Chile Forum

the answer is: you don't. That is likly the most common question we get.

Do to the fact that bank accounts are related to your credit, no bank will issue a foriegner an account. Even with residency, it is nearly impossible unless you have been here for years and can prove income inside the country.

The only foriegners we know with bank accounts, got them through a friend of a friend at a bank.

We have litterly put hundreds of hours in to trying to solve this problem. This is a choice of the banking industry here. We have spoken with the Chilean federal reserve about it. We also had a friend who works at a bank in Chile look in to this for us at his bank, and he was shocked to find out that no one was intrested at the banks in doing it.

Almost every expat we know does their banking online and outside of the country, through an ATM card.

We have a bounty out for any bank that will do it. We will bring them all of our clients, and every Gringo in Chile that we can find ( has to be worth an easy few million US a month in deposits ). I am just talking about savings accounts with an ATM card here, nothing fancy. No credit, no checking. Just take our money. But banking industries tend to be the slowest to Change.

If any bank ever takes us up on it, you will hear it here first.

They are actuely banks under Chilean law. They just happen to be geared towards credit cards and charging high intrest, and thus tend to go after lower income people with less credit with the long standing banks.

If your goal is to get a bank account through setting up a biz, then you should start with the bank requirements and work backwards to an incorporation structure that will permit you to meet all the banks requirements. It is still not as easy as simply just walking in to the bank with your documents.

Completly understand.

In China (you know the communist that don't believe in banks), I could walk in to the bank of China and open an account with my passport and about $10 in local currency or US dollars. Same in Europe, and most every other country I can think of.

I did get a personal saving account on temporary visa, after being told that there was no way by the local banks here. It was not through official channels. I smiled at the right girl, at the right time.

Another thing you will find is that the standard Chilean credit cards like visa, mastercard, and such do not work outside the country. You have to have an "international" credit card issued by one of the local banks. The international banks, like CITI bank, are just names. They really have nothing to do with the international bank accounts.

Another thing I have discovered is that a lot of the Chilean online credit card processors will not accept my US credit card for making payments.

The only country I can think of whose banks are this much of a pain to deal with is the U.S. ( diffrent set of red tape ).

If you want a personal account, my advice is go to the bank and smile a lot.

It is a good idea to keep a few ATM cards. Check cards are the best. Even when using a credit card at an ATM in Chile, try to first withdraw from it as a Checking account. The fees are often way lower. If you keep 2 or 3 handy, each with a $400 a day limit, you can get yourself out of most any problem with $1200 in cash availble a day.

Well say you want to buy a car or have an emergency, those cards will seem stuck in the ATM. Another reason to keep more than a few handy, is I have had them simply not work in every ATM or be eaten by an ATM. Having only one method to get cash out in a foreign country can make for a very cold night.