Colombia- USA Bank Account

Dan says on Jul 7, 2005, 16:16:

There are no Dollar accounts that I have ever heard of in Colombian banks. US accounts in the US work fine if you withdraw from an ATM.

God Bless America!

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sandraktalina says on Jul 7, 2005, 16:20:

BUT If I have an account here and you say that I can use it there, is there any way that people make deposits in that same account???

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Mr. Hollywood says on Jul 7, 2005, 16:32:

No. They won't let you do it. I spent some time looking into it.

The best solution is to use Citibank Colombia and Citibank USA. Have them put peso deposits into the Colombian bank and transfer it to the US account as dollars.

However, Citibank Colombia will NOT accept dollar deposits.

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sandraktalina says on Jul 7, 2005, 16:40:

OTHER SOLUTION?? Is there any other solution??? The thing is that I used to have a LCD Account in Panama but it didn't work. Somebody told me about some bank called Pacific Bank or National City Bank that they are supposed to offered this type of account, but I checked already in their web site and I had no solution to my question. Does anybody else know about a service like the one that I'm talking about?

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tomtom33 says on Jul 7, 2005, 16:54:

Panamanian currency is the US dollar. You really can't use dollars in Colombia. You get screwed trying to change them into pesos. I sometimes get dollars for rentals. I hold them until I return to the States.

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terco panzone says on Jul 7, 2005, 16:59:

banks Banks won't do it. The citibank option is your closest choice. I spend half my time in the states and half in colombia, so this has come up for me also. I use a US account and a debit card in colombia, but I cannot make deposits to my account in colombia. Western Union works great though, as does moneygram. they will automaticly convert to the local currency. You have to pay for these of course, and you will have to expect to lose some in the conversion.

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sandraktalina says on Jul 7, 2005, 17:07:

how about??? Somebody just told me about an international account from CitiBank. Have anybody heard about it?

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terco panzone says on Jul 7, 2005, 17:13:

worth a shot But I contacted Citibank around the first part of this year, and Citibank US and Citibank colombia are separate as it turns out and I would not be able to transfer funds back and forth. However, things might have changed, go to this site and find out. http://www.citibank.com/us/index.htm

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sandraktalina says on Jul 7, 2005, 17:16:

alright thank you terco panzone, but have you heard of this so called International Account from Citi bank??

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jarhead says on Jul 7, 2005, 17:20:

you can't do it you cannot deposit dollars into a Colombian bank account, you will not find a bank that does it, people think that citibank here in Colombia will "help" you out because you may have a citibank account in the states, well it does not work that way. The Colombian goverment is paranoid when it comes to trying to prevent money laundering( mainly because of the pressure that the U.S. puts on it), that it is now just plain silly the shit that banks will not do for their clients, I just set up a new company down here in Bogota and could not find a bank that will let me have a checking account until I have been in bussines for at least 6 months to a year, I have been a citibank customer in the states since 1983 and they still will not do it, they all said that it was because of the money laundering situation. You are better off just having the person that is paying you pay you in pesos, find a city in Colombia where the dollar can be purchased for cheap (monteria, or other "guerrilla" or "para" controlled areas) buy dollars and then take those dollar and deposit them in your U.S. account and then use your bank debit card in Colombia and withdraw the money in peso, you just made yourself a couple of hundred pesos per dollar profit.

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terco panzone says on Jul 7, 2005, 17:26:

Citibank No, honestly I haven't heard of it. I emailed them for info about getting an account with them and being able to use that account with the branch in Colombia. They said it they couldn't do it. Basicly they could not guarantee anything that the Citibank in colombia might do nor not do. That's why I say things might have changed. I hope the website helps you get in touch with them, let me know what you find out.

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sandraktalina says on Jul 7, 2005, 17:30:

here's what I need I need an account, It doesn't matter that currency have (either dollars or pesos). The thing is that I need people to deposit there and use the money here, or deposit here and use the money there or keep it saved. Anyways, do you guys have any other option or do you suggest any bank???
Somebody just told me that Banco Santander offers an special account and Citi Bank as well. An International Bank account or something like that. Does any body try it before???

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adrimm says on Jul 7, 2005, 18:13:

ING Direct I believe you can hold your money in whatever currency you like, but I don't know if you can set one up with a Colombian address etc.

Regular Savings account rates are fabulous compared with other institutions' savings accounts.

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bhill says on Jul 7, 2005, 18:44:

* sigh *
all this talk about banking and nobody's even thought about the Swiss.
www.credit-suisse.ch
I've no direct experience with them, but,
there is an office in Bogota. Perhaps call the up. +57 1 530 61 61

-Brian

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poco says on Jul 7, 2005, 19:11:

Think about it Let me help you out. Say your relatives “found” a bag of U.S. dollars covered with banana leafs. Put the bills in a washing machine and set it on delicate. Dry the bills out of sight of the neighbors. Now you have “clean” dollars.

Getting them into U.S. and then Spending them,, that is something EVERYONE wants to do. This is NOT easy.

The wealthy or those being subjected to extortion manage to send money to their family outside Colombia, how and how much, depends. I can assure you that any exchanges in the banks are done by clientele that can PROVE where they got the money. Anything else will raise a red flag or be illegal.

Should Colombia become a NARCO-STATE things will become much easier. No problem with money exchanges and bank accounts when the government wants ease of exchange but you’ll need to be connected and a percentage paid to the “state”. Just ask the “x” president of Panama how this works.

Off shore accounts, Swiss etc. Better be connected. Lloyds has a branch in Pereria. They seem to be able to do almost anything and is one place where the wealthy bank.

"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because she knows she's dating a pussy." Quote - General Tommy Franks

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Bruce V. Shrader says on Jul 7, 2005, 19:28:

banking laws & etc. I went to Citibank, in Cali, and asked about doing what you ask.
several years ago. Their reply was "can not do it, because of banking laws of Colombia.

I went to One of the Colombian banks which was in Miami. (I think it was either Bank of Colombia or Banko Cafeteros.) Answer was about the same. Also They would not let me open an account with them because they said I was not a Foreigner (ie Colombiano). I then asked them why they were in Miami, Florida. They either could not or would not give me an answer.

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dagui says on Jul 8, 2005, 12:24:

How about this Can one open a bank account in colombia ( or have a friend o relative do it)It will be in pesos of course.With an debit card from the colombian bank (cirrus o plus). Can one go to an atm in the states and pull whatever amount is allowed each day in dollars.* with a fee?entiende?

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santiBOG says on Jul 8, 2005, 12:45:

I thought BANCOLOMBIA offered an account in USD.

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sandraktalina says on Jul 8, 2005, 13:36:

they do? Can you give me some information about that account that you are talking about form BanColombia?

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jctripp says on Jul 8, 2005, 15:18:

Paypal? You could set up a Paypal account in the States and create one for your family (using a US address). Then they can send you money using their credit or debit card. May work, worth checking out Paypal.com

RiColombia.com | Colombia Culture & Tourism Blog

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ws244 says on Jul 8, 2005, 20:55:

bank Forget it as it is illegal to have a dollar bank account in colombia

The best thing to do is find an honest Colombian national.
call up colpatria bank in miami or bank of bogota in miami and maybe they might help explain it better

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terco panzone says on Jul 8, 2005, 22:06:

Paypal doesn't transfer to colombia. You need an account to use with it and it won't transfer to a colombian bank account. There is a list of countries on the site where you can use and colombia isn't on it. A debit card from a colombian bank might work in the US, never tried it. Of course you'd have to deal with daily transfer limits.

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sillejo says on Jul 13, 2005, 13:26:

Citi bank.... I have a similar problem in reverse. We came back and my cousin had given me a deposite envelope with dollars for his Citibank account. It was well under the 10k so I didn't need to file anything at customs but it's still significant. Except I don't have a Citibank anywhere near me. If I understand laundering correctly, I can't just deposite this into my account and then transfer it to his right? What's the best way to get this cash into his own account without having it go through me? If there was a Citi here I could just go to the teller and that would be that.

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sillejo says on Jul 13, 2005, 13:57:

I know it's not laundering Unless it's illegal money, but still I would assume they are flaging transactions like that and I'd rather not sit in a room with a bunch of feds to explain the whole thing.

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terco panzone says on Jul 13, 2005, 17:48:

Depends on how much money you are talking about. I have a Bank of America account. Two actually. I use my debit card in Colombia with no problem, and my mujer has one also. Only problem is I cannot deposit money while actually IN colombia. However, my mujer can withdraw with her card and then deposit THAT into her Davivienda account. ATM's in colombia automaticly make the conversion to pesos, so she doesn't have to worry about that. This is good up the the daily limit, I think mine is $1500.00. A couple of times I've had to get more, and just called my bank and it was no problem. If you need to get say $5000.00 , just go back to the ATM every day until you get it. Of course you have to pay the ATM fees, so you need to find a caja that will give you the most money at one time. Usually 4 0r 500 mil. at a time. I know your getting ripped on fees, but it's the easiest way to do it.

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sillejo says on Jul 14, 2005, 08:30:

5k And it's already in cash. Plus my location does not have Citi Bank, Bank of America or any international banks like Banco de Santander or anything. The goal here is to deposite it in my cousins account here in the states in dollars, he doesn't need it accesible in Colombia because he is paying off loans here in the states (college, mortgage, personal, car etc.)

Has anyone ever come back from Colombia with a lot of dollars and been hassled at their bank for large cash deposites? I know that 10k is the point where they need to file a form reporting the deposite, but I would assume they probably question other deposits smaller than 10k when they are in cash.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Jul 14, 2005, 08:43:

I think you're being a little overly nervous, unless there's something you aren't telling, like your cousin is a paramilitary druglord.

First, why would your bank know you'd been in Colombia? It's not like they have a tracking chip in your brain, or do they?

Second, the US law on this is really clear. You need to declare and justify amounts over $10,000. Amounts under, you don't. End of story.

Just put the cash in your bank account and transfer it to your cousin's citibank account.

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sillejo says on Jul 14, 2005, 12:52:

not paramilitary, no...... but he is an anesthesiologist, so he's a minor druglord :)

Mostly paranoid because I had an internship in college with an Interpretation company and in court we saw this kind of thing all the time where guys were hasseled to death by DEA, FBI etc. due to a trigger happy teller at a bank.

I was hoping there was a cleaner way, but I guess not.

Thanks though, I'm glad I found this web site.

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terco panzone says on Jul 14, 2005, 15:22:

He's in Colombia, you want the money in the states. He can put it in a Colombia bank account and send you the ATM card. Take it out of an ATM in the States. Sounds like its less than $10,000. You'd probably have to take it our $500.00 at a time due to limits on the machines, but you could do it. If you had started the process when you started this thread, you'd have it already.

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tomtom33 says on Jul 15, 2005, 06:01:

I brought about $7000 back to the US once. Never declared anything. In Colombia, the soldier searching my carry-on found the money and quickly counted it, determined that it waws less than $10,000, and put it back.

I also brought money back for another. Just deposited the money in my account and mailed a check to the guy. A check or wire could have been sent to his bank account.

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sillejo says on Jul 15, 2005, 08:51:

thanks guys..... This all helped a bunch, I suggested the ATM idea to him today. I wonder if Banco de Santander wouldn't be the best option, since then it will be available to him in Spain as well.

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jvflyer says on Jul 17, 2005, 10:58:

There is another problem with the Bank of America ATM card. My father has an account with B of A, and was doing exactly what you describe: withdraw money with his ATM. Unfortunately, his card was 'cloned' and someone in Cali was able to raid his B of A account clean. He reported the problem to B of A, and the bank cancelled his card account. Unfortunately they told him that he cannot get a new card unless he comes to the US and shows up in person.

I am in the same quandry right now, because I need to send money to him every month. The Citibank option doesn't seem to work since they are actually two different banks with different banking regulations.

Is the Banco Cafetero account in Miami not accessible from Colombia?

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terco panzone says on Jul 18, 2005, 15:02:

flyer do you and your father have a joint account?

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usagringo says on Aug 12, 2005, 08:34:

ATM Accounts Been using BOA (Bank of America)atm system for years, problem is they raised charge $5.00 per transaction vs $2.00 that they use to charge, which is still better than Western Union and others, just make sure to find a atm that allows the maxium amount per transaction, to keep the usage charge down. I have three atm accounts, one to use here in USA and two in Colombia by my sister in law, one is a backup, reason for backup, loss or stolen card, also when you need to renew one of the cards ( the two atm account have different renewal dates, so as to give me time to send new card to Colombia) my sister in law can use other card till new one arrives.

Be the first to stop stupidy by not added yours to mine if you think mine are!

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