Bank accounts

Are you moving to a foreign country? People coming to Guatemala need to decide about how to manage their money. This week I helped some folks, and I want to tie you an idea of the decisions to be made.

Get ready for the hairball of Guatemalan banking.

This is dizzyingly boring, so feel free to just move on and not read this!

I'm writing this from the point of view of someone from the US coming here. If you're in Scotland or Canada or Japan... this may apply but perhaps with some variation.

Before moving here, investigate banks where you live (or, online banks).  What do they charge to transfer money down?  Some may charge $50; some charge less. The receiving bank in Guatemala may also have a charge (one bank here charges $20). So, do some research. It may be worth it to consider using a bank 'back home' that has lowest charges. We set up a separate account with someone back home as a co-signer; she uses that account to transfer money down.

First, do you even need a local bank account?  Not necessarily. Many down here just use an ATM card that draws funds from a US bank for routine use. They may write a check on a US bank for larger expenses - but only if the seller accepts US checks (many don't, or, they have limits on how many US checks they can deposit).  The problems that could arise from this is if they need a larger amount of cash - in quetzales, like to buy a motorcycle. If you don't have a relationship with a bank here, they won't cash a dollars check to give you quetzales.

When you go into the bank, don't count on anyone speaking English, so either brush up or bring someone with you (or have them on speed dial for translation).

If you choose to have a bank account, you need to decide which type of account - or all four - you want. With any of them you can get a debit card.

• Quetzales savings account (de ahorro).  This is what you will get if you don't specify you need checks. 
• Dollars savings account (de ahorro).
• Quetzales checking account
• Dollars checking account

Most people want the checks (to pay rent, or draw larger amounts for major purchases). The savings account may be just unnecessary, or, something extra.

Next, choose your bank.  If you are choosing a bank here in Pana, here are some considerations (as of this writing):

• BanRural - a public/private bank. 
• Advantages:  It is partly (20%) owned/directed by the government of Guatemala, as I understand it. There are many branches all over the country.
• Downside: BUT, to let a foreigner open an account there, they require either (1) a letter from Guatemala immigration saying you can, OR, (2) have a Guatemalan on your account.  
• BI - Banco Inmobiliario- a private bank. 
• Advantages: There is a brother (one of Jehovah's witnesses) who is the bank manager. 
• Disadvantages: You can open an account in quetzales, but the dollars account is more difficult/impossible, since right now their systems don't allow you to deposit a check from the US. Supposedly their systems will be set up in 'a couple of months'. You can transfer money from a US bank - but again, that may cost you up to $70 ($50 from the US bank, $20 from the Pana bank) in fees. And you can't deposit more than $3000 at a time. 
• There are some other banks, but I haven't researched them yet.

Much of the following is standard stuff, and happens in the US also. A few steps are extra for foreigners. 

When you go in, you will need to have: 

• A complete copy of every page of your passport, including blank pages. (You can get that done at a local copy center). 
• An electric bill with your address. It may not have your name on it, but it identifies exactly where you live. This is perhaps the hardest thing to get (especially if you just moved here) but is absolutely required. Just ask your landlord. 
• Business reference(s) here.  (I can make some suggestions if you move down). 
• Personal references: a couple names and contact information for people that know you here. 
• Family members: a couple names and contact information for family members, even in the US. 
• A bank reference in the US (bank name, phone#)
• Name of a beneficiary of your bank account, in case of your death. 

They will also ask you: 

• What is your work? If you're moving down here and using savings instead of working, you can just say you're retired (jubilado) for the time being anyway!
• What are your income and expenses? This is a very rough estimate. They just want the first number to be bigger than the second number. If you come down and are living off some savings, just estimate how much you plan to use (transfer from savings), and make the 'income' (ingresos) bigger than the expense' (egresos). 
• Your phone number here in Guatemala. 
• Decide how much to deposit. Bring cash if possible. 
• Do you want internet banking? 
• Do you want a debit card? 

What you should ask for: 

• Ask for the "swift code" of the bank, so that you can transfer money from a foreign bank into this bank.
• Ask for two debit cards, if you'd like. They may not give it to you, but you can ask. 

How will you fund your account? You can bring in some cash (dollars or quetzales) for an initial deposit. But for ongoing funding, you can either: 

• Write a check from a US bank to deposit in whatever account here. 
• It will take probably 3 weeks for the US check to clear. 
• There is a limit of how large a check they are willing to accept. This is not them being obstinate. There are issues with money laundering, and large amounts of money moving in/out raises red flags. As I recall, they were comfortable with $2,000. 
• Do a bank transfer from your US bank to the Guatemala bank. 
• There may be a fee from your US bank, so check with them. 
• It should arrive very quickly in your Guatemala account. 

How do you get money out of your account? There are limits to how much the debit card will spit out; I think the limit is 2,000q (about $270). And it seems that we heard that our bank limited the number of times we can even use the debit card (per week? per day?), but it hasn't been a problem. If you need more than 2,000q, we can't get it at the teller window. We'd have to go talk with one of the folks sitting at the desks to ask for more (and that, I think, is to officially ask for a higher limit to be allowed). All this is frustrating if you have a need for a large amount of quetzales in a rush, but the limits are for your protection. 

When you run out of checks, just go to the guys sitting at the desks in the bank, and ask for more checks. It will take up to a week perhaps, but there is no charge.

I think that's it! Every time someone comes, it's confusing, so I wanted to post this as a reminder to myself and for anyone coming down!