USA bank transfers to the Dominican

I'm not sure what you're asking. 

You need help finding a bank in the States?  Or the DR?

Welcome to the forums Cori.  I had the same confusion, what are you asking us?

Citibank is a USA Bank with a location here in Santo Domingo also.. It's the only one I know of that has a location here and USA... I don't know if that's what you are asking...

Any bank can do international wires and currency conversion..

Hope this helps..

The easiest way that I have found to get money to my account in Sosua from the US is to do a wire transfer.  If it is a large amount they need to review the source of the money before accepting the transfer due to strict money laundering policies.  It usually takes about 3 days from the time I wire the money before it is in my account in Sosua.

If you don't need more than $2,000 at any one time, you can use Xoom, which is owned by PayPal. Much lower fees than wire transfers. I send money all the time between Chase bank here in the US to Banco de Leon in the DR, as well as to my daughter's bank in Australia. Wire transfers are typically $25 dollars. Xoom is about $5. There are number of the larger Dominican banks that work with Xoom. Takes a couple of days or so.

jmiller0017 wrote:

Citibank is a USA Bank with a location here in Santo Domingo also.. It's the only one I know of that has a location here and USA...

Is the Citibank in Santo Domingo part of their Retail Bank? I think they only provide commercial services.

Its only commercial services!

planner wrote:

Its only commercial services!

That's what I thought! My internet research skills are damn good and I thought I had determined that no US banks had a retail presence here. Wells Fargo also has some commercial services here - with offices at Blue Mall.

For the purchase - you don't need a DR bank.

I sent my money directly to my lawyer.... he went from there.

Once here- cedula/etc - banks become easier to navigate

meangreen88 wrote:

If you don't need more than $2,000 at any one time, you can use Xoom, which is owned by PayPal. Much lower fees than wire transfers. I send money all the time between Chase bank here in the US to Banco de Leon in the DR, as well as to my daughter's bank in Australia. Wire transfers are typically $25 dollars. Xoom is about $5. There are number of the larger Dominican banks that work with Xoom. Takes a couple of days or so.

Can you use Xoom to transfer money from the DR to Canada at the same $5 rate if less than $2,000?

Do you have Venmo or Cash app in DR?

Venmo is a great app -- but is US only. 

I don't know about the Cash App. 


Jim

Tete Ovalle wrote:

Do you have Venmo or Cash app in DR?

Cash App is US and UK only.

No it is isn't and there are no retail services available.   It is strictly investment and business services.

I have an account in the United States and I have an account here and Banco Popular and also and Banco BHD Leon. I sent wires monthly and it cost me $25 for each wire when it's sent and Banco Popular charges me $3 to receive the money here. The money posts generally within the hour after it sent as long as it's not after 4 or 5 p.m. then it post the next morning. The person that mentioned above about filling out extra paperwork, that is not correct. The extra paperwork is needed when the fun source is not easily identified however when it's being withdrawn from your own bank account in the US and being sent here to your own bank account it's a personal wire transfer and if it's over 10,000 the bank will keep a record but since the funds are easily identified it's not really a banking issue. What do you do need to be careful of is the Dominican Republic rules on cash deposits because they will check into that and you could be flagged for a possible taxes to be paid on this side. I am doing the wire transfers for several years here in the country and I've never experienced the problem. Most times the amount is well under 10,000 but I've had a rare occasion where I've had to send over 10,000 and I didn't have an issue at all. You just need to make sure that your account here in the Dominican Republic is dollars.

Has anyone here tried doing ACH transfers between US banks and DR banks?

ACH stands for Automated Clearing House. It's the same systems that checks use with routing numbers and account numbers. Many employers use it for direct deposit paychecks and banks use it when you pay bills online many times.

As I understand, often this is free, or cheap to use.

Any insight from those who have tried would be great.

Works local bank to local bank but last I checked does not work internationally yet.

Hi,

I understand we all want to process the most ship as possible, between that transmission I recommend use Xoom to be deposited into your bank account in DR.  You probably will pay us$4 to be deposited around 2-3 business days. By doing that you will avoid those papers work and mistake you mentioned.


Good luck.

They do. But I recommend not dealing with that, that's a heartache from the easy to the impossible.

🕺

Hi,

Be aware the rates are not quite as low for Xoom as mentioned. There is both the fee for the transfer and the exchange rate. Just now on Xoom's site for sending money estimate, it says if I send $1,000 USD to the Dominican Republic, I will get a fee of $4.99 then $53,955.00 DOP will arrive in my Dominican account. If I double the amount sent, double arrives, which means the fee is separate from the calculation shown. According to google, the exchange rate is 56.93 pesos per dollar, so converting back, you are at $947.74. If you look at sites like https://dominicantoday.com/dr/economy/ You see a buy and sell number. As I understand, the "US Dollar (Buy)" means if you give US dollars to get pesos, you get the rate shown, and the "US Dollar (Sell)" means if you give pesos to get US dollars, you get the rate shown.

For anyone comparing rates, I would suggest you compare total money in and total money out to know your full costs.

John

Xoom is making money off the exchange! If you try to send USD to USD, the fee is $19.99. I also transfer money into my USD account in DR and then only move it to my DOP account as I need to make payments or withdraw cash.

On the topic of fees for bank transfers, it is worth noting that this is not the only way, nor the only source of fees.

Some banks may have ATM agreements such that you can use the ATM without fee, or get the fee reimbursed to you.

Also, for purchases where you are not trying to pay cash to avoid ITBIS, or other reasons you may have for paying cash, vendors who accept credit cards, be aware that some credit card providers have zero fee, or up to about 3% exchange fee. When you use the card, they may ask if you want to pay dollars or pesos. Always ask for pesos as you have no idea what their conversion rate will be if you let them convert for you.

If you have an extremely high dollar account at a bank, you can often get discounted, or increased wire transfer limits for a single transfer. For any fee paid per transfer, this can reduce your fee.

Lastly, be aware that any wire transfer sent to a Dominican bank will probably charge both a wire transfer receipt fee and also a 0.15% fee for Dominican taxes. This last bit almost messed me up when buying a condo as I almost ended up with too little money such that I would have had to send *another* wire, incurring yet more fees. It was by luck I thought to send more than I thought I needed, but it turned out to be exactly enough.

The 0.15% is a  government tax!  Everyone pays it. I pay it when I pay  the phone bills, pay employees pay rent pay anything!

There is no .15% fee on incoming wires to USD accounts only when you transfer out of the account to another account.  I wire money from the US to my DR account at least once a month and have never been charged that fee.

Also, be smart about where you exchange your funds.  Banco Popular often has the lowest rate followed by BHDLeon.  I wire my funds into Banco Popular ($3 incoming wire fee) and withdraw it in US funds and then go to another bank to exchange. Banco Central will have usually the highest but banks like Santa Cruz and Scotia are usually slightly under. Santa Cruz also offers a slight bump if it's over $1000.00 USD.  This month I receives 56.65 per $1

In a Facebook group, we had a bunch of folks provide the exchange rate that their bank used for USD to DOP accounts (when both accounts were at that bank), and at that time, the Banco Santa Cruz rate was the highest. And we have never been charged for incoming transfers through Remitly. I've only wired money in from the US once, and we did have a $25 fee.  Current exchange rate at BSC (from account to account) is 56.5.

Just keep in mind rates change daily.  You can easily check the rates on each banks webpage.  Befor I head out to do my banking I usually check out the banks so I know where I'm heading to. Takes 2 to 3 minutes and on larger sums like $2000 let's say it could be around 1,000 pesos or more difference between banks
  Also, if you go to Santa Cruz with over $1,000 U.S. ask for the "special rate". Most times it won't just be offered but you can get it.  My friend works there and told me about it.

I do all my banking online and just withdraw pesos at the ATM! The only times we've been inside the bank since opening our account has been to deposit the two checks we received here in DR!

Be careful because many banks in the U.S. are now charging foreign transaction fees ranging from 3-5% of the amount withdrawn plus the fee charged here in DR for the use of the machine. (That is if you're using your U.S. debit card.)

No, I use my Banco Santa Cruz ATM card at the ATMs here. We also made sure before moving down here, that the credit cards we carry do not have foreign transaction fees.

That's something that a lot of vacationers or new expats don't consider until they start seeing the fees piling up on their credit card statements!

All banks have their fee schedules and they are subject to change. Some have deals with local banks. Some don't.  Some charge low fees but lousy exchange rate.  Etc etc.  Investigate your current options and do the best you can.

I am buying a house in DR. I need to transfer 90k US to DR. What is the least expensive way?

Wire Transfer?

Carry cash on the plane?

Is there any issues if I wire transfer that large of an amount?

Wire the money. It takes 2 or 3 days to get to the Dominican and it is safe. Scotiabank in the D.R. recieves wired funds and there wil be a charge of about 1% for the service.

I sent double that amount using US bank wire transfer to my lawyers Guzman, $35.00 us fee.

Any wire transfer of that size will require proof of source of funds. So  a sale of a house, withdrawal  from  investment account etc.   Bringing cash in  on the plane - I do not advise it. You will need to declare it and show source of funds as well.

Normally this is done by wire transfer to the  lawyers account!

I am wondering if you exchange the dollars for pesos. You will make some extra money?
Here in Boston I have Bank of America. So when I go to DR I withdraw money from any bank using my atm card. Would it be easier to open a bank account in DR to use while in the country ? This way I don’t get charge those fees.

I am buying two condos and paying cash for each.  Have wired down payments to my lawyers escrow account with no problem of about $10K.  Wire charge was $75.  Wired about $90K to owner in US, with cost of wire $30.  Now need to send another wire of about $90K to my lawyers escrow in Cabarete.  That is later this week.  Need to do this because I will be in Cabarete on closing day, so I need the money there prior for payment.  Just my story!

I hope you weren't seriously considering taking that kind of cash on the plane!

Typically with a real estate transaction, the funds are sent to the closing attorney's escrow account.

DO NOT carry that much cash on plane. 

If you go above $10k. You have to declare it both exiting US and entering USA.

$90K would make a customs or TSA guy salivate.
>> They would typically want to confiscate it as potential drug or other criminal proceeds.
>> You'd have to prove it was your legitimate money from legitmate sources.  Which might take 30 minutes or 30 months before they return it.  IF they return it. 
>> High probability you'll miss your closing. 

Not to nention the off chance that you'll be the unlucky winner of the daily "Which Tourist  Gets Mugged Today?" contest as you depart the airport. (On the upside, some lucky crook would be quite surprised and gratified at the amount of your "donation.")

Pay the wire transfer fees and ship the money to your lawyer doing the closing.  If you don't have one, get hold of Lishali Baez ASAP. 
>> Be sure you understand ALL fees to be charged. 
>> You're used to the standard wire transfer SENDING fee in the US.  But in DR, banks typically also charge a RECEIVING FEE, too. 
>> Additionally, as someone else mentioned above, some receiving banks will charge additional fees for large sums, such as 1% of the transferred balance.  Verify is so and how much -- and see if you can find/use a receiving bank without such a charge.  They do exist.  Make the calls yourself to verify.
>> Your lawyer may also apply some minor fees for receiving the funds and disbursing at closing.  Verify in advance.

The point of the above is that you must factor in ALL these transactional costs to determine the amount you send.  Your originating bank will likely charge their fee on top of the transferred amount (e.g., $45 on top of the transfer), but verify that too -- sometimes bank personnel will forger to verify, and then it may come out of the transferred amount.   
>> And if your lawyer requires you to use a particular receiving bank, verify fees there too.  It is possible the bank charges a very high fee to your lawyer, and the costs ger hidden in your closing costs and fees. 

Don't try to save a measly wire fee or two and take huge risks -- it just isnt worth it.  The fees are well worth the benefits of professionals handling the job.
>> You can shop around for lower wire fees, at least stateside.  That's harder in DR unless you speak Spanish or can get introduced to a Banker.  If your lawyer requires a particular bank on the DR side -- which isn't being unreasonable -- you should still very any associsted fees.  For example, if you see a $180.00 "wire receiving fee," the bank probably is kicking some of that back to the lawyer as a referral few.  Challenge before you send, not after, explain these high fees are above the industry norm and ask for a 'reasonable discount' as a means of building a relationship for the future. 

I realize I'm being very abrupt and directive.  I was worried others were being so gentle and mildly suggestive that the essential advice was not clear enough.  No offense intended.

Best of luck.


Jim
ExpatRusher