And the correct answer is….
E) All of the Above. It really depends on what kind of account, at which bank and from which country you have a passport.
The entire process is counter intuitive. In a rational world (the idea of which is pure fantasy) the easiest place for an American to open an account in Uruguay should be at an American Bank or a bank with US branches or subsidiaries. The next easiest bank should be a private, for profit bank. And the hardest place should be a government owned bank run by civil servants. Right?
WRONG! Thanks to international banking hysteria flowing from the Patriot Act…
If you are an American citizen without Uruguayan residency, none of the US banks here will let you have a bank account, even if you already have an account with the US parent bank! They might let you have an account after you get your residency, but they will still not be thrilled about it.
International banks without a US presence are a bit better and seem to be a mixed bag of what they will do and not do, depending upon the day of the week and the phase of the moon.
Frankly, we have found that the easiest bank at which to open an account is the government owned Banco de República Oriental Uruguay (BROU). If you are willing to start with a savings account with an ATM card that works here and worldwide, you need only walk in with your passport and a US$500 minimum deposit and they will open the account.
Company accounts are a whole different can of worms and can only really be done through an accountant. Some banks will open accounts for foreign companies, others will not. The “Know Your Customer” rules also differ widely. No bank will open a company account without at least one signer presenting himself at the bank. This can be the accountant who can operate the account under a power of attorney until you have time to get here and present yourself. If you need a company and/or company account I urge you to contact the accountant listed on UruguayLiving.info. We went through two before we found this great firm:
Gonzalo Perez — gperezm@bank-mail.net
Karina Guerrero — karguerrero@bank-mail.net
G.P. & Asociados
David,How do you transfer funds from the US?? Do you bring cash, write checks or what?
Left by Tom Harding on October 2nd, 2006
The most common means is via bank wire. You can also bring in cash, but be careful your total wad does not meet the US$10,000 reporting requirement or it could be seized and you could be a guest of Uncle Sam.Banco de República Oriental Uruguay will accept US checks for US$300-3000 only. The cost is US$50 and it takes up to 45 days to clear.ATMs work well, but you need to check to see what kind of fees you are generating and what the conversion rate is. Depending upon your home bank and the ATM you use here, the cheapest way to get money might be: 1. to take the cash in dollars and then convert it to pesos at a cambio; or 2. to take the cash in pesos right from the ATM.The cost can vary as much as 10-12% depending upon the banks involved.Also, Visa/Mastercard/Amex work for many, many things here, though there will often be a surcharge.If you are dealing in larger amounts, there is also a private transfer company, with which I am associated when I am not being The Southron. If you have any interest in that, please email me.
Left by The Southron on October 2nd, 2006
With no problems at all, I opened a personal bank account in January 2005 at Banco Santander, which has several branches in Montevideo. The bank’s headquarters are in Spain. I received guidance on SWIFT transfers, which I executed right away. I have a free ATM card used at many, many locations. Additionally, checks are issued for USA dollars and Uruguay pesos. When I have a question, I email a contact at the bank. I get good response. I live the majority of the year in EE UU. I guess that my transfers from USA to Banco Santander have been observed.
Left by Dan Goggin on October 2nd, 2006
Any tips for Canadien? I have been strugglig with this since all my funds are in CAD, will I need to convert to USD first(first commision) then converte to pesos(second commission)? Or will they take CAD for a good rate?What about a Canadian who wants to purchase properties… All these are frustrating for me.. :(
Left by nepoez on October 2nd, 2006
That is good confirmation of the information given by our accountants. At least in this climate, Banco Santander is very good. I have also heard good things about BBVA. BankBoston just say NO, though since Bank of America has sold them to Brazil’s Bank Itaú, that might change when the transfer is completed. We have been told that ABN Amro is also No.As we get more hard data, we will try to compile yet another list on UruguayLiving.Info.
Left by The Southron on October 2nd, 2006
I have no idea, but can give you a starting point,. Go to http://www.bcu.gub.uy/autoriza/sieras/registros/instituciones.htm#bancoswhere you will find a list of all the authorized banks. If you hover your mouse over the bank name, it will light up if it has a website.I suggest you go through their websites and if you can’t find any firm answers, just email the banks.Please let me know what you find out.
Left by The Southron on October 2nd, 2006
Prices in Uruguay are priced either in US dollares or Uruguay pesos. They are paid for in either currency. I have ntoed that more expensive items, e.g., furniture, ranges, dishes, etc., are usually always in dollars and smaller, or more commonly purchased items in pesos. Thus when one opens a bank account one has two accounts, one in dollars and pesos. These are linked so transfers are made back and forth automatically between them depending on what is drawn at the ATM, one wrote a check for, or what the debit is for. You pay in either currency, depending on how it is priced. So my guess is that at some point you will have to convert to US dollars or pesos to establish an account.
Left by Dan Goggin on October 2nd, 2006
My experience was that you have to open an account in the currency that you are transferring to Uruguay. In my case I always deal in US dollars. Wire transfer is really the only feasible way. The cost remains static irrespective of the amount (US$50.00 is what I was charged) and the money arrives in reasonable time…a few days. Cheques are becoming a no-no for many banks when its an international transfer because of fraud and the American phobia about money laundering.Boston Bank…I have to agree with the other writers that they are terrible!
Left by Peter Rens on October 3rd, 2006
I think Uruguay is fairly unique in it’s property laws since all humans are treated equally no matter what their status or “country of origin.” You will have no problems. Good luck.
Left by Peter on October 3rd, 2006
That’s bizrre! You can’t open a bank account without being a resident! So how do you buy a house? We’d been considering buying a place down there but not necessarily taking up residence. So this would be impossible? As we wouldn’t be able to open a bank account to make the payemnts for the house and wouldn’t be able to pay genral bills thereafter!
I’ve heard of US citizens having 2nd homes down there. How do they get around this problem?
>>I think you misunderstood. You can get a bank account, just not at the banks you would normally expect. You can open a savings account with an ATM card at Banco del Republica Oriental Uruguay (government owned) in 30 minutes or less with US$500 cash and a passpport.
Left by Peter on January 6th, 2007
I opened a USD bank account at Banco de Republica with a spanish phrase book and helpful clerk who spoke a little english. He was great. The paperwork I believe came to me in English. once I understood a $500 opening deposit would mean no bank charges, I went ahead and tried to deposit it.
Funny though, the banker wouldn’t take my money. So I was then instructed to wait, and give my money to a teller. Fortunately, I was put up at the front of the line… and listening for my name to be called. Once at the teller, it was a couple of minutes and I was out of there.
All told, less than an hour. They needed my passport, another picture ID, and how often I might be transfering money there. No harder to open a bank account there, than any Canadian or American bank.
BUT aside from the ATM card, sign up while you are there for the ONLINE BANKING. I should have done that, because then you can easily check to confirm your wires have hit the account. Wire transfer is the only way to go IMHO.
Yukoner
Left by Yukoner on September 10th, 2007
Discount Bank allowed an American I know to open an account with his passport. They also process wire transfers of funds into and out of the account. English is not common there, but one fellow, in Punta del Este, is perfectly fluent.
Citibank here said only Uruguayans could open accounts (even if you already have an account at Citi in the US), and HSBC made it sound quite difficult and costly, requiring a $25000 dollar minimum and IRS W-9 filing.
Left by sammyl on September 16th, 2007