Chile Forum

So from what I have read in the threads it is not that easy to open a checking account. How do you pay your electric bill, rent, phone... Do landlords take cash? Can you pay online or with credit cards? How do you set up those utilities account? Thank you in advance for your help

Do you like standing in line? ServiPag is where you pay most bills. Although in Arica I had to go to the electric co. (Emelari) to pay them for electricity. And for cable and Internet I had to go to thier office to pay. Checking accounts are not a widespread thing among people in Chile. Mostly would be your cuico's that have checking accts.

Trying to pay bills online in Chile could be hazardous to your sanity.

goingtochile wrote:So from what I have read in the threads it is not that easy to open a checking account. How do you pay your electric bill, rent, phone... Do landlords take cash? Can you pay online or with credit cards? How do you set up those utilities account? Thank you in advance for your help

Most bills can be paid at either ServiPag or a newsagency that has the Sencillito sign

Electric bill can be paid in cash. I haven't ever been able to pay with my credit card.
Phone/internet/cable can be paid in cash/cheque/credit card but you have to physically go to there and pay.
Rent is usually in cash/cheque, I doubt there is anyone that can take Credit Cards.
There isnt much that can be paid online in Chile and if it were available I doubt I would use it as they dont quite know how to secure a website.
Utilities are usually left in the owners (usually the landlord) name and all you do is pay what you use. (there is always a clause in any rental contract that requires you to provide the last 3 months of paid bills before leaving the property)

All cash here.

I pay the gas, electric, water, telephone/Internet at Servipag. They can also be paid at the local branch of the utility.

Gastos comunes to the administradora of the condo complex.

And rent to my neighbor/real estate agent.

You will get a sense over time when the best times and days to pay are at the Servipag or Sencillito. I usually have a 0 to 5 minute wait to get to the counter.

Where I live, I must go to the Telephonica Sur office to "receive" my internet/phone bill. I pay it there, cash only. My electric bil and water bill are stuffed in the front door of our rental house. I take the bills and go for a walk around town, hoping that the guy at the electric company is in his office during office hours, and not visiting his mother, or gone fishing! Hopefully he is there. Then, I walk three more blocks to the water company and hope Hector isn't out showing real estate, or reading water meters, or fishing. I pay cash.

Each month I take out of the ATM the funds to cover my rent (70,000 pesos), electric (now zoomed up to apprx. 18,000 pesos), water (1,500 pesos) and internet, the big whopper (33,000 pesos) as well as enough for food and drinks. If I run short I purchase on credit, meaning I go back and pay for my purchases when the ATM maching is back up and running.

Vicki

eeuunikkeiexpat wrote:You will get a sense over time when the best times and days to pay are at the Servipag or Sencillito. I usually have a 0 to 5 minute wait to get to the counter.

I have found that paying on a Tuesday just after 1pm to be the best time of the week and day. Thursday/Friday's generally are the worst and late in the day. Most bills in Chile are issued either on the 5th,15th or 25th day of the month and it is ALWAYS best to pay before the due date as most Chilean leave it till the due date to pay and therefore cause lines that long and annoying.

Vicki and Greg Lansen wrote:Where I live, I must go to the Telephonica Sur office to "receive" my internet/phone bill. I pay it there, cash only. My electric bil and water bill are stuffed in the front door of our rental house. I take the bills and go for a walk around town, hoping that the guy at the electric company is in his office during office hours, and not visiting his mother, or gone fishing! Hopefully he is there. Then, I walk three more blocks to the water company and hope Hector isn't out showing real estate, or reading water meters, or fishing. I pay cash.

Each month I take out of the ATM the funds to cover my rent (70,000 pesos), electric (now zoomed up to apprx. 18,000 pesos), water (1,500 pesos) and internet, the big whopper (33,000 pesos) as well as enough for food and drinks. If I run short I purchase on credit, meaning I go back and pay for my purchases when the ATM maching is back up and running.

Vicki

Ahh always great to hear from you Vicky.. you make the hassle of paying bills here in Temuco seem so easy...

Very helpful! Good to know I don't need to hurry up and open an account? Is internet available wirelessly? Is it part of the phone bill?

Tony...Good to hear from you too. Did I hear you are leaving us? If so, I hope you stay on the forum and in touch.

Wi-fi internet here IS all included in our phone bill. That means that instead of being tied to the computer on a table, I can walk four steps across the room and use the laptop there. Wi-fi is so readily available almost everywhere (consider Futaleufu) that if you have a good battery and firewalls, you almost don't need to have an account.

I should add that unless I am chopping wood (not - that's THAT ONES' JOB), or baking bread and doing laundry, sanding and varnishing wood, or fishing, the internet IS my entertainment here in Fu. So I can justify spending the money in that it is my Music, Movies, Library, Cooking stuff and talk radio, all in one, not to mention my long-distance phone (Yahoo Messenger at 2 cents a minute). So for a little more than 60 US, I have all of that.

As far as the physical act of going to pay all the bills, you should know that if I miss Hector because he's been fishing too many times, I won't have water. So while quaint, I'm a slave to Hectors tides and moons.

This is wonderful news to hear on a Sunday night! There's seriously no other option than physically going somewhere to wait in line to pay bills?? Not even a drop box?! PLEASE tell me there's a better way...

ak405 wrote:This is wonderful news to hear on a Sunday night! There's seriously no other option than physically going somewhere to wait in line to pay bills?? Not even a drop box?! PLEASE tell me there's a better way...

Sorry to be the one to tell ya but there are no other options but to stand in line and pay.. mind you if you have time to go shopping you'll have time to pay bills..