Placing Canadian/American check into Costa Rican bank account

You will need to discuss this with your bank in CR, but it may take  a check to take 21  days to clear. If you will be receiving a government pension, it must be deposited in your Canadian account.

While still a 'tourist' you will only be permitted to transfer a specific amount per month...and must provide info on where the funds are coming from.

kohlerias wrote:

You will need to discuss this with your bank in CR, but it may take  a check to take 21  days to clear. If you will be receiving a government pension, it must be deposited in your Canadian account.

While still a 'tourist' you will only be permitted to transfer a specific amount per month...and must provide info on where the funds are coming from.

Yes,agree. However, I'll be applying for the temporary pensionado residence, hopefully it'll help. Waiting for 21 day isn't a problem as long as they finally accept my check. I can write a check from my USD account or Canadian dollar account. Don't know which one is better (perhaps USD if I open a USD account in CR bank). The most important is to have this check accepted to avoid a wire transfer, as it is a hassle dealing with a Canadian bank.

I doubt it will help much, as you could still be waiting for your residency application to be completed for a year or two...

Henry
          The check deposit you want to do is a nightmare to attempt
You are better with the wire transfers then trying to deposit foreign checks here
If you do go that route open account with Bank of National since they are the main bank for CR money movement
Also keep in mind if you open an account with another bank here and you do transfers you will pay to commission fees
One to BN which all transfers go through and the. Another commission your bank when BN transfers to your account
Also the charge here to covert dollar to colones

When you open an account here on temp Residency or tourist you are limited on amount you can transfer 
If you get wild and start making large or many small transfers they freeze your account under the anti money laundering law
Also with my account here I can only wire money to my dollars account them I have to make a transfer from my dollar account to colones account thru online portal
They only allow me to have a savings account with a debit card for my colones account
FYI… not sure if all have this issue but I am only allowed to wire transfer here I can't wire from my CR account back to my American account

The banking system here is very difficult and they charge for everything. They are very petty with fees
I laughed when they charged me $2 dollars for a plastic fee to issue me a debit card

You best best bet is to follow along with what everyone else is doing
Banking, & vehicle    They are not big on change or going outside the box here

Just my advice. Like  i said I'm not Mr. Costa Rica but definitely have scratch my head daily on how broken some of the systems are here wit my business and personal dealings I have here

Yes, I hear you. When I received my corporation books half printed and half handwritten (yes!), I've made my conclusion (after being shocked).

Hola.  I can't confirm Canadian checks because I only deposited an American check on several occasions.   I asked the bank teller who asked her supervisor who said yes.   I deposited the check and it cleared in about four days, which was much quicker than I expected.  I believe the bank I used for this deposit was BAC but since I have accounts at several banks I cannot be sure which one I used for this transaction.  If you have only one account in say Banco Nacional, I suggest you visit several banks to discuss what issues, if any, another bank would have processing a foreign nation check.  BN tends to make things more difficult than others.

I believe the check was for approximately $9,000 the first time and $20,000 the second time.  Easy peasy.  I am considering doing exactly what you are proposing going forward.

Hola sporto ,
Do you recall if you were charged extra or any fees for cashing the US check with BAC ???

Sporto, if you use BAC (Banco de America Central) could you please tell me if I'll be able to use this bank for regular transactions (bill payments, etc.).
The question may sound stupid but this is Costa Rica and things are totally different. I'll be opening a bank account this month and need to figure out which bank makes my life easier.

Hi.  Sorry for the late response.  I was NOT charged any fee to deposit my check in BAC.