Banking/Finance

The forums here are full of banking questions with an assortment of different answers. There in some more authoritative info in either Living or Nica Info but there is always a different story. Here are some current experiences.

i know u do it thru the u.s. embassy.. 1.can u use any bank..i have accts at bac and ban centro 2.do the hold the check for 15-30 days.. 3.do they use a existing acct. or do they use like a nica payroll actt. 4.has anyone had any problems with this..

when i changed my address from nica box //trans-express miami,, to a nicaraguan post office box..my bank wont let me use bill pay and some other services with them..because nica..is on there bad boy list..i need an usa address..preferably not a po box..nica box..was about $15 a month..anyone..use a drop box in the states..and if so how much..thanks

Bitcoin is an alternative currency for just about all interpretations of the word alternative. It is not government issued, it is not physical, it is global, and more. For someone wanting to move money around it has the advantage that it is free of prying eyes.

by Julio Francisco Baéz Cortés y Théodulo Baéz Cortés.

Does anyone know where I can pick up a copy of this book.

I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to get my money (held in a US bank account) for free (in Esteli) in a timely manner. Finally, I' have it all figured out! (Of course, we'll see how long that lasts.)

I have a Capital One MasterCard debit card that doesn't charge me any fees, foreign exchange %'s, etc for signature transactions. The exchange rate always seems to be the previous day's "prevailing rate" (about 24.4 recently).

gotten cheaper ??

I paid $8.89 instead of the $11.99 I paid some months ago for an almost identical amount transferred.

If this is the case, WU is getting competitive with an ATM pull for those who don't have a Nicaraguan bank account in place.

When I was a kid I had a bank account. While I know my mother was in some way connected with the account (probably beneficiary) I could deposit and withdraw the money without needing "an adult" involved. There was even a bank day each month when I was in elementary school where you could bring in your passbook (this was just for one bank -- not the one where I had an account) and money and make a deposit.

For at long as there have been fiat currencies there has been a debate over whether they can be stable. The most accepted answer is "temporarily" which could mean years, tens of years or hundreds of years but not forever. The question then becomes one of how to manage your wealth. This is particularly important if you have moved to a place such as Nicaragua who tends to be a victim of floating exchange rates.

Can this be done without a Nicaraguan bank account? I'm finding that Apple refuses to take US-issued credit cards on line even with a Nicaraguan address as the address of record for the credit card company.

I did find some Apple resellers in Managua through Apple's web site, and buying gift certificates there, if they're available, might be the alternative solution to the problem.

A Nicaragua Dispatch (5/13/2012) article by Tim Rogers (of course) says,

"Last year, Nicaragua attracted a record-setting $967.8 million in foreign-direct investment—about $100 million less than the total amount of remittances that entered the country." Nicas abroad sent at least $1.053 billion (Inter-American Dialogue’s figure) to their families in Nicaragua. (That doesn't include what padrino Hugo sends to the Ortegas.) See,

http://www.nicaraguadispatch.com/business-travel/remittances-prop-nicara...

When changing dollars to cordobas, there is quite a spread on the exchange rates depending on where you change the money.

I have found that higher-end retailers such as the La Colonia supermarket chain and Lugo's hardware in Managua always give me the best rate.

Next to that are mid-range retailers, such as Curacao and Gallo más Gallo (and here in Jinotepe, supermarcado Santiago).

Pali and La Union supermarkets are last in line in terms of rates from retailers (no surprise).

Apparently counterfeit 500-cordoba notes are doing the rounds again, and unscrupulous money-changers and retailers who get stuck with them are dumping them on unsuspecting consumers.

How to spot a fake 500:

Hold it up to the light with the picture of the house facing you. A watermark of Sandino will appear like a ghost right to the left of the house.

I now do this every time someone gives me a 500, except in the bank, where checking the watermark is not necessary.

This is a nightmare;

http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/11/fatca_a_ticking_time_bomb_for_the...

Has anyone heard more about this and how it will effect US citizens living outside the US?

I feel like I have been ROBBED! Actually, I was robbed! 5-6 weeks back I signed into my USA banks website and realized I was missing well over $1000 US from my account. I had never used this particular banks ATM card here before and it seems that each time I had tried to take money, they were withdrawing it from my account but only a couple of times did I actually GET money!