I am struggling to get our cash from the US to Boquete. Wells Fargo says I can make a wire transfer IF I go into one of their branches (ha, ha, ha I live in Boquete). We use the ATMs you all know how cumbersome and expensive that gets.
If we decide to buy a house I want the cash here, or if we find a piece of property, I want the cash here. What the blazes can we do? Legally, of course.
Is there a route to go where I can prove that the money was earned by us and we are not laundering or supporting some conspiracy group?
Replies
Cynithia....there are some steps that make it a little easier when moving money to Panama banks...I am a retired banker out of Bank of the West... a BNP Paris Bank...I have been moving money since 2008 and have had no problems...Most of the banks here have strick policies on banking...they have no deposit insurance... you need to grade them by there reserve requirements, debt ratios..to evaluate the strength yearly. Also, I would be careful on purchasing real property given the market conditions...I have found that is was better for me to Lease/Option to purchase and get a little creative in order to hedge the market with some additional comfort... I have help others with this, if you have any questions you can reach me at done9999@gmail.com...
Don
Check out XOOM online. I don't know their high limit amount, but you can have cash transferred to local banks (they'll give you a choice) from the States, then they send a confirmation to your email that you print out and take to the bank you chose and pick up the cash. We had $5,000 sent to a bank in David so we could purchase our car. There was no problem at all with it, just a bit of a wait in line.
Mebbee best just ta give it ta me an' ah'll bring it on down. Ah promise!
With all sincerity,
Snidely Whiplash
WF used to have a department called International Personal Banking(IPB) in San Francisco. But they shut it down a few months ago. Before I moved here, I affiliated my account with them so as to facilitate things like wire transfers in the future. I don't know what I would do now if I wanted to wire additional funds. Of course, they don't offer that program anymore and since it was something you had to set up before you left, even if they still had it, it probably wouldn't do you any good. I recently communicated with the person below by email regarding a wire transfer to Panama to the US and he/she? was helpful. You might give him/her? a shot. That's all I can suggest.
Khonsavanh Phonesavanh
International Specialist
International Connections
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. l 100 South 5th Street, Suite 2150 l Minneapolis, MN 55402
MAC N9308-211
Tel (612) 466-5017 | Customer Service (877) 593-2468 | Fax (877) 742-9207
khonsavanh.phonesavanh@wellsfargo.com
Time to switch banks. I can do an international wire online with Chase.
Lee,
Does Chase have locations in Panama? By having a US Chase account, can you automatically get an account in Panama?