Hi Charles – There’s a variety of options here, just depends on your needs and concerns. Some expats simply withdraw money from local ATMs using their US debit or credit cards. If you want to go that route, make sure you check with your US company to see if they charge fees for international use. Banco Pichincha in Ecuador does not charge a local fee for withdraws on US cards.
Checks are generally not used to pay for things here, although we do pay our HOA fees with a US check each month. Even if you have a local checking account, they are very strict on the way the check is written, and even small handwriting discrepancies. We have two local savings accounts, and use the debit cards at the mall or major grocery chain – most places, like the mercados, taxis and small restaurants (even some hotels) are cash only.
We add money to our local accounts by depositing US checks. It takes 7-10 days to clear, but there are no fees involved. We chose to have local accounts for the debit cards, and for the ease of paying utility bills online. We have not had any banking problems or safety concerns with either Pichincha or JEP, a privately run Cooperativa. Both banks charge small fees (between 35-60 cents) for making payments, or withdrawing local cash at the ATM – however, they also pay us 4.5% and 6% interest, respectively.
Hope that helps, feel free to ask follow-ups here, or to contact me at salinas@internationalliving.com .
-jim
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