Have dealt with them for past 9 years, but it’s going from bad to terrible.

They are ignorant and arogant at the same time.

Problem is that we really don’t have to many options to choose from. They all suck and plus SUGEF it’s just a bad combination.
Very little curtesy and professionalism is another thing. It’s just insane how they treat clients with large sum of money deposited in the bank. I am fed up.

I am thinking to move my account to Panama or Belize.

I like to have have simple S.A. account in dolars and one credit card attached to it so I can spend the money. Must have electronic access and pain free.

Any sugestions?

TIA

It took me 5 visits to the bank before I was able to successfully open an account there. Each time they would give me a new list of documents I needed to provide. Why they couldn’t just tell me everything they needed the first time i went in is a mystery???

When my account was finally opened I waited over two weeks for a call from them telling me my card was ready to pick up, then when I went in to pick it up I was told that there was no card ready and they asked if I’d like to order a card for my account??

I was unable to access the account for a further 9 days.

This might not sound like such a big deal but being that my business was processing orders with a BAC San Jose / Credomatic credit card machine and depositing money into the account, not having any way to access those funds seems ludicrous to me.

Scotiabank is also terrible. Every time I deposit a cheque they demand to know what is was for. I cant make a withdrawal without my passport (even though a have my I.D., bankcard and password), and they have NO real internet baking solution.

A new problem I have just encountered with Costa Rican Banks is that it is impossible to open a joint account ??? Does anyone know WHY this is or where me and my partner can open one?

Does this policy also apply to electronic transfers or is it possible to access the transfered cash immediately?

1.) The number of Americans engaging in activities that while legal in Costa Rica are clearly felonies in the United States (for example: all sportsbook, casino, and casino online operations).

2.) The number of Americans using Costa Rica for tax evasion purposes (you know how much you gringos are selling this country for! you are now regularly selling real estate that you bought for a few dollars for millions! are you reporting those gains to the US government and to the Costa Rican government? (the silence should be deafening right about now).

3.) The mounting pressure by the US Government on the Costa Rican government to put a handle on narcotics and trafficking related activities stemming from South America (mainly Colombia). Unfortunately as you all know Costa Rica is a way station for that drug traffic (fueled as much by the overwhelming demand for those products in the US as it is by the overwhelming greed of the cartels that produce and distribute it).

4.) Canada and its influence is also to blame (admittedly a lot less). Remember when the Canadian Mounties investigation led to the shutdown of The Brother’s illegal investment operation? Well Canada then asked that the Costa Rican government take a much more drastic approach and more carefully observe banking rules.

So as a country we’re stuck in the middle between doing what we think is right and doing what the ‘powers that be’ are telling us to do.

(As a side note, since the US basically controls our banking policies there is a ‘de facto’ embargo between Costa Rica and Cuba as well as no bank in Costa Rica really dares to do any financial transaction with the country of Cuba so as not to anger the Bush Neocon Regime)

So I’m going to leave you with an ugly phrase coined by some people in the United States: (and I hate to use it by the way, I think it offensive as I think a lot of the policies of your government offensive): “America, love it or leave it!” (substitute Costa Rica for America and see how that shoe fits you now).

Don’t tell me now about all the BS arguments that foreigners have for doing us the ‘favor’ of being here: ‘we bring employment’ ‘we spend our money’ etc. What you do bring are $1 per hour jobs and you take obscene profits that you fail to report to any country.

I’ll leave you with a better and more reasonable saying (that actually a more enlightened gringo once said): “Costa Rica, you don’t have to like it, you do have to respect it”

Good day gentlemen… I’m sure you won’t be trading our paradise anytime soon for the bleak reality that your country is becoming.

I’m surprised you have had problems with BAC SJ – they are my favorite bank in Costa Rica! You have to remember that customer service people in Costa Rica will tell you anything just so that they don’t have to do any extra work, so you will find that you will get a different answer each time you ask a different CS person the same question. Banks are even more frustrating since it’s your money they’re dealing with.

You must always escalate your issue to upper management as nicely as possible. I have had strange things happen to my accounts at BN and BAC SJ before, and if you speak directly with an actual manager, you will have your problem resolved the way you want it in 99% of all cases. If you don’t get the answer you’re looking for, go as high as possible in management, and whatever you do – never lose your patience!

I would suggest you stay away from using checks in Costa Rica – I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but nobody uses them! And traveler’s checks – like paper from Mars to most Ticos! Bank wires are more common for transferring money in and out of the country, and bank employees are more experienced in processing EFTs. You are not in the US where the check clearing house is an institution! Where do you think your check has to go when you deposit it in Costa Rica? Back to the US! Do you know how much risk and cost that places on a Costa Rican bank? If you need the money in Costa Rica that much, they know you will figure out the easiest way to work within their system!

And because the US has a hand in all bank wires internationally now, you will find that moving money is more difficult no matter who you are or where you are! Get used to it – everyday is one day closer to 1984.

Start a relationship with your bank manager – it definitely helps your daily life in Costa Rica!

Pura Vida!

This bank is Costa Rica controlled, and in more than six years, I have never seen a Canadian anywhere near a bank (except as a customer of course). I do not think SB has much control here if any at all.

Scotia Bank is a pain… though my problems went away after the second year and a rather “in your face” meeting with management. As I mentioned, their senior management sets the tone and it is distinctly xenophobic.

As for BN… always trouble free and now that I can get around in Spanish, they are a walk in the park!

Actually, many BN branches have no lines… just at different times of day. Mine in Belen is very fast if I go between the hours of XX and XX.

I have accounts at several other banks, including Scotia, which we are now leaving: we have wired money to the states twice now, from the Escazú branch. Not only were we treated openly as suspected drug dealers, even though our account is almost two years old and has so little activity as to be laughable… But they also screwed up the transfers, requiring several trips.

And we have a Banco Nacional. BN, famous for its long lines and no one speaking English, is the most trouble free bank so far. And don’t tell anyone, but the BN in Multiplaza during the week is practically line-free!