Ecuador Expat Forum

Capricorn1
Joined 2019
Posts: 13

4 years ago

Credit Card, Banking and Monthly Rent/Utility Payments in Ecuador

4 years ago

Happy New Year All,

Well, 2020 here we come.

Thanks everyone for your inputs over the past weeks in your support of our upcoming exploratory visit
and ultimate move later in the year to Ecuador as retired expats. Your inputs/comments have been very helpful. I had some banking type questions that I came up with over the past days that I would like your comments on. My questions are as follows:

(1) Given that the currency there is $U.S, does that mean that we can use our U.S. based credit cards (Visa, Mastercard etc.) to pay for day-to-day expenses (restaurants, entertainment)?

(2) How does one pay for monthly rent and utilities in Ecuador? Can this be done by check or credit card and over the phone and on-line etc?

(3) Are there ATM's readily available for quick cash etc? Are there ATM fees?

(4) Once settled in Ecuador as expats, do we need to open up a local bank account in country or can we conduct all our business via our exisiting U.S. bank accounts?

(5) Given that our exploratory visit there will be 90 days, can we cover our in country significant expenses (hotels, transportation) as tourists primarily with credit cards or do we need to have cash on hand for some major items as well ?

Once again,Thanks for your help.

John W.

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Help others in Ecuador by answering questions about the challenges and adventures of living in Ecuador.