Costa Rica → Information → Banks

Costa Rica Banks

The monetary unit of Costa Rica is the colon wich is devalued against the dollar daily by The Banco Central through auctions and a well-publicized policy of daily mini-devaluations. The Banco Central authorizes regulated institutions to set their own exchange rates under certain conditions. Also, records inflows from exports, however they do not place requirements on where those inflows must be deposited. Dividends and transfers are remitted freely. Costa Rica’s financial sector is divided into:

* The central bank * 3 state-owned commercial banks * 19 private commercial banks * 1 workers' bank * 1 state-owned mortgage bank * 4 mutual house-building companies * 15 private finance companies * 27 savings and loans cooperatives. *30 investment and retirement funds or trusts

There are 2 types of banks in Costa Rica: State or National Banks and Private Banks. National Banks have some security as deposits are insured in a very similar way the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the USA secures deposits. There is no deposit insurance on private banks. The local market in Costa Rica is mostly short-term loans, high interest rates, and high spreads between deposit lending rates.

National (State) Banks in Costa Rica:

BANCO NACIONAL: Full service and branches everywhere in Costa Rica

BANCO DE COSTA RICA: Full service and branches everywhere in Costa Rica

BANCREDITO: Full service, branches in the San Jose area and english website available

Main Private Banks in Costa Rica:

BANEX: Full service, branches in San Jose and nearby areas

INTERFIN:Full service, branches in San Jose and nearby areas

BAC SAN JOSE:Full service and branches in all Central Valley

BANCO POPULAR: Full service; few offices, in the San Jose area mostly

BANCA PROMERICA: Full service, offices scattered over Costa Rica

BANCO UNO: Full service; few offices and in San Jose only

SCOTIA BANK: Full service; few offices in the San Jose area mostly, english website available

Offshore banking in Costa Rica is not necessarily the kind associated with tax havens and illicit financial schemes. Costa Rican authorities cooperate regularly with international agencies in order to prevent money laundering and possible drug related transactions.
Costa Rican state and private banks provide a full range of trade financing
services. It is kind of complicated to receive services in English due to the lack of bilingual employees and most of the websites are in Spanish.

Internet Banking in Costa Rica

In Costa Rica, banks offer Internet Banking Services for over the past 2 years. Most of the services offered online are: account balances, up-to-the-minute account statements, transfers between accounts in the same bank (your own personal accounts or to other accounts), requests for new checks and savings passbooks, payment of utilities and other services such as water, electricity and phone bills, cable operators and some private schools. Some banks are also trying to implement transfer of funds from your checking account to an account at a different bank soon The best choice is to open an account at a private bank that offers transfers over the internet into an account in one of the state banks.

Credit Cards, Debit Cards and ATMs

Credit and Debit Cards are widely accepted in Costa Rica (at stores, hotels, supermarkets and for most travel services) and they also give the best exchange rate. Credit card number theft is not unusual, and credit card transactions may not be confidential in some cases. So make sure you always get a receipt and check the charges made, if possible, while you are in the country. It is always better to use an ATM (Located all around the San Jose area and some outside San Jose) to withdraw cash in colones. Bank lines are too long in some locations, so people usually prefer to use debit cards to make their simple transactions and avoid carrying money with them.

Checking and Savings Accounts

Although there are some restrictions that vary depending on the bank, checking and savings accounts can be opened. The process is a bit long and slow in comparison from other countries. Most of the corporate deposits must be for a minimum amount. Some Costa Rica banks have a subsidiary or affiliated banks registered offshore. They are not allowed to capture deposits or lend money within Costa Rica. However, they do cater to Costa Rican clients. Checking accounts are the most restricted. The minimum requirements are:

• A passport or cedula (Costa Rican ID card)
• 2 or more local reference letters
• A letter from your US bank in case of immigration
• A cedula juridica (corporate ID)
• A personería juridica (guarantee of your authority signed by a Notary, not a regular attorney)
• And some other documents depending on the bank)