Banking in Juan Dolio

beckyred11

New member
Jul 9, 2002
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Hello all!

I am wondering how the banking situation is in Juan Dolio. I am moving there in August to teach, and banking is the last loose end that I need to tie up before I go. I have a student loan in Ontario that I need to make payments on, and so far I have not been able to find any information about Canadian banks in the area. My bank suggested opening a chequing account at a local bank and sending post-dated cheques to my family to put into my account here. I guess I am wondering if this is the best thing to do, because I heard that wiring money costs a small fortune! I will be paid in pesos (I assume), so I guess my cheques would need to be converted to Canadian dollars at my bank here. Any information about banking in the area would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Becky
 

ricktoronto

Grande Pollo en Boca Chica
Jan 9, 2002
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From the Canadian Banking Perspective

You can and likely will have to open a Dominican account, Juan Dolio or Boca Chica or San Pedro wherever there is a bank - Banco Popular or Baninter or Banco Reservas. For putting the pesos paycheque in that is.

If you mail or leave post dated cheques to your bank here in Canada they will likely be held (to clear) for ages or worse, sent on collection ( which means it is sent right back to the DR to be paid in a guaranteed form). This will take a while to be converted into guaranteed funds and of course the exhange rate is quite uncertain as the cheque is in pesos and the account in Canada is CAD$. Also the collection fees are steep.

You might be better off to get a 2nd account (as to no confuse the money you need with the money for your student loans process which follows) , get an ATM card for it, give that to your family in Canada (tell them the password of course) and they can do a withdrawal of whatever they can get from the account in CAD and then deposit that into the Canada bank for you. It might be $5 per withdrawl but much lower than Western Union from DR to Canada (the reverse is ridiculously expensive, so I assume to Canada will be equally so).

I doubt a Canadian bank would accept even a bankers/cashier's cheque/money order from, say Banco Popular that was already in CAD$ since they'd have no idea if the thing was real or not.

Still, you could at least buy CDN$ or US$ in the DR and mail that in the form of a money order in which case the currency issue would be easier to deal with.

ScotiaBank has a branch in Santo Domingo though I am not sure how connected things are to deposit to Canada right from there. I bet it won't be routine at all. Still at least you can ask them here as it is the one Canadian bank left. You may also want to ask Citibank which still has accounts ( I think) in Toronto as they are in Santo Domingo in a big way as well.
 

MommC

On Vacation!
Mar 2, 2002
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All right....keep it simple!!

Yes there is a Banco Popular in Juan Dolio. It is located in the same centre that houses a medical clinic (you'll see the ambulances parked outside) across from the Best Western Metro Hotel complex on the Boulevard Avenue.
The easiest way (from my experiences - not necessarily the best way) would be to open an account there to cash your cheques. Ask them what banks they deal with in Canada (or better yet find a bank in Canada that deals with the Banco Popular - you may have to call a few to find one.) You can have the bank transfer funds from your account to Canada as long as it is to a Canadian bank they deal with (and vice versa). There is a charge for the service but it is a lot cheaper than Western Union. There is another way to go via Banco Popular also but it can get complicated because of the currency conversions needed.
The other option (and most likely the better one) is to open accounts at a Canadian Scotiabank and at the Scotiabank in Santo Domingo. Deposit your peso pay cheques and have them transfer sufficient funds to the Canadian account to pay your student loan payment. This would be the easiest paperwise and fee wise but means you must go to the bank in Santo Domingo. It is located on the corner of Lope de Vega and John F. Kennedy and does have Enlish speaking staff altho' you have to ask for them and may be unlucky enough to arrive on their day off or when they are out to lunch.
Hope this helps........
Please send a PM to me if you want further info as I am not around the board much any more but I do check for PM's.
 

MommC

On Vacation!
Mar 2, 2002
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Becky-have sent you an email..........

I'm posting this here because it works for US Banks also and others may benefit from the info.
if you're working at the Trinity school ask them to be paid in American $$$. (I think they might do this already). Open an American $$ account at the Banco Popular to deposit the cheques. Then ask the bank for an American $$ cheque/withdrawal made out to your Canadian bank and account number (i.e. pay to the order of CIBC Account # 123456789). Put in an envelope with a note saying "Please deposit only to the credit of [your name and Account #] and take to the EPS office at Yamina 5 (just up the street from the bank) and mail it to your Canadian bank. The cost is about $2.00US to "post" the letter however it will get to your Canadian bank by using EPS service. This will be the easiest and most likely best way to get the funds to Canada (or US if that's where you live).
Banco Popular will issue the US$ cheque drawn on the AMEX Bank of New York so your bank at home will have no problem with it altho' there may be a 10 day "hold" while it clears so make sure you have a couple months student loan payments in your Canadian bank before you leave for the DR.
Hope this helps.......I've done this this way and had no problem either in the DR or at home.
MommC
BTW If you make a cash withdrawal at the Banco Popular (say for $400US for rent) ask for the money in pesos. They will figure the exchange and give you the US$ amount in pesos.
Keep in mind that you may get a better exchange rate at one of the "change banks" up the street however if you know what they're paying the bank will give you the same rate if you ask for it!! They want your business!!!!
 
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