(QCOSTARICA) Today, the Banco Nacional (BN) joins the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR), Grupo Mutual and Bancredito allows anyone, including foreigners permanently or temporary and tourists in Costa Rica, to open a bank account without requiring a Costa Rican cedula.
The product is known as Cuenta de Expediente Simplificado (Simplified Account) approved earlier this year, with the BCR being the first in January, that has seen more than 200,000 people opening accounts since.
The simplified account process reduces the paperwork to open an account and requires only one piece of identification, ie. a passport for foreigners. The account comes with a bank card that can be used at ATMs around the country and internationally, and access to online banking.
The simplified accounts have a monthly deposit limit of US$1,000 or its equivalent in colones. The limit is two accounts per person.
For all other accounts a Costa Rican cedula (national) or DIDI or DIMEX (foreign residency) is required.
For the Banco Nacional, more information is available at www.bncr.fi.cr or by telephone at 2212-2000 or any branch across the country; the BCR at www.bancobcr.com, by telephone at 2211-1111 or any branch.
