Banking in the DR - Recomendations

[jstarebel]

Using your BoA card in Scotiabank in DR is not free though. USD5 fee + 3% of the withdrawal amount.

I'm not charged for anything other than the currency exchange in the DR. No $5.00 fee. Countries that have duel currencies such as St. Maarten where I can get Guilders or Dollars I pay nothing if I receive dollars. same in countries that offer EC or Dollars at the ATM.

 

[Hector L]

Opening an account at Banco Popular was a nightmare. It took months. I am not a resident but visit frequently and wanted an emergency account. Every time I provided the documentation they requested, they added a couple more requirements. Finally got an account opened but then renewed my US passport which meant a new passport number. I had to start over even though the only change was the passport number and I presented my old passport which matched the account. One thing I learned is that the rules vary from branch to branch and employee to employee. I have since learned that Banco Santo Cruz is much easier to work with. Also since I opened a dollar account, no debit card.

 

[sealuva]

Opening an account at Banco Popular was a nightmare. It took months. I am not a resident but visit frequently and wanted an emergency account. Every time I provided the documentation they requested, they added a couple more requirements. Finally got an account opened but then renewed my US passport which meant a new passport number. I had to start over even though the only change was the passport number and I presented my old passport which matched the account. One thing I learned is that the rules vary from branch to branch and employee to employee. I have since learned that Banco Santo Cruz is much easier to work with. Also since I opened a dollar account, no debit card.

So you opened on in Banco Santa Cruz and their is no Debit card with them?

 

[Wishing you well]

Opening an account at Banco Popular was a nightmare. It took months. I am not a resident but visit frequently and wanted an emergency account. Every time I provided the documentation they requested, they added a couple more requirements. Finally got an account opened but then renewed my US passport which meant a new passport number. I had to start over even though the only change was the passport number and I presented my old passport which matched the account. One thing I learned is that the rules vary from branch to branch and employee to employee. I have since learned that Banco Santo Cruz is much easier to work with. Also since I opened a dollar account, no debit card.

I feel you.

These idiots just know how to complicate everything. They just cannot grasp the concept that US Passport numbers do change and that they are not cedulas.

 

[Birdman]

I have a Banco Vimenca account. Does anyone know anything about this bank. There is only one branch in Santiago and the ATM is always broken.

 

[Harleysrock]

We have Scotia Bank and Popular. Both took 3 months to get accounts, really annoying to get accounts but Popular uses PayPal so if you can get Popular get Popular. It took a lot for us to get an account but some others have had different experiences. You must have residency or in the process for both banks in our experience. If you don’t have residency go with an easy bank others have suggested that just need a passport.

Good luck, banking here has taken years off of my life.

 

[Drake]

Heard yesteroday that the Vicinis are trying to sell their bank Progresso. They are offering first to their shareholders and then to the highest biidder. scotia bank were interested 3 years ago hope they are not still interested. Scotia bank is the worst bank for me. I closed my account after coutless blunders and never having dollars just topped it. Progreso have the best exchange rate and were fairly low risk being owned by the vicinis. Who actually bailed them out once in the Banninter years. Popular are ok but always swomped by people. They have 70% of market share. Bhd is like a cheap version of popular.

 

[Waitman]

Are there any ATMs that allow 20k or 50k withdrawals? 10k limit is annoying.

 

[william webster]

I get 20k a day on my card but..... 10k at a time is the ATM limit

so 2x the work...

 

[SKY]

I get 20k a day on my card but..... 10k at a time is the ATM limit

so 2x the work...

And 2X the vig...............

 

[william webster]

fellow in front of me y'day had a Popular card..... but was at a Progreso ATM.

He was allowed only 2,000 per woithdrawal... so he kept tapping keys....

I asked if they were dinging him each for a fee.... yes they were....

I hadn't known about that sort of thing... low limits for other bank cards.
Mine still kicked me out my 10k free.

 

[Waitman]

fellow in front of me y'day had a Popular card..... but was at a Progreso ATM.

He was allowed only 2,000 per woithdrawal... so he kept tapping keys....

I asked if they were dinging him each for a fee.... yes they were....

I hadn't known about that sort of thing... low limits for other bank cards.
Mine still kicked me out my 10k free.

there are ATMs that limit at 2k and 3k, but taking less than 10k you get screwed. i'm paying about $21 USD per 1k, withdrawal of only 5k the cost goes to $25/1k

 

[william webster]

You need a local bank account

 

[bienamor]

Are there any ATMs that allow 20k or 50k withdrawals? 10k limit is annoying.

local or foreign card?
progresso allows 20k on foreign.

 

[Waitman]

local or foreign card?
progresso allows 20k on foreign.

foreign.. i'll check out progresso, thanks for the tip. that could save me like 50 bucks a month.

a local bank account could work, if it saves money. still have to buy DOP at some point along the way.

an international wire could cost more. for example on a wire to Spain from US the receiving bank took out like 30 dollar US fee or something. the recipient was upset at me like it was my fault their bank charged them the fee.

 

[Juan Bosch]

I have a Banco Vimenca account. Does anyone know anything about this bank. There is only one branch in Santiago and the ATM is always broken.

They have an ATM in their Data Vimenca building were their call center is located... always up and running......btw you have an account but don't know anything about the bank...lol

Marginal Nte. Autopista Duarte Km 1 1/2, Santiago De Los Caballeros 51000

 

[Scott18684]

Absolutely! Charles Schwab Bank rebates all ATM fees. If you have a brokerage account with them, ask for it!
I use that wherever I don't have a local bank account.

And Chase United Mileage Plus is one of those credit cards that have NO foreign transaction fee when used outside the USA.

Radius Bank in US also refunds all ATM Fees like charles shwabb. You can apply online radiusbank.com and they will send you a debit card. Use it at the ATM and at the end of each month they refund ALL fees. It is a regular checking so you dont need a brokerage account. They also give you very nice free checks and you have the app on your phone to lock the card if you lose it.

 

[pularvik]

WE have an account at Progresso , actually 2, one in each of our names. Thus we have 2 ATM cards and can get 40k at a time if needed. Small fee for atm use.

 

[chico bill]

I'd like to find out which bank has the lowest transfer fees. Banco Santa Cruz charges only $10 but they have an "intermediary bank" Citibank that takes a whack of $45 on top of that. That's on a peso account. I had a dollar account at Ban Reservas but there service was less than stellar.
I'd like to find out which bank has the lowest transfer fees either dollars or pesos because I can't take that big of a hit each transfer.
Chase in the US charges me nothing on their end as long as it comes out of my preferred account.
I have B of A too and heard they have affiliation with Scotia, so it might be less, but I assume that is not with the Caribbean Scotia ?

 

[chico bill]

Has anyone tried TransferWise ?