it could have been at one time. I did have to deposit an amount every month in my Scotia account to be a pensionado but I don’t remember how much (maybe $1,000 or so). That is no longer required as a permanent resident.
I have always found Scotia to be professional and helpful (I do speak Spanish and I think you do as well). I don’t want a loan so that is not an issue. I just use them for normal business (paying local bills, groceries and etc).
To answer your question, I also currently have my pensions sent to USA bank and then use Schwab to transfer to Scotia to pay rent, electrical, local bills and etc all online. BOA to Schwab takes 5 days before the money is available (no fee) but that’s normally not an issue - just time. Schwab to Scotia costs $35 total ($15 + $20) online but is available the same day. Just tired of transferring money all the time and thought it might make sense to just have the social security sent directly to Scotia. The amount of my SS is about what I use monthly for local bills.
You are correct, I can use Schwab at an ATM for no fee and then go to Scotia to make the deposit but then I have to go to the ATM/bank. Also with the $400 limit on ATM transactions at Scotia, I would have to make several trips. Due to Covid, I am trying to limit, as much as possible, my time outside my house so that is another reason for asking this question - I want to do as much as possible online as I do now but without the delays and costs.
I was just wondering if anyone on the board had any first hand experience with social security going directly to Scotia. Not a major deal as I have been doing it the other for a long time and know it works. Always trying to simplify my life and stay home as much as possible (damn Covid).
Anyway, thanks again for taking the time to write - your opinion is much appreciated!
Woozo