There are a lot of banks to do business with in the Dominican Republic.
Most of them are small(er) private local banks, without international branches.
There are also branches of renowned foreign banks available.
Only the top 5 banks maintain branches or representations in other countries.
Not all banks maintain a net of branches =outside the capital, although more and more banks are expanding into the interior lately.
Dominican Pesos are not traded internationally and you may not take any out of the country.
To change back Dominican Pesos into foreign currencies (US$) is handled very restrictive
and limited ( in case you gamble in Dominican casinos and you intend to win, you better should
place your bets in US$ !).
Interest rates are exorbitantely high compared to "industrualized & developed" countries.
We mean active & passive interests.
If you want to park your saving in a Dominican bank to cash in high interests and enjoy
low taxes you have to ask for "plazo fijo" ( a type of investment certificate).
Before you do that and just wait for your monthly check please bear in mind that
many (not all) of the banks may be build on rather weak grounds and that there have been some
spectacular crashes in the past few years -- no state backup or insurance.
You should choose your bank carefully by obtaining more information:
through the "Superindendencia de Bancos", thats the central government bank
regulation and supervision authority.
through the "Banco Central", thats the Federal Reserve Bank of the Dominican Republic.
through personal recommendation.
Personal or business checking accounts are widley common and are accepted as payment.
Sometimes you may be asked to pay by " certified check", which is regarded and accepted
like cash.
Certifying a check at your local bank branch takes only to fill out a form and have it stamped
by the bank clerk ( if you have enough funds of course); a small fee will be charged though.
Transferring and depositing funds from different accounts within the same bank branch is a matter of
one business day.
Transferring funds and depositing checks from one bank to another bank or from one
city to another city is a matter of up to ten business days.
Foreign resident are also entitled to ATM " cash around the clock" cards.
ATM machines are spreading and can also be found in the interior already.
Most ATM machines also accept withdrawals with mayor credit cards.
"Domestic use only" credit cards are issued to foreign residents without big hassles.
International credit cards are issued to foreign residents after passing a lot of bureaucratic
hurdles; fees and conditions are not very favorable as well, so rather keep your creditcards
issued in your home country (this may also help you to save money because of favorable differences
in exchange rates ).
Those accounts are different types of savings accounts and do not pay high interests.
You may draw from those accounts either:
A bankcheck in US$ which you may have endorsed for paying someone else;
Note that it may take a few days until you will receive this check.
Cash in Dominican Pesos, which may eat up all your interest earnings -- depending
on the rate of exchange.
International money transfers to the Dominican Republic are a matter of minutes:
You will receive always local currency though.
If you have money transferred into a US$ account it will be subject to hefty bank fees.
International money transfers from the Dominican Republic are almost impossible via
a bank,excluding payments of importers to their foreign suppliers -- this needs a lot of
paperwork and time (all transfers need to be authorized by the Central Bank).
Lately the foreign banks as well as the Government Postal Service (INPOSDOM) have
introduced moneyorders for individuals to mail payments abroad.
Deposit your savings with a credit & savings association (they all have a bank licence), which
may entiltle you not only to attractive interest rates but also to apply for favorable credits and
mortgages; the same cautiousness applies though regarding the safety of your money!
There are many (legal and seem to be legal) moneyexchange businesses operating all over
the country which offer some or all of the following services:
Purchase and sale of foreign money
Purchase and sale of personal checks in US$
Money loans
Handling of money transfers to the Dominican Republic.
Note that the exchange rates offered may vary by date and location and the rates
are usually quite a lot better than in most of the banks -- so shop around !
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