Question on Banking and Playero

Yes you can open and account and in Sosua in the easiest place is banco Santa Cruz across from super super liquors.

You will need a letter from your bank at home stating you are in good standing.  You also need a local person who has a cedula (can be an expat) to vouch for you (they will have to sign a paper), your passport and of course $$. They like all banks will offer a Dollar and a Peso account. It will take you about an hour to do this.

As to Playero yes the card adds points 1% or purchase  and this you can redeem for any future purchases. This is also offered at Super Pola ( a la Sirena card) that does the same.  You will also find prices a bit better at Pola but they do not have the vast selection of products nor as many imported products as Playero.  Since we do not get many imported products we shop at Pola and go to Playero when we need something we can only get there.

Hope this helps

Bob K

Ok thanks for info Bob. any particular reason why Santa Cruz is better?  Banco Popular would be more convenient for me, as its just across the road.

Re letter from my bank could also be a problem. As you pointed out in previous post, postal service here is total crap - and of course will take weeks- if it arrives at all. Dont know if they will accept email or fax from my Bank?

Oh yeah and you were right about EPS very expensive indeed! 3000 Peso to send a letter,  crazy!
Although they have a cheaper option. but that will take weeks.

You can also check Encargo Paque in the small shopping center next to CMC hospital. Anything that is a pound is about $3 to reiceive.  When you sign up with them I think you get the first $5 free.  Out going mail is VERY expensive there.

Why Santa Curz which is on pedro clisante so an easy walk for  you is used to dealing with Expats and make it very simpl to open accounts.  I have heard that banco Popular which many use is much harder and I have heard it can take weeks to open accounts vs an hour or two at Santa Curz.  Santa Cruz also give you a better exchange rate on your dollar.

Bob K

Many banks accept an email copy of the letter. AND it is easy and inexpensive to get a letter here and FAST. I use CPS but many other mail forwarders do this. Regular mail or whatever  way you want to the  address in Miami then 3 days from there to here.  Simple, quick and NOT expensive. My last letter cost me  2 dollars from Miami  to here. Not for all mail but for important stuff it works well.

Thanks for info Planner   I assume you meant EPS not CPS?  :-)

Well signed up with them yesterday Yes it is cheap from/to Miami 3 days wait... but I will be dealing with mail from Europe so it will be very slow service. up to 3 weeks, but not much one can do about it...unless one wants to pay crazy FedEx price of 3000 Peso per letter, which I will not!

Bob is right on about Santa Cruz Bank. Carlos is the manager, please give my regards to him.  ask him if he is still baking?   also, if you would, tell him I'll see him in the late spring or early summer. I'm Tamas Janda.  no one pronounces  it correrectly from the written page.   Toe-mash   Yaanda.  he'll know who it is if you writr it down. he is a   good man.   you  can also try Productos market.   it is a block east of playero,  same side of the street.  limited choices but great meat dept.  try their bacon, they cure it themselves.. best fresh chicken & ground beef is at Zoilos, about 3 blocks up from Santa Cruz Bank, other side of the street.  have fun exploring Sosua.

OK thanks for info Gypsy... I shall follow Bobs advice and go to Santa Cruz .

Oh yeah sent you private message other day re your friend Polo did you receive?

yes & replied.   did you get it?

@gypsy401
Yep thanks just read it :-)

Gypsy sent you a PM did you get it? Was asking about your morning breakfast ritual of your morning toast and something you spread on it.....I think it was Honey and something else, wanted to know the purpose of starting the day with that ritual. Thanks.

did you get my reply?  if so, what do you think?

Not at all gypsy.....might be best to put the recipe on here. I'm a health enthusiast and always looking for natural alternatives, so I'm always interested in other folks health alternatives

santa cruz is better because:   faster service, better exchange rate,  more personal attention, better optional services, better interest rates on cd's,  plus the added benifit of an an addittional exercise  of having to walk a couple of blocks more.  ( good for the heart & legs).    if mobility is a problem, it costs no more $$ for moto concho than  a more convienent location.   if my reply seems sarcastic, it is.   little patience for lazy people.  of course I may be in error in your case.  if so, a heart felt apology, if not you deserve it.    welcome to the land of health, beauty, helpful locals & an unmatched life style.   where else can you walk down a street, & hear  people laughing?

@gypsy401

>santa cruz is better because:   faster service, better exchange rate,  more personal attention, better optional >services, better interest rates on cd's, 

OK noted.

>plus the added benifit of an an addittional exercise  of having to walk a couple of blocks more.  ( good for the heart & >legs). if my reply seems sarcastic, it is.   little patience for lazy people.  of course I may be in error in your case

Yes indeed you were in error, considerably in fact! ... so afraid said sarcasm was wasted :-)

I walk a lot actually and hardly ever take Concho.. I have even been observed staggering back from La Pola with heavy shopping and walk all the way back to Centre by Baileys..... and when I go shopping in Sirena PP,  I walk all the way back to town from Charamicos Caribe Bus stop.along the beach, despite being overwhelmed with Concho offers when exiting bus... and looking back done more than my share of walking- or staggering more like - in airborne forces with 60 kilo on back..think 20 miles could probably be defined as a walk? :-) ...so I hope this qualifies me as a non-lazy walking type person :-)

Ooops better stop or I will start sounding sarcastic :-)

Ok then Santa Cruz will be worth the walk

Bob K

Sure hope so Bob,. if I collapse on the way there, perhaps a passing ambulance will deposit me on the doorstep....

I may be an elisist in            saying thah if you cannot live with fout a can of Cambell's tomato soup, go back to the U.S. Or wherevere you came from.    once past your tongue,   it won't matter!!  it is akin to kissing a cousin at the spring BBQ>   with out a target,  a shotgun is fine,  aiming at a real target requieres a narrow focus..       many rums, but the same thoughts.

TP
Actually I hope that is not the case because you will die waiting for the ambulance

Bob K

love your reply.  I stand castigated as warranted by you.  however let the lazy ones suffer the joy of exercise & good health!!

@ gypsy
well I look at it like this, best idea is everything in moderation - simple rules really... for example to much whiskey aint good for you, we all know that..., but the same can be said for exercise -  knew a fitness fanatic years ago, fit as a fiddle ...apparently... but one day dropped dead at only 48.

Had more exercise today- walked to Spankys :-)
It was to ask about your friend Polo... think I know where it is now- Lawyers office next to a car lot up the road from Europa...thats were you confused me before when you said opposite Europa ...well guess its kind of diagonally opposite ...by hundred yards or so.

you gotit!  sitting here in central florida, the exact position of places can be a figment of reality, not an excac science.  did you meet anyone in Spankys?  a fellow named James is a good person to know. glad you found Polo's office. t

Gypsy still did not get your PM what was that breakfast starter meal again? Thanks.

a paste of natural, unprocessed honey & powdered cinnamon on toast.  don't know why you didn't get it.

Thanks Gypsy, what does that do for you and why did you start doing it? What is the health benefits to your ritual.  I was told that traditional cinnamon can be somewhat unhealthy, but Ceylon cinnamon is probably the best way to go for health reasons, it seems that American cinnamon has something in it that can eventually be a bit toxic......I will look up the article and post a link. Thanks again for the info.

To throw in my 2 cents worth.

Honey and cinnamon are 2 of the 3 ingredients which are used to lower cholesterol levels. The third one is cider vinegar.

I take a swig of that every day also.  all my blood crits are in fine fettle. 5'  10"---170lbs. very active, work out & stay busy doing work around the place.  build furniture, block walls etc.  B.P. avg.  118/78.  this is what my "rituals" do for this 75 year old.  happy to answer more questions.

Wow Gypsy 75 and doing all that??? You are the man! I think I will start doing the same thing. Thanks for the info Stumpy. Now gypsy you said you take a swig of what every morning? Is it the apple cider vinegar that stumpy mentioned? Thanks again for the info.......May I suggest Ceylon Cinnamon if you can find it......Once you try Ceylon you will never look at Cinnamon the same.....Trust me!

thanks,  it is apple cider vinegar.. I'm not quite 75, not until next month.  it is having always been active.    plus good gypsy blood. I also mow lawns with a push mower, coat roofs, paint houses & anything else I can do to augment my income.   beung an ex-chef with my own restaurant, I've learned to cook healthy foods.    the pic on my posts was a selfei taken about 5 months ago.    my grand father lived to his late 90's.   died falling down the stairs when his lovers' husband came home early.   he only had one arm & couldn't get his pants up.   Lo es verdad. it's true!!   I plan to live as long but not exit the same way.  I have both arms!

Hahaha  too funny!

While I am enjoying this, lets keep it DR related.......

That is a hell of a story Gypsy......May you live a long healthy life Amigo

It is the truth. gypsy blood will show its' strength  every time.  Lots more where that came from.   The road is never a straight one, full of bends & twisting detours.  It is what makes the whole journey worthwhile.

Hi Gypsy, Just a quick message regarding your friend Polo the lawyer, I went to see him yesterday and passed on your message about calling you. Went back there again today to pick up some papers and spoke to him and he said he did in fact had a conversation with you.

and Interesting story about your gypsy roots... So that's where your username Gypsy401 came from :-)

Actually I had a number of dealings with gypsies in the past, including gypsies in Romania where they form a large part of the population and are known as Romani. Maybe that's where the name Romania came from, I don't know.... But if I recall the very early gypsies actually originated from India.

Many years ago in UK just after losing my job somebody put me in touch with a gypsy who could  offer some ...errmm... temporary employment, kind of bordering on legality one could say :-)... Was a bit dodgy but it paid the bills for a while :-) He actually put his 16-year-old son in charge and I used to go out with him every day on this job. This boy could not read or write very well, but at the end of the day he would pull out a large wad of Pound notes and pay me in cash, no questions asked and no need to tell the taxman :-)

Years later I went to Romania not long after the fall of the dictator Ceausescu, so they were- shall we say "interesting times".... That place was totally corrupt from top to bottom, but never boring :-)
Looking back although encountered many problems, it was the most interesting time of my life, crazy times, -and cost me a lot of money- but definitely no regrets :-)

Gypsies there, as in other parts of Eastern Europe, are often discriminated against and sometimes have a bad reputation, perhaps with some justification at times from what I saw there, but as I always say there are good and bad in all populations.
Once in a village near the Black Sea. I came across a gypsy encampment in a field outside the village... apparently the locals would not allow them into the village, so they set up in this field... Strangely it look more like an American Indian camp with tents! I always thought they had caravans.... But as I said that was many years ago, I think these days they drive Mercedes and live in large Villa's :-).... Well some of them, think the majority are still struggling in poverty.

Oops... just saw Planners comment about keeping things DR related so guess I better shut up or I will be shot :-)

Okay  guys take this private and lets get back to DR related please.  Thanks.

PM me & we can continue this conversation or, e-mail me......tamas.janda@yahoo.com...........  we should meet when I come down. I'll be on the north shore. Cabrera - sosua area.   The best book I have seen about Gypsys is   "Bury Me Standing". written by a beautiful gypsy woman.  I don't remember her name.  Sorry sweet heart,  We won't do this anymore Darlene,  promise!

No worries....

Hi everybody,

It would be great if we can now focus ourselves on the initial topic of this discussion, which is : Question on Banking and Playero.

Thanks all

Priscilla

Thanks Priscilla!  I tried.....

Ok to get back on target.  The rate I got Tuesday was 44.22 pesos for the dollar at the bank I use and most places like Western Union and Caribe tours here the rate was 44 to the dollar.

Bob K

Yeah, better get back on topic or one might get spanked :-)

Regarding the opening of the account at Banco Santa Cruz, went down there the other day and they were quite helpful and seemed very efficient.
However I hit a slight snag, it seems passport on its own is not sufficient, they now require a second form of identification with photo on it, which unfortunately I do not have at the moment, so will have to try and find a way around that.

Minimum required for opening account is $500.

Rest of the procedure was as Bob said- one needs a letter from another bank (but they will except email or fax) and local person with Cedula will have to sign a declaration.
And besides dollar and Peso accounts, they now also offer Euros- but no British pounds.