Banking in Costa Rica

@nbsvest.......Keep your money in the U.S...It will be safer !

I'm not convinced that having savings stashed in Costa Rican financial institutions poses any great risk to depositors. The last time any bank failed was sometime in the mid-1990s, and the government covered all the losses.

The best returns on certificates of deposit will be found at the non-profit credit union-like institutions like Coopenae. CDs denominated in colones pay a higher rate than those denominated in dollars, and the longer-term certificates pay more than the short-term ones.

The non-profits' practice is to distribute their earnings among their members/depositors. Too, unlike commercial banks (public or private), the earnings on CDs are not taxed as they are in the banks.

I agree with daveandmarcia.  The banks are safer than the USA ... imo.  I have never seen a bank close on its customers and not open (other than during the plandemic).  In the usa this happens on a regular basis (just not reported on CNN) ...

https://www.fdic.gov/resources/resoluti … bank-list/

https://www.bankrate.com/banking/list-of-failed-banks/

In my local, rural, USA community, the locals had to show up, armed, and force the local bank to open up and give them their deposits/safety boxes, etc.  Sheriff was called and he advised the bank to comply with the wishes of their customers.   

Never has this occurred in Costa Rica.

Also, without electricity or if the banks do fail, how is your ATM card going to work trying to get funds from the USA to CR?   Just something to think about.

I'm not convinced that, at the extreme, Costa Rican banks are more secure than U.S. banks. True, the last time a Costa Rican bank failed the government put up the money to make depositors' deposits good, but that was a result of a one-time policy decision made by the government and not a matter of Costa Rican law.

By contrast, in the U.S., federally insured banks and credit unions are required to belong to government operated entities which do, in fact, have the resources to guarantee deposits. Talking about the FDIC and its credit union counterpart. Those institutions actually have the resources to cover losses due to bank or credit union failures.

So, were I a depositor in a bank, I'd rather it be in a U.S. bank than a Costa Rican one. The real question is whether either bank is actually likely to fail and cause depositors to lose their money. The answer is: no.

Of course, none of that can be said about non-insured deposits in state chartered banks insurance companies, mutual funds, etc in the U.S.

MeechBear, the two links you posted above do shed some light on the "failed bank" question but in a good way. In every instance, the failed U.S. bank was taken over by another U.S. bank, and there is no indication that any depositor lost any money. While you might not be happy that you're now a customer of Bank B instead of Bank A, your funds are secure and you have the right to transfer those funds to any other financial institution of your choosing.

Too, U.S. banks are bought and sold all the time. Take, for example, Wachovia Bank's takeover of Wells Fargo Bank about nineteen years ago. All that remains of Wells Fargo is the name, but who was hurt by the purchase? There was plenty of misbehavior by the bank named "Wells Fargo", but none of that was associated with any financial failure.

Hola, In the past year or so I've been victimized by credit card fraud here in Costa Rica(estafa is what it's called in Spanish) There's been 5 instances of estafa,3 were purchases in the U.S.,and two here in Costa Rica. The purchases in the U.S. I phoned the businesses,and they refunded my money. I also Got a new card,and card number. The two estafas here in Costa Rica i had to take the loss as BCR are absolutely no help in cases of estafa. I called,then I waited in a long line at the bank . They promised an investigation and a refund,both never happened. BCR does send you an email after every purchase, which is great,but they're not willing to follow up on fraud. I used to have a business account at Banco Nacional several years ago when I had my business, but ran into the same problem with them too. That was 15 years ago. My advise is to be vigilant, and check your account multiple times a week, or better yet every day. I also have a Citi Bank card, and have never been a victim of fraud with them. I have many complaints about Citi but estafa is not one of them. I love living here in Costa Rica but it's not perfect, and estafa is one of the things to be careful of,,,Pura Vida 😎

I will amend my previous statement.  People working inside the bank can become participants in different types of fraud.

1. As mentioned above.  After 3 instances at Scotia Bank, of my card being 'hacked' and having fraudulent charges ... I noticed that EVERY time I alerted the bank that I was going to be out of town, my card got 'hacked'.  As the Banks policies are that you have to wait for 120 days to make sure that it is fraud, and then get your money refunded AND YES YOU HAVE TO PAY THE CHARGES OR ELSE GET CHARGED INTEREST ... I found out that ALL bank manager have the discretion to make decisions up to 100% by themselves.   Since the 4th instance of fraud was over 12,000 I politiely declined to pay it in full, alerted the customer service rep that I had proof that this was an inside job and that I needed to speak to the branch manager immediately before I went public with this news.   Amazingling enough the branch manager appeared within 5 minutes and I reminded her that she had the ability to credit my account IMMEDIATELY or I would start going public and with my evidence that this was a calculate internal issue of fraud.  Within 24 hours I had my credit and they did whatever dance they had to do to get their 12,000 dollars back.   Seriously - why do we pay the monthly fee for fraud if we have to pay off the debt and wait 120 days for them to do their job!
2. The banks, in particular Banco Nacional, is clearly in collusion with the prison inmates that call elderly, in particular, bank account owners and scam them out of funds.  Yes, everyone should KNOW not to give out codes, etc.  but even though elderly people know this, they get bamboozled by these sweet charming talkers (ie con artists) ... and loose shit tons of money. What does Banco Nacional do about it ... NOTHING ... even though they see WHAT BANK ACCOUNT it is going to.  And even if you go to the police, they do nothing.   Petty Theft at its finest.
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@MeechBear......Why the'total opposite' turn around from your original post ? From Costa Rica's banks being safer than the U.S. to the way it is really here......A 360 degree turn around------YEAH !

@edwinemora  It was not a 360 turn around.  2 different issues as far as I am concerned.  The first issue concerned the stability and government backing of the Banks in Costa Rica.  I still have more faith in them than the USA.   The second issue involves the morality of people and their integrity that happen to work at the bank.  Two completely separate topics that happen to pertain to banks in CR.  Like apples and oranges in my opinion.  The little minions that are thieves working in/with bank employees has nothing to do with the actual stability of a bank ... no matter what country.

Meechbear. don't bother wasting your typing  on this person!  Does the word TROLL ring true with you?

@MeechBear...So----your belief is that the Costa Rican culture exist only in the banks and once you step out of this institution it is all G-O-O-O-D

@TerrynViv....I am use to it......Having tourists as yourself trying to censor me in my own country....

@edwinemora I gave my experience and perspective as a citizen of Costa Rica.  I earned it not born by it.  You have your experience and I have mine.  This board is for all of our voices.