Moving to Quito - banks/car finance etc

Hey. Welcome!
You will be able to open a bank account once you're here, and until you do you'll be fine taking cash out of ATM and using your UK debit/credit cards. When you are here, just open an account in Banco Pichincha without shopping around too much: this bank is the closest you can get in Ecuador to a first-world banking. Don't dream about financing a car unless you have a local co-signer with good credit. Some small cars are pretty cheap, of course lower your expectations a bit... For example: Nissan now sells an old model of Sentra (brand new though) for around 11K. You can try San Roque market for some furniture, but try to find a local to guide you: first, to get better prices, second, just to be with you, coz San Roque might be bad in terms of security.
Good luck.

Thanks so much for your reply.  Sorry to be a pain, but could you explain your comment "Don't dream about financing a car unless you have a local co-signer with good credit."  Is there an issue with financing cars etc from reputable second-hand dealerships?

Thanks, Damian

You are welcome. Well, just like in the first world, Ecuador has its own credit score database, called "central de riesgo", which works here just like in any other country. Since you just come here, you have 0 records there. Banks will simply won't deal with you in terms of credit. There is a chance that you might negotiate a direct credit from some dealerships, giving you have a job, give them more than usual 30% down payment, and of course your gringo look will give you an advantage . But you must consider that the interest rates here are very high. You might end up paying double at the end. If everything else failed, you need a friend with good credit to co-sign for you.
Cheers.