PBH / colombia (travelguide, pictures) / post

Are Colombian banks really interested in doing business or just pushing paper?

So Mrs. Papi and I have decided that we a re going to buy a small apartment. The current owner is willing to sell but would llike us to wait several months before doing the transaction. Works for me, gives me time to get the money together in one place without a huge lift.

So we go to Bancolombia with my "Padrino", businessman with accounts at the bank strong reputation. We go through the five to ten minutes of social interaction with a woman with a sourpuss surgically connected to her face and Padrino did the talking. Off the bat, we all conceded that I could not get an account as a non-Colombian. But shock of shocks, not only does Mrs. Papi have to prove her identity and citizenship, she also has to prove her income. Is this crazy or what? I can understand questions about your employment but the actual amount of your income, for an account.

Anway, Padrino says that he'll do the paperwork for the income stuff through his company and they will go back to the bank later. I left for my flight, but I learned that when they went back, they wanted the permanent cedula not the temporary one and on and on.

Mrs. Papi, bless her, took it all in stride and went somewhere else and did it on her own. Does this mean that Bancolombia is so huge that they don't care about small accounts or that they are so afraid of the regulators that they make rules more stringent than the regulators themselves?

Is banking an area in which foreigners can get involved? It would seem that starting even a small bank and adhering to the rules as written and directed, such an entity can become larger in time if they try to serve their customers and shareholders and not try to serve the god of endless paper.

PdA

By Papi de Alejo on May 31, 2008, 07:34 in Friendly Talkzone.

Papi de Alejo says on May 31, 2008, 07:35:

Hopefully, banking will soon move into the 19th century in Colombia.

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Lowell says on May 31, 2008, 07:54:

Good luck, much of doing business in Colombia, is still intentionally by them , in the dark ages.

Alfred E. Newman. "What. Me Worry?"

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miamimike says on May 31, 2008, 08:08:

And that is what will hold Colombia from progressing into the 21st century as it does throughout latin America,,,Lack of Transparency

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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paulr says on May 31, 2008, 08:23:

ha ha "sourpuss surgically connected to her face" does she work in DAS too? WIth the big expectancy of foreigners coming here looking for investment opportunities, how the hell will they all cope with this sort of thing, and god help anyone going to DAS with even 5 % more people wanting extensions or working visas. To say no-one is ready here is a massive understatement. I think everyone who has visited Colombia and had to deal with a bank or DAS has had a problem, i´ve had problems in both areas and more, try renting a property, they want your left testicle as a sercurity bond.

Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.

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rocinante says on May 31, 2008, 08:44:

Which is why many retirees are going to Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico and if they have any brains, Ecuador.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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viajero123 says on May 31, 2008, 09:49:

This is what is holding Colombia back, I reckon. But still, you do not imagine all the hassle I had to go through to open a simple bank account in the UK as a foreign student. Papers, photocopies of passport visa, notarisations, letters from college, and I would still get rejected for an account. They opened a simple account with only an ATM card, and after a while I found another bank that would open a decent account for me. It still only meant a debit card that I can use for POS sales, I didn't even get a current (checking) account or anything. Sounds similar to Colombia in some senses and it doesn't seem to put off investments in London.

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paulr says on May 31, 2008, 09:59:

True Viajero, we don´t understand sometimes how difficult it is for foreigners to get into our Countries and to go about normal life, open bank accounts or to get accomodation. We have it easy compared.
I still think DAS is a hell hole, and i don´t think i´m alone on that one. Last time i was there, they told me to write to the president to ask him why my Cedular took over 3 months!.

Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.

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adrimm says on May 31, 2008, 10:45:

It took about 30 minutes for me to go through all the steps to be registered with Bancolombia when I went to change some travellers cheques there in November - finger prints the whole nine yards (actually Colombia uses fingerprints for a lot of stuff).

I was amazed... the only saving grace was that the exchange rate was good that day, and Bancolombia is far better then the currency exchange offices.

I

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adrimm says on May 31, 2008, 10:48:

The more challenging problem in Colombia is doing things like paying for something from overseas. I tried to pay for a conference and the money was wired from my account at home to the Colombian bank and then held at the Colombian bank. I was not impressed.

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droble77 says on May 31, 2008, 11:29:

Is it the fear of money-laundering that makes the banks so afraid to take a foreigner's money or is it more complicated than that? There has to be a history here that we're just not getting. Otherwise, it's just crazy!

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sloopskipper says on May 31, 2008, 11:56:

Probably all the above. Also in Panamá, but to a lesser degree.

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guacharaca says on May 31, 2008, 12:15:

I noticed also that BanColombia's application form for a new account asks which estato the applicant lives in.

Colombianos: Las armas os han dado independencia, las leyes os daran libertad. (Santander)

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snaiks says on May 31, 2008, 12:43:

Well, im glad to read this post, i was employed by a panamenian bank that bought a "financiera" here, and they are trying to become a bank, WOW the changes i've had to make living in this country. everything is a problem and has to go to "comite" . The laws in colombia dont exist in every other country, it takes 2 hrs to open an account. and you need at least a "cedula de extranjeria" which i found absurd to have. the financiera where i work are afraid, and are very controlled by the superfinanciera here in colombia hence all the paperwork

hopefully, in a few years, you'll have a bank that does not treat u like any other bank, and business will be done like in any other advanced country

as for the fingerprint, Colombia does not use a valid signature, instead they use the fingerprint, which is going to be in every contract because the signature in colombia means notthing.

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tigredelnorte2 says on May 31, 2008, 13:24:

This is Colombia, the person that you talk to in any institution, can either screw with your life, or be very friendly, and help you out, including bending the rules if necessary. It can be pot luck.

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sloopskipper says on May 31, 2008, 13:24:

Do they get a fingerprint expert to testify that the prints on two documents are the same?

Do you put a thumbprint on a check?
That would be like signing with an "X".

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adrimm says on May 31, 2008, 15:41:

I can understand the money laundering thing but for conferences, the organizers ought to have participants pay by credit card like the rest of the world. The whole bank thing is too convoluted. I can buy flowers for $80 but not pay $100 to attend a conference?

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sloopskipper says on May 31, 2008, 17:23:

Yes, adrimm, and enough to convince you to take your money elsewhere, but I'm sure they're too stupid to really care.

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jack_jason says on Jun 1, 2008, 08:18:

That's great Colombian banks are doing that! finally we will get rid of some big mouth average joes coming into Colombia. I agree with the mirror treatment. We will treat your rubish in the same way you treat ours.

This is just spanglish, please do not correct me

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tomtom33 says on Jun 1, 2008, 09:13:

If only that were the case, Jack. I would dearly love to have a Colombian bank that didn't charge you for the privilege of using your money or charging a commission to accept more of your money or for using their ATMs. Last I heard US banks do not charge Colombians for those services.

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bogotabrian says on Jun 1, 2008, 09:40:

Hit the road Jack, and don't come back no more no more no more...j/k.

Seriously though, Colombia is only hurting themselves with their banking system. I run a business here and I could sit you down for 8 hours to tell you the absurdity of the banking system here based on my experiences alone.

I don't think the problem lies with the money laundry issue but more of the social structure of Colombia. The problem extents to the cable phone company, leasing offices, my venders, etc etc.

From what I have seen, the top classes only hire management jobs based on last name and family, seldom on hard work and intelligence. The other 99% of the population seldom gets a chance to prove themselves and climb the company ladder into these management jobs. Since all companies run this way there is little pressure or competition to improve these companies.

I know it doesn't sound pretty so flame away. This is just my honest opinion. Am I really on to something? Who in the hell knows.

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miamimike says on Jun 1, 2008, 10:37:

Try setting up a buyer/payer's Account in Col Banks for Mercadolibre.com(col ebay affiliate) as a Non-resident and you will come to understand the difficulty of doing business in Col. Major Stress&Frustration. In the States and Europe, the same eBay account can be set up to do business in more then 6 countries in less then 5 minutes,,,

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

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