Banking in Puerto Rico

@garciahanner Good question! I literally took my husband and myself three trips to the bank to open an account in PR.  In addition to drivers license, passport, etc....we absolutely had to have our social security cards with us.  Typically we don't travel with our social security cards but in PR it seems to be a staple document.  Also, bring a birth certificate as well just to be safe and good luck! 

We would only consider First Bank and Banco Popular....we ended up with First Bank. 

All the best!

@garciahanner You MUST finance in PR. We just went through this. I did however open a PenFed account because this is the only financial institute that will cross over from the states to PR. Hope this helps. We got financing through Co op Aguadilla with our agents incredible help.

Steve

I am looking to open a bank account in Puerto Rico in anticipation of purchasing a residence there. Are there any things I should know about the process? Is it easy to open an account? What banks would you recommend? Am I able to open an account from the United States? Or must I wait until I return to Puerto Rico?
-@garciahanner

to Be honest it's not really worth it to open a bank account unless you have a local address and drivers license. The only thing you're missing out on is ATH móvil.

banco popular sucks but is your best bet as they have the most products and ATMs. You will need proof of residency, social security card, drivers license etc…you 100% have to go in person to do this unless you have all the info and open the online popular account. If you don't already live there you wouldn't have this info.

PR uses routing and account numbers just like the USA and USA banks should not consider this international banking.

Pen Fed operates both in USA and the Island but does not have many branches.

my recommendation is don't transfer anything until you live there or have someone who can help you and provide you with proof of address

@Acros5790 I called and spoke to a Banco Popular representative.  I explained that I have not moved to PR yet but wanted to have my funds in a local bank pending purchase.  The rep stated that I should be able to open a bank account with my out of state drivers license, soc sec card, and utility bill with recent/current address.  I told her that my current address is not in Puerto Rico yet and she said that I can still open an account.  Do you think that would be true with all banks in Puerto Rico?  Or just Banco Popular?  Or could the rep be mistaken?  Did anyone here open a bank account prior to the big move?

@garciahanner Me and my wife, a year ago April, went shopping for a property. We found one while we were just on a 3 week vacation. We had an agent set us up with the mortgage department at Aguadilla Coop. We needed very little.....Income proof, drivers licenses, a few bills from the states. It did however take until September of 02 to close (6 months). We flew back, went to the Coop and signed all the closing papers.

First we went through so many channels trying to realize if we needed: a PR bank account, PR job, PR residence etc. We needed NOTHING. For utilities, we put down deposits and that was it. We now own a beautiful condo on Isla Verde beach. One thig to expect is, the good faith monies is quite high and everyone is on "island time". The Coop handled everything from inspection, title search, apprasial, escrow and supplied a lawyer for close. The end transaction went super smooth and we are blown away at all the research we did was not needed and only confused us. We of course had to open an account with the Coop with $5 I think it was. I would have an agent steer you in the right direction. Ours was as good as they come.

Long and short.....We have ONLY the Coop bank account tied to the mortgage. They opened the account for us before close. We got a checking and savings acct which is also how we poay our mortgage.

@citylist I appreciate the tip regarding PenFed.  I just signed up online!  It was super easy.  There are 3 PenFed finance centers in Puerto Rico to choose from.  Not that close to where I want to be but doable.  Thank you so much!

@garciahanner

Fyi, Banco Popular requires an ID and a copy or original  Social security card.