Floridaray
7/11/2015 15:55 EST
It doesn't appear to me that Ecuador has anything like the FDIC or that your money is protected. What happens if there's a bank robbery or maybe more likely your bank fails/goes bankrupt? Do most expats from the US keep their money in a US bank and use ATMs? Or is there an international US bank that you use. I'm not planning on living in a large city Quito, or Guayaquil so I'm wondering how I'll be able to access my money? Any comments greatly appreciated!
Ray
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kmoriarty45
7/11/2015 16:43 EST
Since my S.S. Retirement Pension and other payments are directly deposited into my bank in Florida, I maintain that account , as well as an account with a Ecuadoran Bank.
I transfer enough funds from the American bank into my Ecuadoran one to have sufficient funds to dray on for day to day expenses.
Because I don't particularly trust the banks here, I don't keep a large amount of money in my Ecuadoran account - just enough, so that should something happen and the bank folded, I am not going to be out my entire savings.
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ecuadorjoe
7/11/2015 16:49 EST
Flray
Keep your money in U.S. banks and use ATM's here. We do not have FDIC here....
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ecuadorjoe
7/11/2015 18:18 EST
Yes, I agree with km45. after you receive your papers you can open an account in a local bank, to establish some credit and pay for internet, TV and other smaller expenses. Actually you can open an account before you get your papers if somebody guaranties for you...
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windshadow
7/11/2015 21:04 EST
Just keep it under the mattress and tell everyone about it on this site. That ought to work well.
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cccmedia
7/11/2015 23:06 EST
K-Mo,
Did you have to be in the US when you set up the system to transfer $$ from your US bank to EC bank?
Help us learn how to do this, please.
cccmedia in Quito
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remoore2001
7/11/2015 23:27 EST
Gee Joe first intelligent thing I have heard you say. But could that monkey Obama steal it. Let me know, so I can be prepared
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Keylime
7/12/2015 21:53 EST
Floridaray:
Ray..... I don't think your questions have been fully answered.
It is true that there is no FDIC in this country, but funds in all banks are guaranteed up to $30,000 per person if they are in separate accounts. This is guaranteed by the Ecuadorian government. When you come here for a few weeks or months... your best bet for your own safety is to use the ATM here for cash. However, you have to let your bank that you will be in Ecuador, and give them the dates you will be there. How much you can draw in one day is determined by YOUR bank, so you may consider raising your present limit. Say your limit per day is $1000 at your bank. Generally speaking there is a limit at the ATM here for say, $300. So obviously if you ask for $1000 you will get nothing!.... however you can draw $300, and then put your card in again and ask for $300 etc etc.
If you want to open a bank account I can tell you that you have to do quite a bit of paperwork.... typically they will want a reference by a doctor or attorney that you are in good standing in the area. It took me a full 1 1/2 days to get mine! An easy solution is to use a credit union, a building society in the UK and here in Ecuador they are called Co-ops. I opened an account with them and it took 10 minutes. The funds in a Co-op are not government guaranteed, but many of them have insurance for the same amount the banks have.
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kmoriarty45
7/13/2015 08:40 EST
cccmedia,
I perhaps wasn't clear when I used the word transfer. My bad.
What I do is write a personal check to myself drawn on my Florida bank and deposit it into my Ecuador bank ( thus saving the ATM or bank transfer fees ). It takes about a week for the check to clear. In the meantime.
I can use either my U.S. bank or my Ecuadorian ATM card for cash ( provided I haven't drained the accounts ). I can draw more money from the ATM using my American bank because I have a $1,000 daily withdrawal limit, whereas, I am only able to draw out $300 daily from the local bank. I can, however, go inside and stand in the interminable line and withdraw as much as I choose - which I've had to do when we went on vacation to the Galapagos.
The difference is that I have no ATM fees from my bank here if I use one of their ATMs and a .35 to .50 fee if I use another bank's ATM. The fees from my American account to use the ATMs here is about $12 per withdrawal so I tend to only make large withdrawals from it and usually just move the bulk of my monthly budget to my account here by check.
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MattieC86
7/13/2015 21:22 EST
I'm British so I don't fully understand what is meant by FDIC but I get the general idea & I have found reading this thread to be very useful
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OceanHideaway
7/14/2015 00:40 EST
The FDIC is the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation which is the corporation that insures deposits in National Banks in the United States of America up to a limit of $35,000 per account.
It was created by the Banking Act of 1933 following the failure of the banks during the depression of 1929.
It covers only national banks and is created to create stability and confidence in the federal banking system and avoid runs on the banks.
Savings and Loans, Coops and other sorts of banks in the USA have other forms of insurance or are "self insured" -- however they are not always able to cover situations where the banks are over leveraged.
In Ecuador there is a similar insurance coverage for deposits up to $30,000 however it is more difficult to recover higher deposits approaching that amount as was seen after the closure of a Co-op a year or so ago that was closed by the government for failure to keep adequate fund and findings of improper transfers and use.
So yes Ecuador does have insurance on its accounts and it is still best o go with a national bank here in Ecuador as well; however it is not usually possible to get an account without first having your residency.
Since oftentimes it is necessary to have a small deposit of a few thousand in the bank for residency, a Coop such as JEP (Cooperative JEP - www.coopjep.fin.ec/en) fills the gap.
JEP has a ATM card with VISA stamp for use as well and most larger towns have at least one ATM (caj automatica) but you would have to go to a large city to make your deposits or mail them in. Even the JEP ATMs you will find don't take deposits.
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eper090643
7/14/2015 10:18 EST
I have an account in an Ecuadorian bank that I use to pay certain bills. I use an ATM to get cash for everything else.
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mike53
7/18/2015 09:13 EST
This is not meant petsuade or advise. We have been banking nine years with B.O. GUAUAQUIL, PICHINCHA, AND PACIFICO. NO different than any other bank. Pichincha in Salinas very nice, and Pacifico as well. We have auto pay for CNT(phone, internet), IESS, (insurance), and electric. No problems for years.
Wr have money in coop banks listed on the first tier of COSEDE, but havent had a problem yet. We have a friend who was reimbursed for his principal. We average 10% on the invested capital. This is a negotiated figure, as you negotiate everything here. We worry about the current conditions with the banks and credit in ecuador lately, but continue the course we have run these past nine years. This is what we know and do, and should in no way be considered advise for whoever is reading this. However, what is written here is fact, and, yes, ecuador isn't michigan, but it is not mars, either. We have been all over the world, and are amazed by some of the stuff we read here written by people trying to relate to living in another place.
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livefreebstrong
7/18/2015 20:28 EST
Thanks for giving your experience Mike53.
Like you said, Ecuador isn't Michigan, but it's not Mars either.
Coop Banks are what? 80/20 chance of making it? 70/30? 50/50?
I've known people who've lost all their cash and others who've done okay with their coop investments.
I would never put everything I owned in a Coop. You can play around with it as an investment, but if you don't have a way to replace the loss and it's your sole next egg...I just wouldn't go there.
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Kimac
9/11/2016 18:16 EST
From what I've been hearing.....
The various local banks have all been pretty aggressive, with returns on interest often over 10%. But there is the inverse relationship with stability and reliability you'd have to expect and accept at those rates.
In terms of service and $ transfers, wisdom is Banko Pinchinca is the best of the lot (?), especially for transferring funds, and they will in the normal course of business let you deposit a check from your US bank into your local account, as the poster above described.
Seems like I heard there is one of these banks which is actually a government bank, which should make it the most reliable. But Pichinca has a branch in NYC, and presumably since they are operating in the Big Show they are more professional about things in general.
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OceanHideaway
9/11/2016 20:45 EST
Open the JEP home page and switch to English.
https://www.coopjep.fin.ec/home
Any information should be there and if not, send them an email through the contact page.
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gerat1
9/12/2016 13:05 EST
Personally I would not count on the deposit insurance as it is only as reliable as the underwriter.
I have done my own research on the banks and Coops that I use in Ecuador. I am satisfied that most of these institutions are sound and I have deposits exceeding the insured cap. Very attractive interest rate and likely safer than equity markets.
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dumluk
9/13/2016 13:10 EST
I wouldnt be staking my life on the American FDIC either. In the event of another banking crisis or run on the banks the funds in that system will be rapidly depleted. Anybody who thinks the American banking system is sound and invincible really is living on Mars.
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PACountryBoy
9/13/2016 19:51 EST
DUM...Lmao... you're absolutely right. We should all move our cash assets to an EC bank. Can you say "SUCRE"? And make sure it's all in ONE bank. DUM...when I get back there, let's get together. I want you to be my financial visor. The dinner on YOU!!!!!! :>)))) Let's talk.
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