transfer of $$$$

Rikito says on Sep 2, 2004, 15:11:

transfer of $$$$ Who said that you can only take $10k?

If you leave the United States with more than $10,000 in monetary instruments of any kind, all you have to do is file a report, Customs Form 4790, with U.S. Customs at the time. Go to: http://www.unclefed.com/IRS-Forms/1997/f4790.pdf for the Form. Read the instrucitons first.

You can take as much as you want. They want the form so they can track US dollars in and out of the U.S.

Actually, I would not bring that much. I would wire transfer to a reputable bank in Colombia. Also,you can do that from Columbia for a small fee of course. Just check with your bank here before you go to see what procdures they require.

Good house hunting. Remember to hire an agent or attorney to act on your behalf so you do not pay a million dollars for an outhouse.

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Mr. Hollywood says on Sep 2, 2004, 16:50:

another consideration If you take your dollars with you to Colombia, you're gonna have to change them into pesos or hide them under your mattress, both of which seem like a bad bet in the long run. As far as I know the banks here don't have any dollar accounts.

I'm sure qualified real estate agents and attorneys here know all sorts of methods to pay a seller straight from a US dollar account. Heavens knows that's where a lot of Colombia's wealth is kept.

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2retirensa says on Sep 2, 2004, 18:18:

establishing savings acct I thought you had to have a cedula(sp) to perform any banking transactions? I plan on just trans. funds once there, but what about online banking and savings accts. in a Colombia bank? Is online banking common there? Thanks

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Tinto (Moderator) (Trustee board) says on Sep 2, 2004, 22:07:

online banking Just glancing at the homepage of Bancolombia, I noticed online bill payment options. Other large banks probably offer something similar.



http://www.bancolombia.com/

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justmarcela says on Sep 3, 2004, 00:50:

online... I know Conavi also has online banking. http://www.conavi.com/
U should find out about Citibank services in Colombia and the States

chau pescau
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chau pescau >ö<

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2retirensa says on Sep 3, 2004, 06:12:

Bank references? I know in panama to open a bank acct, you need 2 letters of reference from your bank in US. Does Colombia require any letters of reference, or can you just open an acct? Thanks

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Harry says on Sep 3, 2004, 07:14:

Banking in Colombia The best way to transfer money to a bank account in Colombia is to transfer the mony via wire transfer. If you have a check for example you may have to wait for as long as 60 days before you have access to your funds.

The problem is to establish a bank account in Colombia. They are regulations regaurding money laundering that are very strick. One thing you will need to do is to "source you funds". You have to prove that your money came from a legal source. To do this for example you may need a signed doucument from a CPA in the USA.

You do need a cedula to open a bank account in COlombia. If you have a Colombia visa you can go to the DAS and get your cedula.

I would plan on taking 30 days to open a bank account in Colombia. There are many things that you have to do and all take sometime. I would recommend CITIBANK. They seem to be more receptive to US citizens.

Keep in mind Colombia has many ATM machines where you can get money from your bank account in the USA. Also if you make a major purchase in Colombia it is possible to wire tranfer funds from your account in the USA to the sellers account in Colombia.

Harry

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santiago says on Sep 3, 2004, 08:39:

Reconsider your choice You wrote:
I don't want to leave my $$ here unless I absolutely have to. I have been assured the Colombian banks are safe.

Investigate why the wealthy Colombians want and have the majority of their liquid (non real estate) holdings in United States Banks and Brokerage accounts.
You do not have to be rich to want the safety and the future benefits of exchanging your dollars for Colombian Pesos.
I helped a friend from Colombia set up his Bank account in the USA and he is the envy of his friends. When he travels to Spain and the USA he simply withdrawals money from his ATM. The exchange rate over the years has increased from 1050 to 2600 pesos per one dollar.
You are about to give up alot of benefits by exchanging all your assets.
Santiago, Certified Financial Planner

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Hunter says on Sep 3, 2004, 11:44:

2 options 1. If you have a Colombian bank account (or a trusted friend has one).

My suggestion is to leave the money in the US, put in place a debit card and a credit card, withdraw the money out of the ATMs and place the money into the bank account, also most Colombian banks will give you a cash advance on your Visa over the counter, within a few days to a week you have $10,000 in your account with few charges. You should let your bank know what is going on, so they don't put a block on your card.


2. No friend you trust with a bank account. You can normally pay for a house in installments in Colombia. So when you have found some where you want, do a deal with the owner, to put all the money into the persons account by X date. Then follow the same process as above, most sellers won't mind if its only going to take a few weeks.

BEWARE of using Colombian banks for currency transfers, the money normally gets lost for a few weeks, this is normal for most Countries by the way not just Colombia. I would not recomend using the international banking systen unless you have to OR know a well connected contact at the bank in the Country you are sending the money to.

An old thread on transferring money:

http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/node/view/3858

Hunter

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Hunter says on Sep 3, 2004, 14:43:

Harry & Santiago Harry.... I have opened 5 bank accounts in Colombia, 4 of them took me about 30 mins the fifth took me 3 hours.

Santiago.... Wealthy Colombians, as with any other wealthy people should diversify their portfolio into other currencies.

But just because the Colombian currency has depreciated against the dollar and other major currencies in the past, doesn't mean it will carry on depreciating in the future.

Many rich Colombians moved their liquid assets overseas and in many cases themselves, because of the security problems in Colombia. If the security situation carrys on getting better as it is at the moment, many of them will be returning with those liquid assets, plus many individual foreigners and foreign companies. There is already a lot of money flowing in from overseas Colombians, hence the strengthing of the pesos at the moment against the dollar and other currencies.

Approx 1.5 years ago you could get 3,000 pesos to the dollar, now its approx 2,525.

Hunter

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santiago says on Sep 4, 2004, 15:11:

Hunter and gringa Hunter
I agree with all your points.
I am confused though.
The way you wrote your letter you seem to think I was giving different advice.
One subject open for an interesting discussion is will the Colombians really return to Colombia with their liquid assets.
I will try and find a study done in Miami that would really have some helpful facts if people find this subject interesting.

Gringa60
What do you think of the advice on the forum??????
Santiago

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Hunter says on Sep 4, 2004, 15:24:

Santiago... It just sounded like you were telling him not to bring all his money into Colombia.

Its early days yet regarding the better off Colombians bringing their money home. I can't comment on Bogota, but here in Medellin, many new properties are being sold to Colombians from overseas, either for themselves or their families. I have heard they are also buying into the new projects in Ctg, but on a far smaller scale.

Hunter

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gringa60 says on Sep 4, 2004, 18:27:

My thoughts After reading and considering all options, plus off shore banking, the amount of $$ in my colombian bank will be less than I first anticipated. The point of keeping all pesos vs $ is very valid for me. I feel the $ vs pesos will strengthen, and will go further in the long run. I know atms are easy and widly used, and since installments on major purchases are customary, I don't see a problem. Thanks to all for helping me with this. I will be diversified!

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Dan says on Sep 7, 2004, 15:13:

Banks I'm kind of interested in Transfering myself someday for the hopes of buying a house. Here are the sites of the Banks I was able to find doing a regular search:

Citibank www.citibank.com.co
Banco AV Villas www.bancoavvillas.com
Banco de Bogota www.bancodebogota.com.co
Colmena www.colmena.com.co
Conavali www.conavi.com.co
Bancafe www.bancafe.com.co
Banco de la República www.banrep.gov.co
Banco Popular www.bancopopular.com.co
Servibanca www.servibanca.com.co
Davivienda www.davivienda.com.co
Banco de Occidente www.bancodeoccidente.com.co

I know a lot of people refer to using Citybank. I was looking at their website and it looks pretty good. They have some info and offer online banking too. Is there any other banks anyone here has worked with in the past? Any banks one should avoid and why?

Below is something I found on the Citybank website, maybe it could be of help to someone.

Requisitos para aplicar a productos Citibank

ASALARIADO *
Fotocopia de Cédula.
Carta Laboral vigente si es para Citione / Citione Plus / Credicheque
+ Cuenta Corriente con ingresos mínimos de $3.000.000. Si es para
Tarjeta de Crédito mínimo $2.400.000 de ingreso mensual.
Certificado de Ingresos y Retenciones año anterior.

INDEPENDIENTE *
Fotocopia de Cédula.
Fotocopia de los últimos tres extractos personales donde demuestre
como mínimo $3.000.000 de ingreso mensual para Citione / Citione Plus /
Credicheque + Cuenta Corriente y para Tarjeta de Crédito mínimo
$2.400.000.
Fotocopia de la última Declaración de Renta.
Certificado de Cámara y Comercio vigente (opcional).
* Si es para préstamo debe llevar mínimo 12 meses de vinculado y el
ingreso mínimo es de $3.000.000.

God Bless America!

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pgmuller says on Sep 11, 2004, 19:54:

opening account in Colombia I was in Bogota a few weeks ago and tried to open a bank account at Bancolombia with the help of my girlfriend who is Colombian...she had afriend who managed one of the branches in Bogota...after filling out all the paperwork, and was told all was ok, I never recieved the account...I gave them my US bank account info and my passport...after not hearing anything for a while she called the bank and they said they would not open the account in my name unless I had a working visa....I even used her address as a mailing address...I too have found that using my ATM from a US bank works the best in Colombia....I left an ATM card with my girlfriend in Bogota, so she can withdraw money as needed for any expenses I need paid for there while I am in the US....I can monitor any activity from my online access.

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2retirensa says on Sep 12, 2004, 05:36:

I'm going to Cali sometime before the end of Nov. and am going to see if I can open a joint acct. with a friend. Needing to get a sum of money there for housing etc. seems like it will take awhile.

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