Yes, its possible, they can do all the paperwork and when she come just go to sign, you have to provide the copies of her passport.
- Thread starter ohno
- Start date
Opening bank account
Yes, its possible, they can do all the paperwork and when she come just go to sign, you have to provide the copies of her passport.
There isn't a mildly way to do this - banking in the DR is the biggest chaos there will ever be.
Each institution, each location and each employee will have their own individual policy as far as how to conduct any transactions. Do not expect assistance, uniformity or common sense - the more complicated, the better.
Be ready to be hurdled in circles, waste time, energy and stress yourself (if you allow it), and at the end - nothing will be accomplished.
In short - banking is the biggest cluster in this country, by design, by international pressure (some of it), but mainly by the stupidity of the Dominican culture itself.
With that said, happy banking in the DR!
Each institution, each location and each employee will have their own individual policy as far as how to conduct any transactions. Do not expect assistance, uniformity or common sense - the more complicated, the better.
Be ready to be hurdled in circles, waste time, energy and stress yourself (if you allow it), and at the end - nothing will be accomplished.
In short - banking is the biggest cluster in this country, by design, by international pressure (some of it), but mainly by the stupidity of the Dominican culture itself.
With that said, happy banking in the DR!
I am Dominican by birth year my cedilla has expired and I don't have time to go to Santiago for a new one. Can I open up an account with say Banco Popular with a US passport only? Is there additional documentation?" I don't need a credit card or anything like that - I want to be able to pay cable bills and other household expenses (Delancer told me I either have to go in person 30th of every month or wire funds to a Banco Popular account).
If opening up an account with a foreign passport is complicated then maybe I should bite the bullet and renew cedula anyhow...
If opening up an account with a foreign passport is complicated then maybe I should bite the bullet and renew cedula anyhow...
My experience. Just a passport.
In this county it ain't what ya know,
its who ya know.
Most Dominican families have more
"players" then an NFL football team...
so someone is always related to someone
who has an old friend, colleague or
neighbor who can get whatever you are
trying to get done,"done", for a few extra pesos.
For better or worse... Dominican way of life.
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You can get your new cedula in the closer office, you do not need to go Santiago to get a new one.
The problem is that transfers between countries are highly regulated to cut down on money laundering, drug money, and fraud of various types. That is why there is no "properly developed" system as you desire in the world. Nor is it likely there will be one. If you want to do international transfers, then wire transfers are possible but costly for smaller transfers of cash.
Keep a bank in your home country and here and do the best you can. Two such accounts are a good idea for many reasons.
Agreed, it's a hassle to deal with banks across multiple countries and in various currencies. I've got a bank account at Banco Santa Cruz for US dollar deposits. I need to get the money back to Canada. And it's not as easy as you'd think or hope.
Since the DR account holds US funds, I needed to create a US chequing account. Fortunately, my bank has a good product that can easily connect to my account in Canadian dollars. But to get the $ where it needs to go, I have to do an international transfer, which costs $50 per pop. Then I need to go online and transfer the $ between accounts, paying for the exchange. Not a big deal, but one more step.
I had hoped I'd be able to email transfer right from the the DR account, but that was wishful thinking.
I opened my account over 12 years ago in Banco Ban Reservas (I knew a manager working there at the time) with Passport only. Originally I had both a U.S. Dollars account and DR Pesos with Debit Card (I also had a CC with them). I got rid of the Pesos account and still have the Dollars account to this day. I wire monies to myself from the states, use the debit card both here and abroad (several other countries), enter and take out cash all without any hassles.
Maybe I'm just lucky.
Ban Reservas, being the country bank where people get their Gov $$ can be a real pain in the a** if you have to actually go to the bank. I go in as rarely as possible. IF I have to go while in either S.D. or Santiago I use the branches coincidentally on 27 de Feb in both cities, in SD in between Churcill and Nunez South side of street and in Santiago in Los Jardines about a block from Scory. They are almost NEVER crowded.
Good luck to the OP
Maybe I'm just lucky.
Ban Reservas, being the country bank where people get their Gov $$ can be a real pain in the a** if you have to actually go to the bank. I go in as rarely as possible. IF I have to go while in either S.D. or Santiago I use the branches coincidentally on 27 de Feb in both cities, in SD in between Churcill and Nunez South side of street and in Santiago in Los Jardines about a block from Scory. They are almost NEVER crowded.
Good luck to the OP
The oxymoron to this is the fact that the bumps in the road are caused by the USA, and not necessarily the DR banking when it comes to money transfer.
As you stated - the over-regulation is just a by product caused by the USA on a third world country.
Yes, a U.S. passport will do; however, you will find it easier to link the account to your cedula after you renew it. When your passport number changes, Banreservas will need a day or two to verify it, again. Such is not so with the cedula. Also, take your U.S. Social Security card. You may or may not need it, depending on the branch, when completing the IRS form covering amounts over USD$10,000.
Yes. I like the bank, too, as long as I do not have to enter it. The Santo Domingo location on Maximo Gomez near Independence across from the Education Ministry is a great location in the early mornings.
I would definitely recommend Banco Popular, if you can manage to get an account open with them. Internet banking works very well, it links directly with everyone in DR that you want to pay. And in my experience their customer service is very good. Scotiabank's internet banking is from the stoneage in comparison.
By the way, it now takes about 2 months to open an account in the United Kingdom and you need pages and pages of proof of income and history of your life before they will consider you. I understand it is the same in the U.S. The Dominican Republic is only following the international trend of making it harder and harder to open a bank account unless they know exactly who you are and what you need it for.
I opened an account @ Capital One with a driver's license and $1,000 cash in 5 minutes in NYC.
Got a temp ATH card on the spot and funds were available and can deposit checks and cash them.
Got a temp ATH card on the spot and funds were available and can deposit checks and cash them.
Not true at all.
In the USA, walk in with just any valid form of ID and walk out with a valid account in minutes.
That simple, period.
Opening an account shouldn't be as hard and tedious as every bank in the DR make it to be, and that portion has nothing to do with narco and money laundering.
Now, the transfer of exorbitant amounts, I would understand a little closer supervision but just to open an account, ridiculous.