location.href = 'https://boquete.ning.com/';

And The Winner Is: SCOTIABANK ! ! ! !

SCOTIABANK WINS

Okay, S.S. recipient ex-pats:  The unmentionable bank I left because they played with my money for several days before the deigned to let me have it is almost history.  (It will take 30 to 60 days for the Embassy/S.S. to make the bank deposit change.)

I inquired at Banco General and it was good insofar as depositing the S.S. directly into the accounts and not "playing-with-it-for-as-long-as-possible" is concerned; the service-with-a-smile was good, but they wanted $6/mo to handle the direct-deposit wire, and were unrelenting regarding all the paperwork required to open an account.

The other unmentionable banks had bad reps for customer service, so I didn't even go there.

But I now have an account with SCOTIABANK, and it was super easy to do, they were "bendable" regarding required papers to open my account--considering how long I have lived here--there is no extra charge for the debit card that can be used online (my former bank charged me $5/mo), and they bent over backwards to help me get this done.  So far, I am impressed, and I will be so glad when I can finally be rid of my former bankers.

Thanks for listening ;)

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Replies

  • "Porter has said Scotiabank will keep its focus on Latin American markets such as Chile, Mexico, Peru and Colombia. "

    Strange they do not mention Panama given its banking importance. 

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-04/scotiabank-cuts-1-500-jobs...

  • We opened a simple savings account with Scotia in David with 1.1/2 hours of paperwork. Within 24. Hours we had also our 2 Visa debit cards.
  • Actually, according to Global Finance,  WORLD'S BEST BANKS 2014,

    Emerging Markets, the best bank in Panama is: BANCO GENERAL.

    https://www.gfmag.com/magazine/october-2014/worlds-best-banks-2014?...

    Patrick

    Global Finance Magazine - WORLD’S BEST BANKS 2014
    Global Finance unveils its annual list of the  best banks globally, regionally and by country. The banking industry remains under stress, but there a…
    • The criteria for selection has nothing to do with individual accounts and customer service to those individuals,much less anything to do with customer service for expats in Panama.

      The winners are not necessarily the biggest banks but, rather, the best banks—those with the qualities corporations should look for when choosing a bank. These banks offer the most-effective risk-management systems, the best products and outstanding customer service.

      We have selected the winners based on performance over the past year, as well as subjective criteria, including reputation and management excellence. Global Finance made the selections after extensive consultations with bankers, corporate financial executives and analysts worldwide.

  • thanks summer,, do you have any details on how to link to paypal  ? They ask for a routing # which scotia says they dont have one

    • I had trouble opening a PayPal when I was using my Panama home address together with the bank in Panama, even though the bank was international.  I finally figured out that if I use my MBEtc address in Miami, then no problem.  I later added my Panama address as a second address, and all went well.

    • Routing numbers are a U.S. only Federal Reserve issue, and used for U.S PayPal accounts only.  PayPal has separate entities for each of over 200 countries.

      Since I face the same issue, I did some research, and found the below answer on the PayPal community forum.

      Each account requires a separate, unique e-mail address.  If you use gmail, they don't allow multiple addresses for a single account, but there are workarounds using plus sign or dots (periods) to create secondary e-mail addresses  LINK 

      This is useful if you want to have two PayPal accounts,one in each of two countries such as the U.S. and Panama, because each one requires a unique e-mail address and linking to a bank in each respective country.

      Here's the PayPal explanation of handling different countries and multiple accounts:

      Re: how do I change my country on Paypal?

      on ‎09-17-2014 03:50 PM

      I understand this situation can be annoying. I am afraid, when you move to another country, you need to close your PayPal account and create a new account using your new address. It's not possible to change the address on your PayPal account to a new country. Best option is to withdraw your funds into a bank account then close your PayPal account.

      If you have addresses in both countries, you can keep your PayPal account and create a new one, but only one of your accounts (if any) should be a Business account. You'll need to use different email addresses for each account. An email address cannot be registered to two separate PayPal accounts.

      Here’s how to close your old PayPal account:

      Go to the PayPal website and log in to your account.
      Click the Settings icon near the top of the page.
      Under 'Account options', click Close your account and then follow the instructions.

      We may ask you to confirm ownership of the account before closing it.

      After you close your account, any transactions that are in progress are cancelled.

      Here’s how to create a new PayPal account:

      Go to www.paypal.com
      Click Sign Up at the top of the page.
      Select your country or region and your language.
      Select the type of account you want to create, and then click Get Started.
      Enter your information, and then click Agree and Create Account.

      After you have confirmed your email address, you can use your new account.

      I hope this info helps.

      Thanks for posting!

      Arda

      PayPal Global - All countries and markets - PayPal
      PayPal offers a wide variety of online payment services. Sign-up with PayPal to make online payments to anywhere in the world.
  • We also use Scotiabank.  We receive excellent customer service

    There is an annual fee to use their debit card.  It does not interact with the CLAVE system.  You can use their debit card to withdraw funds from any ATM but you will pay a fee in addition to the $4 charge.

    We also have a USA credit union account and use it for our routine financial transactions.  We did this because Scotiabank requires a 15 day waiting period for USA checks to clear.

    I am thinking about doing a direct deposit of my monthly SS funds to my Scotiabank account...assuming the funds are available immediately.

    We love Scotiabank and have no plans to change anytime soon.

    • Is this 15 day waiting period 15 business days or exactly 15 days counting Holidays & Weekends?

      Patrick 

      • It's 15 business days

This reply was deleted.

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