Doug Tyler Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 We started with Banistmo in '05, but moved on to Global. who have treated us well. No crazy fees and Carmen and Michele are always helpful. GIC's are 4 1/2% locked in, 3% open, better than Canada. Sending bulk money from Canada always goes through a clearing house in New York. They in turn send it to head offices in PC. They always use a Swiftcode. Every step of the way there is a fee, amounting to about $30-40. It takes about 5 working days. I'm sure US banks use the same procedure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panawanna Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 OK. Help me out with this one.... We want to buy a car in Panama City when we arrive in January. However, we won't yet have a local bank account. We can't carry enough cash into the country to buy a car. If a cashier's check from a local bank is all that a car dealer or individual will accept...how can we buy a car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRC Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 This topic has some good replies. Thank you for starting it. Here are a couple ideas to buy a car. To bring in more than $10,000 you simply declare it and it could be other than cash. Withdraw $500.00 a day from multiple credit or debit cards. Give the dealer a personal check from a US bank and see if he takes it. Attempt to get a loan to expedite bank cooperation. Be aware you may want to buy locally so your car is registered in Dolega. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 8 hours ago, Panawanna said: OK. Help me out with this one.... We want to buy a car in Panama City when we arrive in January. However, we won't yet have a local bank account. We can't carry enough cash into the country to buy a car. If a cashier's check from a local bank is all that a car dealer or individual will accept...how can we buy a car? My advice is that, unless you have a compelling reason to buy a car as soon as you arrive in Panama City, don't do it. Wait until you get to Boquete and have someone you can trust--like Keith or Cowboy Dave--help you find the right vehicle. You can rent a car in the meantime. And the car will be registered in Dolega without all the hassle of transferring it. If you buy a car from another expat who has kept a bank account back home, it's usually painless to do a bank transfer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted October 24, 2017 Share Posted October 24, 2017 Quote ..how can we buy a car? I responded to this question in an earlier email. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panawanna Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Thanks, Bonnie. Renting a car in PTY may prove difficult as we will have a lot of luggage and two dogs with us. We plan to take our time getting to Boquete so it could get quite expensive. And we know that PTY is a bigger car market with more choice for purchase! Keith, not sure what email you refer to, but I'll search my inbox and the entire board. Thanks for everyone's input. Hope to meet some of you when we get there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoSailors Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Renting a car is easy...your just going to pay for it...especially the insurance. Rent a van or large SUV. Better yet, get your dogs settled as soon as you can. They will be under enough stress from being on the plane and not in their usual home space. Save your self a lot of hassle and deal with Keith Woolford when you get here to Boquete.The choices of cars here are just as good as Panama City. A lot of the cars Keith gets come from Panama City. Plus he will have the car checked out for you, get any service that needs to be done, and turn over to you an immaculately clean car. His reputation is bar none. We have been here almost 3 years and have never heard a bad word about Keith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 We have used Jose Saenz (jose@goldenfrog.net) in Panama City, for visits to the Embassy, my Panama drivers license and other taxi trips over the years here. He drove friends of ours here in Boquete, about 3 years ago with about 15 suitcases and boxes, and their golden lab dog. He and his daughter do airport runs and custom tours of Panama as well. You might contact him about your needs. He speaks English, and has been doing this type of thing for a very long time. Born and raised in Panama City. Ray ray2cleo@yahoo.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantah Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 (edited) Value Motors, in Boquete near main church. Rents, sells cars. English Speaking. Brick and mortar presence, with staff always on site. Also has facebook page and www.valuemotorspa.com Quote Edited October 29, 2017 by Pantah added url. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panawanna Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 Regarding banking and access to accounts in the U.S. - has anyone had experience with the requirement to provide your legal address (in Panama) to your bank or Fidelity or Schwab account? Our Fidelity advisor asked us to provide the legal physical address AND the mailing address (which will be a mail forwarder in Houston). My concern is the unknown repercussions of doing so on our other financial accounts, our taxes, etc. We had not intended to broadcast our lack of brick and mortar residence in the U.S. Guidance please... Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 (edited) We have, and maintain, a legal address in the US.with family. Our bank and investment accounts with authorized co-signers,, State drivers licenses, Social Security, health insurance come to mind. Our son has access to much of this. We will be changing those soon as our son is building a new home, and selling ‘our old address’. He has mail forwarding setup, and we will have to update our then current info to several sources. We typically return to the US, about once a year, sometimes more. Are in contact with our health insurance (only good in the US) agent periodically. For example, we thought my wife had a heart attack a couple years ago. Brief time in hospital, no surgery. Returned to US, visited Dr., and placed in hospital for an angiogram, which was negative, but US hospital and Dr.’s service was covered by our US insurance. We were out of pocket in Panama. Our choice! There are other options. You might consider something similar.....if you have family you trust to keep you posted about arriving mail, etc. Much can be scanned and emailed if needed. And phones (Skype, FaceTime) work to businesses as well if personal contact needed. Lost a paragraph so starting this paragraph again. Our bank accounts are accessible online, so we can manage our finances from here. Changed our business and personal bank last trip home as it was purchased by a larger bank we had no interest in. We can transfer money from here among banks/accounts. And have numbers to call bank personnel from anywhere. One of our banks reimburses ATM Fees For withdrawals, so works like a free checking account and we run on cash in Panama.....occasionally use a credit/debit card (like at a Pricemart, like a US Costco). You will likely find you need VPN’s (Virtual private networks) which show you as at another location (ie such as in the US.) There are also DNS relocation services as well. We have a subscription to one of those for our Apple TV to work with US programming. VPN’s on computers and iPhones and iPads....to access US locations as well. Relatively inexpensive to have access to US sources which limit international access. I think you’ll find most US businesses you may need or have contact with, do not object to what you may have to do to maintain a business relation with them....just to keep the money rolling in. Good luck with your relocation.....and NEW LIFE! Edited December 10, 2017 by Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 A couple of quick thoughts based on my own experiences. Legal residence may affect your Fidelity accounts. Fidelity will not provide any managed account services if you are living outside of the US (or if they suspect you are because you are using a mail forwarding address). You can maintain self-directed accounts with them. If you have intentions to divorce yourself from California state income taxes, you will need to have a really clean break on things like banking, investments, drivers license, and utilities. It will not be an amicable divorce. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 On 3/8/2016 at 8:55 AM, Doug Tyler said: We started with Banistmo in '05, but moved on to Global. who have treated us well. No crazy fees and Carmen and Michele are always helpful. GIC's are 4 1/2% locked in, 3% open, better than Canada. Sending bulk money from Canada always goes through a clearing house in New York. They in turn send it to head offices in PC. They always use a Swiftcode. Every step of the way there is a fee, amounting to about $30-40. It takes about 5 working days. I'm sure US banks use the same procedure. Doug, I put "bulk money" in my Panamanian account by depositing a personal check on my U.S. account and allowing approximately two weeks for it to clear. It's slow but, by planning ahead, I avoid the substantial fees associated with wiring money. I have never been charged by either bank using this method, although I haven't done it for a while and have heard rumors that Panama banks are now charging. Maybe someone has more up-to-date information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panawanna Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 (edited) Thanks, Ray. Good information. We can access all of our accounts from anywhere in the world. Already established that. And we have our medical coverage handled in the interim. My question really was about the 'we don't know what we don't know' stuff. That being... what retirees abroad need to do or say or NOT do or say to maintain full access to their financial accounts that are still based in the U.S. Does any financial institution have an issue with retirees that no longer have physical presence in the U.S.? That is really what I'm trying to get to... I think.. I don't know what I don't know! Woody, no intentions to avoid our tax obligations. But taxation is a whole different topic. As we don't own property in CA any longer (we are renting until we depart) we can provide a physical U.S. address for all that you mention, pretty much in any state at this point. It was interesting that Fidelity asked for our overseas address and our mail forwarding address and stated that the only access we would not have, once living in Panama, was to buy and sell mutual funds (which we don't). All other activities such as trading stocks and accessing our money via ATM or wire transfer is good with no restrictions. If your experience has been different, let me know and I'll call Fidelity and ask for confirmation in writing. THANKS! I have not gone as far as asking if our credit card companies would cancel our cards if we departed the U.S. permanently. Perhaps someone has dealt with this already?? Edited December 10, 2017 by Panawanna clarity purpose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoSailors Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 50 minutes ago, Panawanna said: Does any financial institution have an issue with retirees that no longer have physical presence in the U.S.? That is really what I'm trying to get to... I think.. I don't know what I don't know! 47 minutes ago, Panawanna said: I have not gone as far as asking if our credit card companies would cancel our cards if we departed the U.S. permanently. Perhaps someone has dealt with this already?? We had our retirement investments with Morgan Stanley for over 25 years. They "fired" us last year!! Good thing! They said the reason is we are residents of Panama and they were dropping Expat accounts. We switched everything to Charles Schwab. Our advisor was born and raised in David. His family is still here. He is the Central Ameican Financial Advisor for Expats in Central America and based in Florida. The service with Charles Schwab has been excellent. It did require a LOT of paperwork and verification of our address here, to move everything over. We use a relatives address in the US for our physical address. But, we have informed all our US banks that we are residents in Panama. Never a problem with any of our accounts or Credit Cards. Still, have to let our CC companies know when and where we travel to. Bottom line regardless where you live/travel you should still have the same relationship with your US Banks. Just be upfront and let them know. Hope this helps you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 51 minutes ago, Panawanna said: It was interesting that Fidelity asked for our overseas address and our mail forwarding address and stated that the only access we would not have, once living in Panama, was to buy and sell mutual funds (which we don't). All other activities such as trading stocks and accessing our money via ATM or wire transfer is good with no restrictions. The restrictions are only for the situation where Fidelity is managing the trading of stocks and bonds trading in your portfolio. In our case, this was applicable to 401K and IRA accounts where I had entrusted them with trading. If you manage your own trading it's not an issue except that Fidelity cannot "advise" you on potential trades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panawanna Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 Muchas Gracias! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panawanna Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Another question... when arriving in Panama with cash...is there any issue with the denomination of the bills? In other words, is there a problem exchanging $500 or $1000 bills at banks for smaller denominations? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 You are actually hard pressed to cash anything over a $20 bill unless you have a bank account and cash the bills at your own bank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 Chinese merchants take any denomination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoSailors Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 50 minutes ago, Panawanna said: Another question... when arriving in Panama with cash...is there any issue with the denomination of the bills? In other words, is there a problem exchanging $500 or $1000 bills at banks for smaller denominations? I doubt very much that you are going to get any US $1000 or $500 bills: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_denominations_of_United_States_currency They have been out of circulation for years and if you do come across any they are worth a lot more then face value for collectors. Bring $100 bills, all banks and merchants accept them now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panawanna Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 LOL! Got me on that one, TwoSailors. I should have done my research before asking that question! Shows how long it has been since I've actually acquired cash for transport! $100 bills it is. Thanks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brundageba Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 Use your debit card after informing the company you are traveling. $100.00s are sometimes rejected by vendors. Banks seem to deal in $20.00s and that makes for bulk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brundageba Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 22 hours ago, Penny said: You are actually hard pressed to cash anything over a $20 bill unless you have a bank account and cash the bills at your own bank. Agree. We've had to cash $100s for friends who were visiting because they could not spend nor exchange them for a lesser denomination in banks. Our local bank where we have had an account fo 10 yr took the bills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Woolford Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 Years ago there were photocopies and signatures to provide. I’ve always been able to use $100’s at Ivan’s or Melissa’s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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