Banco Popular Accounts

[wsj3]

Hello DR1

I know this thread is over a decade old but I was wondering if it was still relevant.

I am tired of Western Union as well, and this sounds like a viable replacement.

I welcome any and all input.

Thank you all in advance and have a great weekend.

I live in New York City, and twice a month I send money to a friend in Santo Domingo via Western Union. I am absolutely sick of the exhorbitant Western Union Fees. So today I did an inquiry into the following scenario:

I open a Banco Popular checking account at a New York City branch. I give my friend in Santo Domingo the ATM card (and PIN of course). Twice a month I deposit the funds (U.S. Dollars, cash) into my NY Banco Popular account, and he withdraws the money in pesos at a Banco Popular ATM in Santo Domingo.

Banco Popular's fees in New York City are very low, so that was not my concern. In fact they even give you 2 free international withdraws a month. So then of course you also have to pay the additional fee that the ATM you withdraw from will charge you. So my concern was how much Banco Popular in Santo Domingo would charge for an ATM withdrawal from a New York account. Banco Popular in New York and Banco Popular in Santo Domingo are not at all connected. Due to government regulations, they are in fact completely seperate banks.

I called Banco Popular in Santo Domingo, and they said they charge 5% of the amount withdrawn, and the maximum withdrawal amount from the ATM is 5000 pesos. The 5% fee is quite expensive. That's $5 for every $100!

But, all in all, it is still cheaper than Western Union. I think I'm going to give this a try. Do any of you have any experience in doing this or something similar? Any advice would be very helpful and appreciated.

 

[cavok]

Hello DR1

I know this thread is over a decade old but I was wondering if it was still relevant.

I am tired of Western Union as well, and this sounds like a viable replacement.

I welcome any and all input.

Thank you all in advance and have a great weekend.

Sending money via WU online is expensive, but if you send it directly from a WU location it is cheap. A friend of mine in Florida sends about $900 every month down here and it only costs $8 USD.

 

[monfongo]

$8 dollars is cheap compared to 10% you pay visa versa.

 

[The Professor]

$8 dollars is cheap compared to 10% you pay visa versa.

Yes WU charges $8 as a fee, but there is also a spread between the going exchange rate and the rate WU will exchange your money transfer from dollars into pesos. For example, when sending $500 U.S. to be collected in Dominican pesos:

$500 - $8 (fee) = $492.00

Current exchange rate - 49.46 X $492.00 = RD $24,334.32
Western Union exchange rate - 46.33 X $492.00 = RD $22,814.88

$24,334.32 - $22,814.88 = RD $1,519.44 or U.S. $30.72

Total cost to send $500 U.S. would be $38.72


I too would like to find a less expensive way. I recently figured out the cost of withdrawing money from an ATM in DR from a U.S. account and found it to be much less expensive than Western Union. You have to calculate the fees from both the local bank, and the U.S. bank, as well as the spread, which is much less than WU. I don't remember exactly, but I think that withdrawing 10,000 pesos was about $15.00 in fees and spread.

Nothing would stop someone from opening a U.S. account with an ATM card and just giving that card to whoever they need to send money to in DR. No one is standing at the machine to check the name on the card. All the person needs is the card and PIN.

 

[cavok]

Yes WU charges $8 as a fee, but there is also a spread between the going exchange rate and the rate WU will exchange your money transfer from dollars into pesos. For example, when sending $500 U.S. to be collected in Dominican pesos:

$500 - $8 (fee) = $492.00

Current exchange rate - 49.46 X $492.00 = RD $24,334.32
Western Union exchange rate - 46.33 X $492.00 = RD $22,814.88

$24,334.32 - $22,814.88 = RD $1,519.44 or U.S. $30.72

Total cost to send $500 U.S. would be $38.72


I too would like to find a less expensive way. I recently figured out the cost of withdrawing money from an ATM in DR from a U.S. account and found it to be much less expensive than Western Union. You have to calculate the fees from both the local bank, and the U.S. bank, as well as the spread, which is much less than WU. I don't remember exactly, but I think that withdrawing 10,000 pesos was about $15.00 in fees and spread.

Nothing would stop someone from opening a U.S. account with an ATM card and just giving that card to whoever they need to send money to in DR. No one is standing at the machine to check the name on the card. All the person needs is the card and PIN.

There is no "spread when you send your money in USD - that is how my friend in Florida does it. He sends, say, $900 USD and I collect $900 USD. He pays $8 USD to send the money. Then, I can get the best exchange rate going, usually at CaribeExpress. It's so simple! And cheap! And no calculations necessary!

 

[william webster]

Yes
Keep the base in US$$... easier and compensates for rate fluctuations.

Speaking for myself, I keep a US$ account and transfer as necessary
For the past several years , been the right move.

If/when the rate reverses.... jump back into Pesos

 

[The Professor]

There is no "spread when you send your money in USD - that is how my friend in Florida does it. He sends, say, $900 USD and I collect $900 USD. He pays $8 USD to send the money. Then, I can get the best exchange rate going, usually at CaribeExpress. It's so simple! And cheap! And no calculations necessary!

I've never done this, though I'm considering it to save some money. I've always sent in pesos to keep it simple for the recipient. However, I have a question, where you pickup the Western Union, do they always have a sufficient supply of dollars to pay out?

 

[cavok]

I've never done this, though I'm considering it to save some money. I've always sent in pesos to keep it simple for the recipient. However, I have a question, where you pickup the Western Union, do they always have a sufficient supply of dollars to pay out?

I pick up the money at a small W.U. inside Janet's a small supermarket in in Cabarete. There is that one extra step for the recipient to exchange the money. I've never had any problem with them having USD on hand. Not sure what the case would be if the amount was substantially over $1000(?). I'm guessing you might have to come back later that day or the next.

 

[cavok]

I pick up the money at a small W.U. inside Janet's a small supermarket in in Cabarete. There is that one extra step for the recipient to exchange the money. I've never had any problem with them having USD on hand. Not sure what the case would be if the amount was substantially over $1000(?). I'm guessing you might have to come back later that day or the next.

I've never done this, though I'm considering it to save some money. I've always sent in pesos to keep it simple for the recipient. However, I have a question, where you pickup the Western Union, do they always have a sufficient supply of dollars to pay out?

In my case, the exchange rate at Janet's is only 0.1 pesos less than the best in town so, if I wanted to change $500 right there in the supermarket after picking it up from W.U., I would only "lose" 50 pesos.

 

[countryroads24]

Wells Fargo has a program called ExpressSend and this is what I use to send money to my wife when I am in the US.  They have partnered with BHD Leon, Progreso and Banreservas and once you have the license set up for your family member/loved one you can send $1500 per day up to $12,500 in a 30-day period for immediate cash pick-up from your account for a flat fee of $4.00.  The exchange rate as of yesterday was $49.36....I prefer this than wiring money in to her account, it’s faster and cheaper using this program.

 

[Wishing you well]

Wells Fargo has a program called ExpressSend and this is what I use to send money to my wife when I am in the US.  They have partnered with BHD Leon, Progreso and Banreservas and once you have the license set up for your family member/loved one you can send $1500 per day up to $12,500 in a 30-day period for immediate cash pick-up from your account for a flat fee of $4.00.  The exchange rate as of yesterday was $49.36....I prefer this than wiring money in to her account, it’s faster and cheaper using this program.

Only Pesos or could I also send and receive in USD?

 

[countryroads24]

Only Pesos or could I also send and receive in USD?

Only pesos but the exchange rate is always solid, actually consistently the best of all the services I have/had used.  Also, you can send the money in person from a bank branch or do it from your online account, money is available 30-minutes later.

 

[william webster]

Are you sending to a Peso or US account ?

Perhaps if you had a US$$ account it would arrive in dollars.

My Progreso wires work that way.
Money arrives in the currency of the receiving account.

Scotia Canada works the same way

My experience

 

[cavok]

Wells Fargo has a program called ExpressSend and this is what I use to send money to my wife when I am in the US.  They have partnered with BHD Leon, Progreso and Banreservas and once you have the license set up for your family member/loved one you can send $1500 per day up to $12,500 in a 30-day period for immediate cash pick-up from your account for a flat fee of $4.00.  The exchange rate as of yesterday was $49.36....I prefer this than wiring money in to her account, it’s faster and cheaper using this program.

Good to know! Excellent exchange rate and super low fee. That's almost exactly what the official exchange rate is today at Banco Central. It's very rare to find a cambio that matches the central bank rate. CaribeExpress here is 49.20.

 

[Luperon]

Wells Fargo has a program called ExpressSend and this is what I use to send money to my wife when I am in the US.  They have partnered with BHD Leon, Progreso and Banreservas and once you have the license set up for your family member/loved one you can send $1500 per day up to $12,500 in a 30-day period for immediate cash pick-up from your account for a flat fee of $4.00.  The exchange rate as of yesterday was $49.36....I prefer this than wiring money in to her account, it’s faster and cheaper using this program.

Wow. Thank you country road. Can you send, for example, 1500 today and 1000 tomorrow and have the person go to the dominican bank once, just tomorrow?

I assume you need to open a well fargo account?

Thanks again

Sent from my LG-H990 using Tapatalk

 

[countryroads24]

Wow. Thank you country road. Can you send, for example, 1500 today and 1000 tomorrow and have the person go to the dominican bank once, just tomorrow?

I assume you need to open a well fargo account?

Thanks again

Sent from my LG-H990 using Tapatalk

Yes, you must have an account with Wells Fargo and then specifically create an ExpressSend account with a service agreement for your family member/loved one.

Yes, as an example, you can send $1500 on a Tuesday afternoon and then send another $1000 on Wednesday morning and your beneficiary can pick up both remittances at the same time using the transaction codes.

I do this for my wife all of the time as it is much faster and cheaper than wiring money into the Popular account.

 

[Luperon]

Last silly questions. Can do it all from home thru an app 24 hours a day? Does the pick up person require a special type of account at the pick up bank?

Ty!!

Yes, you must have an account with Wells Fargo and then specifically create an ExpressSend account with a service agreement for your family member/loved one.

Yes, as an example, you can send $1500 on a Tuesday afternoon and then send another $1000 on Wednesday morning and your beneficiary can pick up both remittances at the same time using the transaction codes.

I do this for my wife all of the time as it is much faster and cheaper than wiring money into the Popular account.

Sent from my LG-H990 using Tapatalk

 

[countryroads24]

Last silly questions. Can do it all from home thru an app 24 hours a day? Does the pick up person require a special type of account at the pick up bank?

Ty!!

Sent from my LG-H990 using Tapatalk

After the initial account set up, yes, you can use your online account to send the money.  No, the beneficiary does not need an account at one of the partner banks, only the transaction code and Cedula.