Banks & transferring money abroad
There are four
banks in Santa Maria the BCN, BCA, CAIXA ECONOMICA and BANCO
INTERATLANTICO and now BANCO ESPIRTO SANTOS. There are also branches in
Espargos.
There are links to these websites at the bottom of this page.
If you need to open an account, take your passport with you. You
can ask to open and account in euros as well as escudos. You will also
have to pay a deposit when opening either account. Banks have some
English speaking staff.
FAQ :
Exchange rate :
1 Euro = 110.265 ECV
1 USD = 83.871 ECV (exchange rate estimated at 29/11/06 source
BCV).
Please note that although 1 euro is worth 110.265, in most
places one euro will be treated as 100 escudos, you won't generally
receive 10.265 in change for something that costs 100 escudos, when
using a 1 euro to pay.
On some of the other islands, they will only accept euros in the banks but not anywhere else.
Visa Card /Mastercard: Visa Cards can be used at the
cash points, take your pin number with you, I do not know what the
commission charges are. Mastercards can only be used at the Bank
counter, not at cash points. If you do not have your pin number, take
your passport with you, I do not know the commission for each
transaction. NOTE: I understand from someone that went to withdraw some
cash on a card (Aug 07)at a Bank in Sal that there was 150 euro fee for
using the Visa card but only 30 euro for using his Mastercard to
withdraw 3,000euros. He chose to use his Mastercard. He also had to
speak on the phone with his bank in the UK before they would release the
funds to him.
For more up to date information, check out the link to the Money Saving Expert website via the link below.
Mortgages: Some Developments and Estate Agencies have an agreed mortgage rate with the banks.
Things you may want to ask at the Bank:
• What are the controls for taking money out of the country and its limitations?
• Ask about NIB !
Banks also offer mortgages, they will differ from one bank to
the next. Banco Interatlantico has some specific information on its
website : http://www.bi.cv/....On the main page you will find a link
that is headed : 'Mortgages for Non Residents'.
Transferring Funds: You may want to consider setting up
the options to transfer funds from your UK account before you on
holiday. One visitor arrived on Sal and transferred funds electronically
from his Bank account in/from another European country (not the UK), to
a bank on Sal expecting it to arrive promptly, but he was informed that
it wouldn't clear for 7 days. If you are only here on a weeks holiday,
then that time scale may be too late. The Caixa tell me its a 4day
clearance (however if it includes a weekend it still could be 7 days).
To view the service for transfering funds abroad, click on the Moneycorp
image below.
Traveler's Cheques: Traveler’s cheques can be cashed
immediately. At the CAIXA - If you are cashing in Travelers Cheques that
are in sequence (ending 003,004,005)you will only be charged 1,000cve
commission. However, if you are cashing in the same 3 TC's that are in
sequence, then another which is out of sequence (i.e. ending 015) you
will have to pay 2 x 1,000cve.I am not sure if this is the same at the
BCA Bank.
International Money Transfers: There
are also a number of well established money transfer services you can
look up on the internet who may offer a better deal than banks. Check
it's clearance time at this end (Cape Verde) with each bank. Also check
how much money you can transfer from your bank at one time, you may find
it is only £10,000. To view the one of the money transfer services,
click on the Moneycorp image above.
Caixa Economica :
IBAN/SWIFT code for the CAIXA is: CXECCVCV
They do not charge commission for converting euros to escudos.
They do charge commission to convert escudos to euros. I do not know
what the commission rate is.
It will take 2 days to transfer cash/cheques via HSBC to CAIXA.
If I was using another UK Bank and came into the CAIXA with one of their
cheques, the process would take 45 days. To make a cash transfer cash
from another UK Bank i.e. Lloyds TSB, Lloyds would have to send a SWIFT
TRANSFER (document), which could take 1 day to process.
In order to transfer money you must have an account at CAIXA.
CAIXA take commission of 500esc for receiving each transfer. You
would need to check with HSBC or Lloyds etc if there is any commission
at their end.
June: I have now been told by someone else in the CAIXA that the
HSBC bank is not the transfer bank for the UK, but USA, so there may
still be a charge!
It would take 4 days for CAIXA to process another UK Banks cash
transfer. CAIXA charge for sending money to the UK: If sending less than
1666.666esc (1,511euros) they charge 2,000esc for each cash transfer.
Sending more than this, the calculation is based on: £ Amount x 3% / 1000 = ……
If you want to make a payment to the UK or are sending less than
100,000esc out of the CV then you don’t need to justify it with CAIXA.
However you do need to show why you want to send out more than this.
There may be some flexibility with the lending rate but this
depends what you can negotiate and on your personal finances. Perhaps
this is the same with other banks.
I would still look at using the Banks in the UK for mortgages if buying property in CV.
If you want to buy an apartment and are using CAIXA for your
mortgage you must have an account with CAIXA and provide them with all
the official/legal documents (which you should have had checked by your
solicitor or lawyer before hand!).
Check out the interest you can earn on a lump sum with CAIXA if
you leave money in an account with them for between 30-90 (you must
arrange to set this up. it could generate another 2% interest. There are
different rates for longer periods.
You can also find the forms on the CAIXA website:
http://www.caixaeconomica.cv/index_e.asp.
You can also send money via your CAIXA account by fax from the UK. ‘ Please pay……….from my account etc’.
If you have a savings account you can have the interest in the
denomination in which you want i.e. dollar/escudos/euros. The interest
rates vary depending on the length of time you have the savings in the
account.
There is no charge for changing euros to escudos at the Caixa,
only euros to escudos to euros. I do notknow what the charges are per
transaction!
Update: if you deposit the amount into your account in euros you can then withdraw it in escudos without being charged.
Whatever rates are quoted above, they may have changed since this was written, so please make your own enquiries.
Western Union:
You can also
transfer money via Western Union, forms for sending/receiving are kept
in the CAIXA bank, you don’t need a CAIXA account to use this service at
the bank. Fill in the form, take the form to the cash desk/counter and
they will make the transfer i.e. if I wanted to send some money to the
UK to a friend I will have written a question on the form and the answer
to that question, and having filled in all the other information with
the amount I am sending then the cash desk assistant would give me a
CONTROL NUMBER which would be written on the form. I would then need to
contact the friend, tell them the question and answer, the amount I was
transferring and the Control number and it will be sent to the persons
address I have stated on the form. Check out the Western Union website
for further information.
Banco Espitito Santos:
There is a new commercial Bank on Sal Island. Banco Espirito Santo,
S.A. The Branch is situated in Villa Verde Resort. Website :
www.bescv.cv
Within the site you wuill find information for non residents.
Related Information
Links
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