best bank in Panama for expats?

Unibank seems to be expat-friendly. It was started by big wigs from other banks here in the area. They have a branch on Avenida Balboa, one in El Dorado, and one in Albrook Mall, so they're not all over the place, which sucks for convenience, but means they can still give good customer service to their select number of clients. I'd check them out. I'm sure they have a website. I bank with Banco General, and they seem to be ok...I guess. I thought the people at HSBC were kind of jerks. Scotiabank always seemed to screw up the direct deposit process when my boss was trying to pay me. I'd check out Unibank and see if you like them. I was told that they have English reps in all of their branches. Hope this helps. Once you get the one (sometimes two) reference letters from your past bank, getting an account isn't that difficult. My bank back in Ohio was a pain in the ass with giving my the letter, which slowed me down a lot.

Hi,thanks.I sent emails to a few banks in panama and have had only one reply(yes I sent it in Spanish also).Unibank,has not replied and one online source says that this bank has changed their policy and no longer welcomes Americans and some foreigners.I'll know later if any do accept this winter.

Yeah I'm hearing that because of the new tax law going into effect here at the 1st of the year that most banks are refusing any American customers so they don't have to deal with all the crap the IRS wants them to go trough to get your money!!!! I was trying to no avail I might add to get more information on how to get around all of this B.S.

Kurt.....

We found Scotia to be the most Expat friendly bank to deal with.  Very customer service centric with staff that go out of their way to help.  Been with them a year now and still very good.

Hope this helps.

When we first got here, I opened an account in CITI, thinking that with it, I could pay my overseas workers by check. It turned out that was not possible, even though my workers were in the US. There is kind of a fire wall between here and the rest of the world. I am not investigating banks too. I tried Banco General and they allowed me a credit card but with pignoracion. That means you get no credit. They just freeze some of your mons and use these funds to pay the dealers you buy from. They said after about 2 years, I could get a regular credit card but now they insist I go to the embassy and get a letter saying how much they pay me in social security. That is absurd because the bank receives all of this money and knows how much I receive. So I decided to try Credomatic. It just so happens, my wife has a credit card there. But they have charged her account over $50 and she has made no purchases at all. So the fees here seem to be quite high. Your best bet for credit cards is to hang on to the US credit card and find a way to pay it. We keep a savings account in the US for that purpose. Hope that helps.

We asked a number of ExPats while there and have been told the best way to handle funds was to open a Charles Schwab acount in US and use the ATM card all over for free.  All the direct deposit (SS funds & pension checks) go into the account and you can manage it online. We have been told the new law going into effect regarding transfering funds into Panama from US will become such a paperwork nightmare for banks they don't want to deal with it and there will be a significant hold time on direct deposit funds. The US will be holding 30% of funds total until a IRS audit is complete to make sure we don't try to screw US on possible income tax.  I don't have all the facts but you can check it out on the forums.