Good morning from Costa Rica. I'm here to try to recover thousands of dollars that are frozen in a bank account. But first, breakfast.
So, I'm here at Taco Bar Santa Ana. This is a place that I used to come a lot when I lived here. I haven't been here probably more than 10 years, but it's just as good as I remember. The food is really fresh, and I think it started in Hakaco. That was the first time I went there over on the beach. I actually used to live here in Santa Ana. I studied abroad here in 2002 for 3 months, and I have a lot of fond memories of this place. It's kind of surreal to be back here under these circumstances of trying to recover money that's been frozen. But, here we are. So, we're going to make the most of it.
My plan for today is to go down the street to Lindora and try to open a bank account in my name with my passport. I think I have all the requirements. I'm going to go to Banko Lais first, and if that doesn't work, I'll go to Banko National. If that doesn't work, I could open a corporate account because I have a company in Costa Rica. If that doesn't work, I could use an escrow account. And if that doesn't work, I could have a friend receive the money for me. Yeah, I have a lot of backup plans. That's really important when you're operating in a foreign country or moving to a new country. You have a plan A, plan B, plan C, plan D.
The reason I'm doing this is because the financial entity requires that I present local bank information in colones and dollars to be able to receive the funds: the 6 million guaranteed funds in colones, which is about $12,000, and then the rest in dollars. I have no idea what will happen today. We'll just have to find out. You're here now. So, let's see what happens.
I can't film in here, so we'll go in and see what happened.
Okay, so I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I was able to solicit the account as a foreigner with a US passport. I had to give my social security number, address here, local phone number (I have a local SIM card), also what I do for work, and how much money I'm expecting to send through the account each month. Now, I have to wait one or two days to see if they approve the account or ask for any other documents. That brings us to Thursday, and I have to have this whole thing finished by Friday. It's a very tight timeline.
So, what I did next is go to another bank, Banko National, to see if I could open an account now. I just wanted to get the account number today and not have to wait until Thursday.
I decided to just walk across the street. Fortunately, in Costa Rica, there are always a lot of banks located close together.
Well, that didn't go very well. I waited for 3 hours because I didn't have an appointment, and then I found that they are asking for additional documents that they didn't tell me over the phone or that weren't on the website. I'm going to go home, get my phone charger because my phone battery is almost dead, eat some lunch, and then go to another bank. Never give up.
I'm at a super cute cafe called Blackbird Cafe. I'm going to eat some lunch and then I'll be ready to go back to another bank. It's really surreal to walk down the same street I used to take to get to my Spanish school back in 2002. In general, I'm not even really frustrated yet because I expected that things wouldn't go exactly to plan. I haven't given up hope. It's just going to be a really long day.
I remember that I used to have an account at BCR a long time ago, and I don't know if it's still there. It turns out that I do still have an account at Bank Costa Rica, and they were able to reactivate it for me with my new passport. I have to go back tomorrow to get a debit card and access to online banking. The account is in dollars, but they said I could also open a colones account. I'm trying to decide what to do between using a personal account or using an escrow account, and I'll explain why momentarily.
While leaving the bank, I realized I'm really close to my old host family's house where I lived in 2002. I'm going to walk by and see if they're there. I don't know if they still live there or if they've moved.
While walking to the house, something very unexpected happened.
Oh my god.
Oh my god.
Oh my goodness.
Give me a hug.
I thought I was in the right spot. I asked these women sitting outside if they knew my host mom. It was the manager from the language school. What are the odds? She still lives across the street.
Hola. Is that Lily?
Lily. Liliana. Ah, okay. Okay. Oh yeah. This is the house.
This was my old bedroom. I remember doing my homework here. It's surreal to think I lived here so long ago. I'm so happy I found them. It was really nice to catch up with them, hear about her family, and see Lily and Hueie. I haven't seen them in probably 15 years. Now, I'm going back to the Airbnb to figure out the next step of my plan.
Day two in Costa Rica. We have some big decisions to make today. First, let's recap a little bit of what happened yesterday with my journey to try to release these funds.
Yesterday, I went to three different banks: Bankco, Banko National, and Banko de Costa Rica. I chose Lefise first because Lefise allows foreigners with passports to open both dollars and colones accounts and also offers international wire transfer capabilities. That’s good for me to be able to do those wires online without having to fly back to Costa Rica. That went well, but I’m simply waiting one to two business days to get the final approval to get my debit card and online banking.
The downside is today's Wednesday. The deadline to present myself in the bank is Friday. If they come back to me today or tomorrow asking for more documentation, this won't work because there won’t be time to get that bank account fully set up.
After leaving that bank, I went to Banko National to have a backup. I waited in line for hours. When I got to the bank executive, he said I needed a lease agreement in Costa Rica to open the account. That wasn’t told to me over the phone, and it wasn’t on the website. I would have had to rent a property or a room from a friend to have a fixed address. I was a little discouraged. I went to lunch, regrouped, and remembered that back in 2016, I had opened an account at BCR Bank Costa Rica because they offered a promotion for foreigners with passports to open accounts online. Those accounts had $1,000 per month limits, but it was a great option for retirees or people living in Costa Rica.
Being a relocation consultant, I immediately thought it might be easier to reactivate that account than open a new one. I went to BCR before it closed, and yes, after waiting in line again, they were able to reactivate it with my new passport number. I had to show a scan of my old passport that I used to open the account almost 10 years ago. I now need to go back today to get the debit card, online banking info, and possibly open a colones account.
The upside: it’s an account in my name, safe, and with a government bank. The downside: as a simplified account, I wouldn’t be able to wire money internationally from online banking. It would require another trip to Costa Rica or transferring locally to another account.
Another option would be to wire it to a trusted friend, but I’d like to avoid involving a third party due to complexity and risk. The fifth option is to use an escrow account. I had this idea before leaving Miami. Escrow agents could receive funds like in a real estate transaction and then distribute them. I called several agents; they hadn’t done something like this in this situation. But with a power of attorney to my lawyer, it could work securely. The downside: higher cost, including legal fees, escrow fees, wire fees, and exchange rate costs.
I’m considering the escrow option seriously because it minimizes stress, travel, and risk, even though it’s more expensive upfront. If Lefise works today, I might go with that as it’s straightforward.
For now, I’m staying home at the Airbnb, working, and maybe going back to BCR later just in case. Thursday is the last day to finalize decisions because Friday is the deadline.
Day three in Costa Rica. I’ve decided to go with the escrow agent and my lawyers with a POA because there are too many moving parts and no room for error. I’m headed to Desipine offices. My lawyer, Alberto, is there with all the documents and my passport. Fingers crossed.
Alberto and I went to the Desi office. The original plan wasn’t successful despite prior verification. They said if I gave an account that wasn’t in my name, they couldn’t guarantee payment. The plan is for me to go back to the bank VCR today to get my account fully opened, then return to complete the process. They gave some flexibility, but we want to finish now.
Back at Bayer. Good news and bad news. I have a debit card and a Costa Rican bank account in US dollars. The bad news: they wouldn’t let me open the colones account due to a new requirement. Since I own a company in Costa Rica, my lawyer Alberto is creating the document proving ownership. I have two hours before the bank closes, so I’ll try another BCR branch while he prepares the document. Also, I need lunch. The journey continues—this is what it’s like moving to Costa Rica. Nothing is easy unless you’re sitting on the beach drinking a curvea. Then life is good.
I went to Multi Plaza to another branch. You can’t give up; you keep trying until you get a yes. Eventually, we did it. I now have two accounts, dollars and colones. I almost started crying in the bank from frustration, but persistence paid off. The rules vary person to person, day to day, branch to branch. Flexibility is key.
I called Alberto and went back to the offices. It’s 3:35, and DesiPan closes at 4:00. We want to get in before then with the bank documents. If needed, I can open another account tomorrow. Staying calm and problem-solving is critical.
Are you ready?
Yeah.
Fun day. Are you having fun?
Yeah, but it’s been busy.
Never a dull moment.
I brought a drink this time.
It was surreal entering this institution that has been around since 1991. Drum roll, please. We did it.
How do we feel?
Great. The business is finished. Lunch time took it, but it’s done. The first deposit lands August 18th, the second on August 21st. I feel exhausted, physically and emotionally drained, but relieved.
I’m in the Sapphira offices doing a POA with Alberto so he can pick up my debit card at VCR and send a transfer if needed to the US.
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