Opening a bank account in Belize

[PIERRE BERNIER]

I should be moving to Caye Caulker at the beginning of April and would like to open an account at the Atlantic Bank. Is it true that a Canadian on a visitor’s permit is prohibited from holding a Belizean bank account? Having a local account will give me the opportunity
to deposit my pension cheques directly, saving a huge amount in exchange fees.

[COUNTRY EXPERT ANN KUFFNER]

Pierre,

You will not be able to open a local Belizean bank account until you become a QRP retirement resident, or a permanent resident. The first is much faster than the second residency option.

The best thing to do is have your pension cheques deposited into a bank account in Canada and then take out funds as needed at the ATMs in Belize. Many expats do this for years. The other option is that certain businesses in Belize are willing to give you BZ $s in cash for a Canadian or US dollar check.

Do you have a Charles Schwab account? I see that Schwab has offices in Canada. If you have an account with Schwab you can take out money from ATMS around the world using a Schwab debit card. Schwab will reimburse you for any international ATM fees. That is what we do. Schwab is great. They are service oriented. I’ve used them mainly since we moved overseas.

Banking has become much more challenging overseas during the last few years, especially in Belize. New bank regulations have resulted in Belize’s banks tightening their requirements for foreigners who open local accounts. Much of this is a result of the US-based FATCA regulations. But it’s also fallout from expats who have laundered money and evaded taxes, using Belizean bank accounts. So Belize’s banks have come under increased scrutiny. So they are much more selective about accepting new clients who are foreigners.

[PIERRE BERNIER]

Good morning Ann,

Once again your comments are extremely helpful. Thanks.

[DAVID L.]

Pierre, there may be a couple of other options. Note that my experience is with USD and NOT CND!
The bad news is that we have working on getting an account at Atlantic Bank Limited (ABL) since Nov, 2015!!! Everyone’s experience is different. Each month the Central Bank asked for another form of documentation. Sometimes the same one several times. As Ann indicates, it is probably due to FATCA regulations.

It is true that being on QRP or a Resident helps. In theory, if you show an investment in Belize (e.g., purchase land or a home) that qualifies you to open an account. I am on QRP, Lynn is working on her Residency status and we own a home, it is still taking 15 months and counting.

Thankfully, we have a USD account at Atlantic International Bank Limited (AIBL). (We also have a mortgage at AIBL but that’s a whole different story and a positive one at that.) We wire USD from Schwab (as Ann discussed) to AIBL. It stays in USDs. When we need to withdraw from the account, it is in USD, which is nice. You give them a day’s notice of the withdrawal. You prick up the USD in Belize City OR you can have it sent to a local ABL branch for pickup, which is really nice!

A credit union may be another way to manage money. It appears that it is much easier to get an account at a credit union. We are checking that out now.

Also, the exchange rate for USD at ABL is $1.9875. Locally (shops, stores, service people) it is $2.00. There are private exchanges that offer $2.10.

I am not recommending anything. Just relaying our experience. I have no idea how this relates to CND.

Hope this helps.

[DAVID L.]

Make that $2.05 at private exchange places.

[PIERRE BERNIER]

Thank you David for the info.

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