Banks in Costa Rica?

Question

Hi I'm going to study abroad in Costa Rica for a year and I need to know what to do with my money!!! Should I just start a bank down there, or find one up here that has a branch down there? Anyone have any ideas? THANKS

Answer 1

Keep your money in the US.  HSBC and Scotiabank international debit cards will do the trick.

If you need any other Costa Rica information, visit the TicosLand.com web directory.

Answer 2

I don't know of any US bank with branches here. Scotiabank is here but I believe they are Canadian. HSBC I don't know where they are from but I never saw one in California. I have a local account and it works fine. You may not need a local account but make sure your ATM card is set up for international use before you go. I would advise opening an account here. You don't need to put all or most of your money there. It can come in handy in case of some glitch in the ATM system or whatever. Also, it's always nice to have more than one ATM card. Things can get stolen here, you can 'bank' on that.  

Answer 3

if you are going to open an account it would be safe if you open it on Banco de Costa Rica, not in private banks.  

Answer 4

State Banks:

Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) www.bancobcr.com

Banco Nacional de Costa Rica www.bncr.fi.cr

Private Banks:

There are too many but i recommend:

HSBC www.hsbc.fi.cr

Answer 5

If you have an ATM or debit card that uses the Cirrus network, you really don't need to change banks.  You can withdraw money in colones (or in some cases dollars and colones) directly from you account here.   The only possible exception would be if you were in a tiny town that only had Banco Popular or Banco Nacional, for some reason the majority of U.S. ATM cards do not work in their ATMs.