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What bank and how did you do it?  I have not been able to do so.  I am not a resident, do not have a business there, only want to buy an apartment to rent out.  The administrator wants to deposit my rent in a Colombian bank account and I will take it out with a debit card in the US.

Thanks.

... in response to Has anyone opened a bank account in Colo..., posted by Neil on Feb 23, 2005

I have an account with Citibank in Cartagena and also one with Banco Santander. The one with Santander I opened without a cedula. Both of my accounts are savings accounts. One of the main requirements is a banking history. You need to provide bank statements going back about six months.  Particularly the account showing the source of the money you plan to bring into the country. You can do withdrawls and receive a bank card visa with  Citibank. Most banks do not want to talk with you. It is a serious criminal offense for a bank officer to accept dirty money in Colombia.If someone gives you the bright idea of depositing it in the account of another person DON'T first any money deposited into a colombians account from elsewhere is subject to 3% tax, secondly try and get your money back. Do it the right way. Talk to a colombian lawyer but be careful of them as well. There will be a exchange difference but it is negotible. jimc

... in response to Has anyone opened a bank account in Colo..., posted by Neil on Feb 23, 2005

I have one at Colmena, but I needed my cedula extranjeria.  I'm not sure if it's possible without it. -TNC

... in response to Has anyone opened a bank account in Colo..., posted by Neil on Feb 23, 2005

Neil,

I have no experience with that, but I am curious.  Are you saying that they will not allow you to open up an account in Colombia; like there are some type of restrictions on that?  Could it be a carryover from the drug cartel problems; ie money laundering, etc?  The only time I have laundered money was when I accidently washed them with some of my clothes! ha  Anyhow, I am curious about the bank account stuff.  I personally have no reason to open an account, but it still is fascinating.  Does any other posters know about what requirements there are for Colombian nationals to open up a bank account?

                           OkieMan

... in response to Re: Has anyone opened a bank account in ..., posted by OkieMan on Feb 23, 2005

It's a Catch-22 because it requires having a cedula and you cannot get a cedula unless you have a business visa and you cannot get a business visa unless you have a bank account. (It doesn't go precisely like that but it's a pain. Thank the legacy of Spanish administrators and modern money laundering).

Good luck,

-Major Major

... in response to Re: Has anyone opened a bank account in ..., posted by DavidMN on Feb 23, 2005

Sorry that my spanish isn't good, but what is a cedula?
But, basically, what you are saying is that they don't what foreigners using their banking system, correct?  If that is true, then I am sure it is also tough to get foreign investors to help their economy, right?  Well, I guess I will have to take my millions elsewhere!  That's too bad. Me and Donald Trump are real tight! ha

                          OkieMan

... in response to Re: Re: Has anyone opened a bank account..., posted by OkieMan on Feb 24, 2005

'Cedula' is a Colombian federal government issued ID card. Looks a lot like a driver license, almost everybody (citizens and permanent residents, but not tourists) has to have one, whether or not they drive. They have to show it for any dealing with the government, schools, etc.

... in response to Re: Re: Re: Has anyone opened a bank acc..., posted by Michael B on Feb 24, 2005

I believe Cedulas are a fixture in every Latin country.  In Costa Rica, it is a citizen's identification card and a form of national ID which everyone must have.

... in response to Re: Has anyone opened a bank account in ..., posted by DavidMN on Feb 23, 2005

You do need a Cédula de Extranjería (cedula) to open a bank account in Colombia. If you have a Colombia visa, NOT a tourist visa. Even a student visa will do the trick. You will have go to the DAS and get your cedula.

If you do obtain a Cédula de Extranjería I would plan on taking at least 30 days to open a bank account in Colombia. There are many things that you have to do and all take sometime. I would recommend CITIBANK. They seem to be more receptive to US citizens.  Maybe one of the Colombian consulates in the USA could help out with some suggestions.

Since I am a resident and my wife a Colombian citizen I have not have a problem but you damn near need a cedula even to wipe your....

Never ran across your situation of sending $$$ from Colombian to the USA but I guess it would work in the reverse.  I have investment funds and other income deposited into a US bank then us an ATM to withdraw.  If big bucks are need a wire transfer takes care of that at a cost of about 25 USD.

A Colombian citizen opens a bank account like in the USA EXCEPT the cedula is used for ID.  No problems with that card.

... in response to Suggestions, posted by Gator on Feb 23, 2005

The best thing is to have a Colombian girfriend or wife and let her take care of it. The problem is with a Colombian bank account under Colombian law, you can only have pesos in the bank.  If you take dollars, or transfer dollars in to a bank there, the bank them converts them in to pesos, and has a pretty hefty conversion fee. As a couple of the Colombian banks have branches in Panama, and since Panama has the dollar as their currency, your wife/girlfriend could probably have her account there also,  yet still be able to keep dollars in a Panama account, if you wanted an account outside the states in dollars.  However as a general rule, a stateside U.S. bank credit card has the best exchange rate for purchases down there. Some of the fellows living there may have other ideas, or need to correct me. But no matter what one does, you still have the excess of 10,000USD reporting law to comply with.
ws

... in response to Suggestions, posted by Gator on Feb 23, 2005

i thought Citibank would be easier because I have one of their credit cards and they are a US bank also.  qhwn i presented there, they referred me to Bancolombia, which was bank number 4, and i did not have time to get to this bank yet.

... in response to Has anyone opened a bank account in Colo..., posted by Neil on Feb 23, 2005

I opened a bank account when I lived in Costa Rica but it wasn't easy.

I was a member of an association which served North Americans living in Costa Rica.  You needed to prove residency and they provided me with a utility bill which had an address on it.  

It was a long time ago and early in my stay there but I remember making three trips to the bank (and two trips back to the association) before I ahd dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's to their satisfaction.  

My Spanish is good but I got several different dettails of what I needed to do and I figutred out I needed to talk to the same person every time I returned.  I relied on subordinates translating my Spanish into Spanish for their superiors (explaining my needs, the hoops I had already jumped through and facilitating the process).  

I doubt if it will be easy in Colombia but you're asking in the right place.