Banking Questions

travelchik

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Jan 26, 2007
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Sorry to bring this topic up again, but I've been poking about looking for information on banking but I noticed that most of the posts are pretty old.

My husband and I are planning to move to the DR (Sosua) in September and we're trying to get as much as possible organised before we arrive. So far so good, and now we're wondering what's the best way to go with banking.

Hubby has a Canadian Forces pension that is direct deposited into our chequing account. Assuming for a second that the CF would actually deposit into a DR bank account (something else to research... the list is endless! :cheeky: ) would you say that that would be a wise choice? Or should we simply keep our bank account here and transfer money / withdrawl though ATM as needed?

Thanks very much!

Lynn
 
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Chip00

Guest
Citibank

You'll gets lots of advice from people here but take it from somebody who lives here and has a bank account in the US.

International Wire transfer is the way to go. Right now I send my mother an echeck from BofA(from online) that gets to her house and clears in about 10 days. Then she goes to her local bank and does the wire transfer from there and it takes about three days to clear. The first time will take longer of course because they will need to verify info. The cost is US30.

The best option is to get a Citibank account and then you can do your wire transfers online for a cost of US15.

Again a lot of people will give you advice but I personally have not seen any system that works better or cheaper.
 

amparocorp

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Aug 11, 2002
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i would keep money in a Canadian bank that has internet banking............you should be able to transfer funds to a DR account, as needed, from your home PC.... the drawback is that the DR bank might put a hold on your money for a while, this can be a blessing though as you can't spend on impulse................you will have to shop banks, some allow a certain number of transfers per month with no fee.,,,,,,,,,,,in SDQ scotiabank is all over the place and i know that they are a canadian bank, check with them before you go down............you may also be limited by the choices of banks available in Sosua........you may not have scotiabank in sosua..........
 

Robert

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Jan 2, 1999
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you should be able to transfer funds to a DR account, as needed, from your home PC....

I would use your ATM card to make withdrawals, I know plenty of people that do this.

Plan B is to open a Banco Popular account here and also a BPD account (NY bank), they have an office in Santo Domingo. They are owned by Banco Popular here, so any transfers can be done online and are usually processed within 24hrs, sometimes quicker depending on the time of day you make the transfer.

I also know plenty of people that write cheques on their US personal accounts and cash them here. Just need a relationship with a local cambio.

As you can see, many options :)
 
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Chip00

Guest
I would use your ATM card to make withdrawals, I know plenty of people that do this.

Yes it is possible to use your ATM card but the fees are very high. I pay US11-12 for each transaction to the local DR bank that owns the ATM.
 

Ladybird

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Dec 15, 2003
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i would keep money in a Canadian bank that has internet banking............you should be able to transfer funds to a DR account, as needed, from your home PC.... the drawback is that the DR bank might put a hold on your money for a while, this can be a blessing though as you can't spend on impulse................you will have to shop banks, some allow a certain number of transfers per month with no fee.,,,,,,,,,,,in SDQ scotiabank is all over the place and i know that they are a canadian bank, check with them before you go down............you may also be limited by the choices of banks available in Sosua........you may not have scotiabank in sosua..........

Totally wrong, they are NOT a Canadian Bank, they merely francise the name, they are completely run by Dominicans. I have accounts in 4 different banks and am about to close my Scotiabank accounts (There are branches in Sosua and Cabarete ) because of all the new regulations. The bank called me recently and informed me I needed to use my account every month or I would face penalties. Apparently there are new rules which will greatly affect your money. You need to investigate this with the bank. Also they are the worst bank for getting access to your dollars.
 

Ladybird

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Dec 15, 2003
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Yes it is possible to use your ATM card but the fees are very high. I pay US11-12 for each transaction to the local DR bank that owns the ATM.

Obviously for all the advice you give to others Chip you are using the wrong bank. I dont pay anything for using my ATM card, NADA and the exchange rate, as many know is always much better than the exchange rate we obtain here;
 

mountainfrog

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Dec 8, 2003
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Personal Cheques Work.

ATM's and banks here are for people with strong nerves.
I no longer have banks accounts in this country and you don't really need them.
Follow Robert's advice.
Anyway I've been doing it for more than ten years.

m'frog
 
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Chip00

Guest
Obviously for all the advice you give to others Chip you are using the wrong bank. I dont pay anything for using my ATM card, NADA and the exchange rate, as many know is always much better than the exchange rate we obtain here;

My bank Bank of America doesn't charge me anything for getting funds out of any ATM. However, Banco BHD and Banreservas charge me around US11 per transaction. I check my statement online and they are always two extra subtractions in addition to the funds I took out.
 

travelchik

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Jan 26, 2007
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Thank You Everyone!

I would use your ATM card to make withdrawals, I know plenty of people that do this.

Plan B is to open a Banco Popular account here and also a BPD account (NY bank), they have an office in Santo Domingo. They are owned by Banco Popular here, so any transfers can be done online and are usually processed within 24hrs, sometimes quicker depending on the time of day you make the transfer.

I also know plenty of people that write cheques on their US personal accounts and cash them here. Just need a relationship with a local cambio.

As you can see, many options :)


Robert, do you know if it's possible for a Canadian to hold a US bank account?

I'm in the process now of contacting different local banks (President's Choice, Scotiabank (where we bank now), CIBC, etc) and inquiring about fees for wire transfers, ATM withdrawls, and the like. If I find anything interesting (like really cheap fees!) I'll post it here.

Thanks again to everyone who replied and offered advice!

Lynn
 

andrewc52002

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Feb 6, 2007
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Robert, do you know if it's possible for a Canadian to hold a US bank account?

I'm in the process now of contacting different local banks (President's Choice, Scotiabank (where we bank now), CIBC, etc) and inquiring about fees for wire transfers, ATM withdrawls, and the like. If I find anything interesting (like really cheap fees!) I'll post it here.

Thanks again to everyone who replied and offered advice!

Lynn

Does CIBC have offices in DR ?
Thkx
 

rendul

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Feb 24, 2002
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When we first purchased in the D.R. I set up a peso account and a US Dollar account in the D.R. I transfer funds to the D.R. usually twice per year through Scotiabank here. Our accounts are with Progreso. Scotiabank charges US $15.00 for each transfer up to US $9999.00. from our US account here to our US account there. It is easy enough as long as you have the necessary information e.g. SWIFT Number, etc. We have not had any problems doing this. Hope this helps. Good luck!
 
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Chip00

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ATM fees from Dominican Banks?

I was wondering if anybody else in this thread is getting hit up with fees like I am charged by the Dominican Banks who own the ATMs, such as Bancopoular, Banreservas, Banco BHD.

If not please tell me what bank's ATM you use.

Thanks
 

NotLurking

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Jul 21, 2003
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I suppose it could be but I'm still waiting to see what others have to say.

Banco Leon charges me RD$23.74 for checking my balance on their ATM using their own visa check card (ATM card)!! They charge the same for balance inquiries when using their Prepago (prepaid) Visa Leon.

Banco Popular charges me RD$20.00 for ATM withdraws using their ATM card on their ATM!!

Note (FYI): the government charges 0.15% of all money transferred between accounts here in DR.

NotLurking
 
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Chip00

Guest
What I still would like to find out is if anybody else with ATM cards not from the DR are being charged from the DR banks that own the ATM's to withdraw funds. That is the point of this thread after all - how to access/receive funds from banks outside the DR.

Thanks
 

travelchik

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Jan 26, 2007
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Nothing too exciting to report...

Does CIBC have offices in DR ?
Thkx

Not as far as I can tell. The only Canadian bank that has offices anywhere in the Carribean is Royal Bank. And they're not in the DR.

I've been checking fees at various Canadian banks (wire transfers, ATM fees outside Canada/US that sort of thing) and they're all pretty much the same. Wire transfers range from $15 to $30 and ATM fees are all the same from bank to bank: $3.00 (Cdn) per transaction if the money is withdrawn in Canadian dollars. $3.00 + 2.5% of the amount for money withdrawn in pesos.

And of course there's always the fine print stating that the bank who owns the ATM may choose to add their own fees. :rolleyes: