Banking in Costa Rica

In a recent conversation that I had with a client of my real estate office, I was made aware of the fact that there is very little info available on the web with respect to banking in Costa Rica. There have been a number of horror stories floating around. I'm not sure if any are true, but they are there to keep one wary.

Depositors here in Costa Rica can essentially be put into two groups. Those that will only work with governmental banks: Banco Nacional, and Banco Costa Rica. Then there are those that will only work with non-governmental, or private banks: Banco Cuscatlan (no links yet for the following) Banco de San Jose, Banex, and a smattering of others. Banco de Costa Rica just recently opened a branch in Dominical, which is huge news since getting cash has been a bit of a struggle, what with no ATM (cajero) around. Also, Banco Nacional has a van with an ATM in it in Uvita. So it would appear that progress has come to Costa Rica's Southern Zone.