Colombian bank fees

vicshere says on Nov 19, 2007, 04:50:

hey tom
if you don't want to pay the tax here's the rules

you must only have one bank account in colombia
and not deposit more than 5,000,000 (I think) per month

if you fall into these conditions go to your bank and they will have a release where you sign stating the above
it took like 2 months for them to do mine coats me like 100,000 for tax...now zero tax
and yes I think all banks charge for use of ATM I pay 6,000 HSBC

listo

Rob77 says on Nov 19, 2007, 05:27:

Vic, I was given a slightly different version.

I was told you can have as many bank accounts as you want. But, you can only designate one account as exempt. The exemption is from the withdrawal fee. What they call the "4 por mil" they charge you on money you withdraw from your own account. So, you want to be sure to select the account in which you will have the most activity.

BTW, one bank charges me 7mil per month for the privilege of having their ATM card available to use. All the banks do it, because the banking laws allow it. The exception might be if you qualify as a preferential customer.

BOYCOTT CITGO - CHAVEZ SUCKS!!!

vicshere says on Nov 19, 2007, 05:32:

you can only designate one account as exempt
or was that it??
something like that
but i cant understand why you would need more than one bank account

listo

Lowell says on Nov 19, 2007, 05:53:

I'd like to open an account for myself and my daughter. However, hearing all this crap makes me reconsider. WTF! And no interest credited? I'd like to do something for my daughter in the States. But with having a clueless, intentionally ignorant family, when I croak, I have no faith in them to access whatever I've set up for my daughter. No good!

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

morphus says on Nov 19, 2007, 06:03:

Just sick with the formula: booze, chicas and chicharrons.

morphus says on Nov 19, 2007, 06:05:

or this one: women, macaroni and wine. Got that one from a 90 year old Italian guy.

Rob77 says on Nov 19, 2007, 06:19:

Vic, it can be useful to keep personal and business funds separate. Yes, only one bank account in Colombia can be designated exempt from that fee.

Lowell, they do pay interest, but minimal on low balances. You need to maintain a high balance to qualify for the preferential interest rates, which are not too bad. I have seen 7%.

BOYCOTT CITGO - CHAVEZ SUCKS!!!

vicshere says on Nov 19, 2007, 07:24:

if you have job you need a bank account for them to "consigner" the money
I think my account pays like .5% per month.....its a pitiful amount like 2,000 per month

listo

miamimike says on Nov 19, 2007, 09:05:

Tom-You may want to check out these Online Internet Banks! I like Everbank but Ingdirect.com is good also. They are US based and but. I happen to like Everbank.com due to their foreign currency investment options. Here's a couple links: https://www.everbank.com/

Online banks: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/03/21/which-online-high-yield-s...

"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.,

Rob77 says on Nov 19, 2007, 12:04:

Problem with foreign banks, as Vic alluded to, is a domestic bank is required or much more useful in many cases. He mentioned electronic salary deposits. You also help establish your credit in Colombia with a bank account history. Everyone here likes to require a few months of bank statement printouts for applications of every type, including real estate. Some banks don't want to deal with foreign bank statements.

BOYCOTT CITGO - CHAVEZ SUCKS!!!

elmodefoque says on Nov 19, 2007, 12:20:

Banco de bogota charges me $14,000.00 for every time i use my atm card here in NYC.

over 5 million colombianos in USA and only 27 barranquilleros, i'm one.Curramba, el mejor vividero del mundo!

Tinto (Moderator) says on Nov 19, 2007, 12:28:

It's because they hate you, Elmo. I can't believe you opened an account with a company whose name includes "Bogota."

;-)

tomtom33 says on Nov 19, 2007, 13:06:

Thanks for the feedback. I may just close the account. CapitalOne provides nearly everything I need. In the meantime, I will certainly designate that account as exempt.

GIB and Morph, you are right. However, I have given up the booze and the chicharrons.

Bancolombia tells my novia that it may take as long as 6 months to return the money to her account that was stolen by bank employees. Apparently they have been having some big problems over the last 2 years.

francis says on Nov 19, 2007, 16:34:

My husband and I lived in Colombia for a year and a half. When we arrived to Colombia we went to several banks to see if we could open a bank account. But most of them turned us down because we had never had a bank account in Colombia. We went to Banistmo and they opened the account for us with no problem. We were not able to get a Checking account but were able to open up a Savings account which they did pay us interest for. I love Colombia but they do not make things simple for people. Opening a bank account should be an easy thing to do like it is in the states. In California where I live you can even open a bank account if you are an illegal immigrant with just your passaport.

cali373 says on Nov 19, 2007, 20:04:

The banking sectoe in Colombia is extremley uncompetitive and does not progress. Something the almighty Uribe has not even touched upon. And probably never will. I also put some blame on my country the U.S.A. on all the paperwork and hassle to open a Colombian bank account because of the belief that every colombian is a potential drug dealer. You can have all the trade agreements you want with the U.S. but if the Country's finance sector does not go thru an overhaul, it will remain in the third world forever.

Smile if you are a thinker!

miamimike says on Nov 19, 2007, 22:13:

With the Wide array of Good Online banking Possibilities, based in the USA and guaranteed by the FDIC for $100K, I can't imagine subjecting oneself to the Col Red tape Banking BS people have talked about in this Thread. All unnecessary to boot,,,

"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.,

elk says on Nov 20, 2007, 09:14:

Daviviendo wasn't a hassle this morning.

I opened a second account at Davivienda yesterday and a friend did the same this mornning.
It required about 20 minutes, a copy of your cedula and a 200,000 COP deposit.

In Colombia you can have more than one account, but only one can be exempt from the tax.
However the exemption is only for the first 7,000.000 COP you withdraw per month. You still pay the tax on anything about the 7,000,000 COP.

You can however withdraw say 7,000,000 the last day of October and then return the following day for another 7,000,000 COP to avoid the tax. (the maxium is 7,000,000 per month with the tax exempt account)

Davivienda also charges 660 COP every time you access your account on the internet, something Bancombia or BBVA doesn't due.

I like Davienda because they appear more professional and the lines are shorter.
I'm also able to withdraw 500,000 COP at a time with my foreign ATM card rather than 300,000 COP at most other banks. I also have an account at Bancolombia and split my money between the two banks.

britabroad says on Nov 20, 2007, 09:40:

One problem I have is that my bank in the UK won´t send me any replacement cards if mine go missing or are subject to fraud etc. Apparently, Colombia is "one of those countries" where credit/debit cards can´t be sent to from the UK.
Therefore, I had no choice but to open a Colombian account. Get charged $1600 pesos for each ATM transaction, but any transfers in from the UK go into a savings account and no tax paid. I was told that savings accounts are exempt from tax.
There are ways to get round things, but I find the Colombian banking system backwards and a bit of a rip off. The thing is that many of the larger banks are actually owned by European/US financial institutions who charge nothing at home, but charge loads overseas.
I´m starting to wonder if my bank account in London is free because it´s being paid for by some poor sod in Medellin!!

Leave the big stick at home...carry a cannon!

Rob77 says on Nov 20, 2007, 09:49:

The banks in Colombia charge more because the banking laws are very lenient. Most banks charge the maximum allowed by law. There is no sense of competitiveness here to motivate banks to lower fees.

Britabroad, the savings accounts are not exempt from the '4 per 1000' withdrawal fee...

Rule of thumb here is always get a second or third opinion on important matters. People here tend to give answers even when they don't know what they are talking about. It's about saving face.

BOYCOTT CITGO - CHAVEZ SUCKS!!!

cassini77 says on Nov 20, 2007, 12:31:

Does anyone know the fees of HSBC Colombia?

pedro says on Nov 20, 2007, 14:03:

6k per month account keeping fee.

I was told it was free of monthly fees for the first 6 months, I still need to check my balance to see if the fees are being taken out.

No charge for access via an HSBC or Servibanca ATM.

que nota!

cassini77 says on Nov 20, 2007, 15:06:

Thank you Pedro.
Have you got a document with all the tariffs of HSBC ?
There is nothing on their Web site.

tomtom33 says on Nov 20, 2007, 16:11:

Elk, what is your thinking on having more than one account?

There is no US law prohibiting bank fees. Competition damps the fees. The lack of a 1% foreign transaction fee at CapitalOne swithced my business there.

Replacement ATM cards are a problem. I have 5 ATM cards for 5 different accounts. And I have PIN numbers for cash advances on about 4 credit cards.

pedro says on Nov 20, 2007, 16:16:

Cassini, you're welcome.

I think their bank fees are privileged information, only imparted by word of mouth.

At least, I collected all relevant brochures at an HSBC branch and saw nothing listing their fees in detail.

que nota!

elk says on Nov 21, 2007, 04:08:

Tomtom33

It's my understanding your funds in Colombian banks aren't insured in case of theft, fraud etc.
For this reason I maintain two accounts and split my funds between the two accounts to reduce my risk.

Lowell says on Nov 21, 2007, 08:29:

Kind of looks like buying US Savings bonds may be better for my daughter.

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

cassini77 says on Nov 21, 2007, 13:02:

Comienzan las cuentas para quienes tendrán que pagar impuesto en 2008 - EL TIEMPO

http://www.portafolio.com.co/port_secc_online/porta_econ_online/2007-1...

"Por ahora se sabe que este año, quienes hayan hecho compras con tarjeta de crédito por un valor superior a los 58’727.000 pesos o que cuenten con propiedades como casas, apartamentos, vehículos y demás bienes que al 31 de diciembre sumen más de 94'383.000 pesos, deben prepararse para presentar el año entrante la declaración de renta correspondiente al año gravable 2007.

Igualmente, quienes al terminar el año tengan ingresos brutos por más de 69'214.000 pesos estarán sujetos a la declaración de renta.

Pero, si ya hizo sus cuentas personales y no cumple con ninguna de las anteriores condiciones, deberá además ‘esculcar’ en sus cuentas bancarias, para verificar si en el año realizó consignaciones bancarias por más de 94'383.000 pesos. "

Better use ATM with foreign bank count ?

pedro says on Nov 21, 2007, 14:53:

Yeah if you don't own a house or an expensive car or have a job, you can legitimately stay outside of the income tax system.

Once you buy an apartment, you're pretty much in the system by default.

que nota!

Rob77 says on Nov 21, 2007, 14:55:

Cassini, you would have to be managing a business account to reach that level of bank transactions. If you are just taking out money for casual pending you don't have to worry about that aspect. But you should check the values of your properties.

BOYCOTT CITGO - CHAVEZ SUCKS!!!