which bank?

Pnaylandr wrote:

Hi there! Will be in Sosua/Cabarete in 3 weeks and will also be needing to establish a bank account. I’m inquiring what documents exactly is needed. Looking for clarification. Also I’ve been reading in other forums and chats that they must translated in Spanish? We are looking specifically at Banco Santa Cruz and Scotia. If anyone has any suggestions elsewhere that maybe easier to open appreciate that as well. Thank you I’m advance!

Banco Santa Cruz in Sosua was very easy and straight forward. Translations of documents were not required. Passport; second piece of ID; SSN (if US person); and three months of previous bank statements.

This thread has been dead a couple of years but, I now have this same question and wanted to see what the current situation is. 

From the above posts in July/August of 2021, it appears most people are happy with Banco Santa Cruz in the Sosua/Cabarete area.  Is this still the case?  Any new banks in the area that might be better?

For Santa Cruz, the speed of service in Cabarete is better than Sosúa. Usually a line at the one in Sosua. For sure stick with Cabarete for Popular, the one in Sosua is a nightmare for service and long lines.

Often which bank you use depends on your need. 

For a typical " retired to DR" Santa Cruz seems to be good. 

For paying all local bills online and other things I like Banco Popular.

For ease of payroll no one is better then Banreservas!

I am a US citizen, no tourist visa required, but have overstayed the 30 day period. I need to open a a bank account and Santa Cruz seems to be the best for me. If you have overstayed, can you pay a fee to the bank to open an account....if that is not an option, will a quick trip to Puerto Rico? I have heard that you must return to your country or origin and then return

A trip to Puerto Rico will reset your tourist card

Take the ferry honey!

@planner that's what I was thinking

I just wanted to provide an update on my experience with opening an account at Banco Santa Cruz in Sosua in case anyone else is in this same situation and wondering:

I have applied for a pensioner's visa here which requires that my retirement pay be deposited into a DR account. Therefore, opening this account was necessary.

Checking accounts are normal in the US and possibly in other countries. Not true here. Ask to open a Savings account.... it's the same as what we think of as a checking account.

When I went to the bank, they gave me a list of required documents in both English & Spanish. This list is directly from the paper the bank provided. The requirements are:

• original passport (they will scan/copy at the bank)
• - if your passport indicates that your place of birth is different from that of your nationality, it is necessary to provide your second passport. If you do not have it, it can be your birth certificate translated into Spanish.
• - the last entry to the country cannot be more than 30 days
• a second ID of your country of origin (driver's license, identity card, insurance card, birth certificate) I used my US driver's license.
• bank reference letter. (this document was needed as part of my visa application, so they were able to use it. It's simply a letter from my US bank stating I have an account there since a specific date with a balance of a specific amount.)
• Letter of a personal reference in the country. (I did not have this. However, they accepted a letter from my attorney - Lishali Baez - which stated she was helping me with my visa/immigration.)
• Job letter or job information. (again, this was part of my visa application... a letter stating I am retired and drawing a specific amount of money per month.)
• First deposit for opening the account: US$500, RD$3,000, or Euro $500.

You can choose to open an account in pesos OR in US dollars. If you open an account in pesos, you will get a Visa debit card for use at businesses and the ATM. You also get online banking. If you open the account as a USD account, you must go into the bank to a teller to withdraw cash, and I believe you do NOT get online banking access. For the pesos account, any pays deposited from the US will be converted to pesos by the bank... they quoted me what I thought was a reasonable rate (55.5 at that time). Also, when I went in to open my account, I only had pesos with me, but she said if I wanted to open it in USD, they would convert my pesos to dollars. I had enough pesos to meet the USD requirement.

None of the documents I provided needed to be translated into Spanish. My bank letter was in English, while my retirement pay letter and the reference letter from Lishali were in Spanish. No problem. The lady made copies of everything for their files and returned the originals to me.

I was not asked to provide 3 months' worth of bank statements, but some people may be doing this when they don't have a bank letter. I don't know.

In Sosua, you have to make an appointment with one of their account specialists to set up the account. These are the ladies sitting at the desks along the left side when you walk in (the branch on Pedro Clisante). It takes about an hour; hence, the appointment.

If applying for a visa, you will need a confirmation letter from the bank addressed to direccion general de migracion. You need to specifically ask for that at the bank... they will not automatically provide it, and you cannot use your other bank documents in lieu of - it costs RD$200. At this point, my account was opened, so I just had it deducted from my balance.

As one person stated, the lines in the bank can be quite long, as I saw on my three trips there. Most appeared to be expats who were withdrawing cash at the teller. I opened my account in pesos so I would have easier access to it (online, local businesses, ATM, pay rent), but I can open another account later in USD if I want.

My question would be: is this the best way (a pesos account vs. a USD account)? Should I have my retirement pay going into a USD account, and require me to go into the bank to withdraw cash at a teller? The pesos account seemed the better option for it's accessibility, but I would like to hear from other people their Pros and Cons for a USD account vs. a pesos account. My main use of this account will be to pay rent, electricity, and cell phone. Do most landlords want rent paid in cash? Credit card? Still figuring this part out.

@SandyS_retired We have both USD and DOP accounts with Santa Cruz. You can easily transfer between the accounts using their app or online banking. We deposit our pension in USD to our USD account, then transfer it to our DOP account as we need it for cash withdrawals or to make payments.

As a non resident foreigner, if I want to open a bank account do I have to be there physically or is there a way to do it remotely (like some banks in Puerto Rico).

As far as I know, all require you to apply in person with all your documentation

No bank here will open accounts without a personal visit

@planner

Hi Planner ! May I ask you what your thoughts are for best bank for someone like me who is canadian but Dominican by birth and descent. English speaking dominant by far. Living in between Toronto and Punta Cana. I would like to purchase property and open a business in PC God willing .