Direct Deposit of Federal Benefits

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  • #167250
    chilimoya
    Member

    About having direct deposit of Social Security and Veterans benefits in CR. The U.S. Embassy site says it’s only possible with BCR or Banco Nacional.

    Does anybody know if you can also use one of the private banks in CR?

    #167251
    DavidCMurray
    Participant

    It’s recently been reported elsewhere that Social Security benefits can also be directly deposited to an account at ScotiaBank. I don’t know about VA benefits. Otherwise, your options are Banco Nacional and Banco de Costa Rica. I don’t actually know anyone using ScotiaBank.

    #167252
    Sailor
    Member

    I currently use the private Costa Rican Bank BCT. I have VA disability compensation, military retirement, and federal civilian retirement direct deposited.

    #167253
    costaricafinca
    Participant

    I also heard it is only Banco Nacional, Banco de Costa Rica and ScotiaBank that is on the approved ‘list’…and new accounts can only be opened with a cedula.

    #167254
    johnnyh
    Member

    I was just about to ask a question along the same lines Chilimoya. So thanks for your post.
    I’m almost 64 and I guess I can take an early retirement but I’m debating that for now.
    Having been born in C.R. of an American parent and a Costa Rican mother I can actually get a C.R. cedula and also a passport. I was registered as an American citizen by my father.
    According to an agent here in California, I can retire as an American and still work as a Tico in Costa Rica.
    So now, my question to anyone is what is the procedure to open an account to receive social security payments to those banks mentioned?
    Second question is do I transfer my Paypal account to Costa Rica, or do I leave it tied to my Bank of America account in California. I foresee flying to CA once or twice a year.
    Can someone enlighten me on the above as I will be new at it. Thanks!

    #167255
    costaricafinca
    Participant

    Once you have your [i]cedula[/i] in hand, you can apply for both.
    As far as I am aware, PayPal is not used much here.

    #167256
    DavidCMurray
    Participant

    [quote=”johnnyh”]
    Second question is do I transfer my Paypal account to Costa Rica, or do I leave it tied to my Bank of America account in California.
    [/quote]

    Try as I might, I have not been able to transfer funds [b]from[/b] my PayPal account [b]to[/b] an account here in Costa Rica. I read a few months ago that it is possible to transfer funds [b]from [/b]a Costa Rican bank account [b]to[/b] a PayPal account. In fact, the Banco Nacional website has some link to PayPal service, but it’s strictly a “northbound” transfer that’s allowed.

    I’ve tried to get PayPal to accept a Costa Rican account as a “verified” (or whatever the right term is) account but it won’t take. And when I’ve spoken to a Customer Service supervisor at PayPal, I’ve been told that due to Costa Rica’s non-compliance with international banking standards, it just ain’t gonna happen.

    So, “Costa Rica-to-U.S.”, [i]¡Si![/i]. “U.S.-to-Costa Rica”, [i]¡No![/i]

    #167257
    johnnyh
    Member

    [quote=”DavidCMurray”][quote=”johnnyh”]
    Second question is do I transfer my Paypal account to Costa Rica, or do I leave it tied to my Bank of America account in California.
    [/quote]

    Try as I might, I have not been able to transfer funds [b]from[/b] my PayPal account [b]to[/b] an account here in Costa Rica. I read a few months ago that it is possible to transfer funds [b]from [/b]a Costa Rican bank account [b]to[/b] a PayPal account. In fact, the Banco Nacional website has some link to PayPal service, but it’s strictly a “northbound” transfer that’s allowed.

    I’ve tried to get PayPal to accept a Costa Rican account as a “verified” (or whatever the right term is) account but it won’t take. And when I’ve spoken to a Customer Service supervisor at PayPal, I’ve been told that due to Costa Rica’s non-compliance with international banking standards, it just ain’t gonna happen.

    So, “Costa Rica-to-U.S.”, [i]¡Si![/i]. “U.S.-to-Costa Rica”, [i]¡No![/i]
    [/quote]

    That should work David, thanks! Mind you, this is all for future reference so things might change with Paypal.

    #167258
    costaricafinca
    Participant

    I heard today, that to make your SS direct deposits to a CR bank, that you must go to the the US Embassy where they will provide you with the necessary forms to set it up using one of the 3 national banks
    Just passing the info, as I have no first hand knowledge.

    #167259
    DavidCMurray
    Participant

    When we made this arrangement, Banco Nacional in Grecia already had the form and so there was no need to go to the Embassy. If a trip to the Embassy is an inconvenience and your Banco Nacional, BCR or ScotiaBank branch office is nearby, it might be worthwhile to check there first.

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