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Banking System
Costa Rica Banking System
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Costa Rica’s currency and banking operations Currency Costa Rica’s official monetary currency is colon (singular) and colones (plural). As of current exchange rate, a U.S. dollar is equal to 518 colones. Here’s a useful travel tip for you. If you are now in Costa Rica, go and shop at establishments that price their products in colones. This is due to the fact that you will be getting your money’s worth. Exchange your U.S dollars to the local currency and shop around like a local Costa Rican. Also visit restaurants and other establishments that charge in colones. There’s a tendency for establishments that price their product in U.S. dollars to increase the rate and you might not be getting your money’s worth. The pricing is much higher if it was set in dollars, maybe as a strategy to earn more profit from tourists. Costa Rica Banking operations There are two categories of banks in Costa Rica. These are National (or State) and Private Banks. National banks are similar to the system being implemented in the United States through its Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). In some ways, the deposits made by the clients are very well insured. Private banks are those run by private companies and not run by the state government. When it comes to offshore banking, Costa Rican government makes sure that no illegal activities take place. When people hear of this term, they immediately think that it has something to do in evading taxes and transferring of funds coming from illegal activities. However, banks in Costa Rica follow the laws in terms of banking privacy. This assures that the clients are protected in terms of security of its information and funds. Financial sector of Costa Rica includes commercial banks (3 state owned and 19 commercial), one workers’ bank, one state-run mortgage bank, four mutual home-building companies, fifteen private finance companies, 27 loans and savings cooperatives and of course, the Central Bank. There’s a lingering question that’s probably on your mind right now. How secure is your money in state-run banks? The answer: Completely secure. Costa Rica’s Central Bank is the regulatory agency in terms of the country’s banking policies. You must know that private banks don’t offer deposit insurance. However, this is not the case for the state-run banks. There was an incident in 1995 wherein a state-run bank was closed due to millions in losses and emergence of questionable investments. Several high ranking officials of the bank were arrested and jailed. Meanwhile, the depositors got their money back since it was insured. This leads to the question if your money is safe in private banks. It is still safe although the risk of not getting your deposit back in full should untoward circumstances happen may be higher. These private banks are just about 13 years in existence in Costa Rica since they started to exist in 1995. Until now, there’s still an ongoing collaboration between private banks and the Central Bank in terms of protecting the deposits of each customer. In recent years, however, there had been merging of private banks since the demand is not that heavy in terms of private banking. The local residents have already gotten used to depositing their funds in state-run banks. Costa Rica Online banking This method of banking has been in existence in Costa Rica for the past couple of years. It gained popularity to most people since it offers convenience and fast transactions as compared to enduring long queues in banks and in paying utility bills. With the emergence of internet, residents can now check their accounts on the computer. They can transfer funds to other accounts based in the same bank, transfer of funds in other banks, update account balances, pay utility bills and a lot more. The possibilities are endless. You can also use your credit card when it comes to online transactions. Just be sure that your password is not compromised when you use a computer in an internet café. If you feel that the account may be hacked, immediately update your password. It’s already recommended that you have your very own internet service in the privacy of your home. Opening an bank account in Costa Rica This early on, you must be informed that it needs a lot of requirements. Getting a savings and checking accounts may be tricky since there are restrictions that are imposed. However, the process varies in different banks so you can always inquire to your Costa Rican friend as to what bank to recommend. Automated teller machines (ATMs) Automated teller machines are available in a number of areas in the city. You can actually withdraw money in local currency (colones). This eliminates hefty charges for withdrawal fees. As mentioned in previous articles, it is recommended that you shop for items in establishments with price tags in local currency. Learn the local language It will be advantageous on your end to learn the first language of Costa Ricans which is Spanish. If you are planning to stay here for a long time, it pays off to learn the commonly used language. You may need to adjust when you to banks because most tellers only speak in Spanish or most of the bank’s sites are in Spanish. |
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Newsflash
| Costa Rica building regulations come too late for some shorelines |
Due to the fact that the beaches of Costa Rica were being robbed of their natural beauty and cleanliness after an unprecedented unregulated building boom in the last three years, the president of Costa Rica had to step in and forcibly set building regulations for the municipal governments to enforce in the future when controlling the zoning laws of their area. |
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