Nationwide card in DR? Bank account?

[kurdela]

Hiya.

I'm moving to DR in a month and am thinking what to do with the money from UK. I've heard that with Nationwide card you don't get charged when withdrawing money from ATM. But dominican bank can then charge you. But I heard as well that these cards aren't acceptable in some countries so i don''t really know what to do.
I've still got my money in LLoyds TSB but they are charging2.99% per transaction and then dominican bank will charge as well.
Some of you write here that it's fairly easy to open a bank account in some banks in DR but then somebody else will write that you need some references, police records and so on. So I don't really know what to believe in.
Have you used Nationwide ther or would you rather open a bank account in DR? Which one is the easiest to go to? I want to open account in pesos.

I will be very grateful for any advice.

[rubio_higuey]

What logo does your Nationwide bankcard carry?
If it is Visa, Visa Electron, Mastercard, Maestro, Link, or Plus, you will be able to withdraw the money at an ATM here.

[scrubmuncher]

The Nationwide card works everywhere, never been charged and I use mine all over the place, wouldn't worry about it.

No calculator to hand but my last statement showed 5000 pesos was breaking £96 out of my nationwide account.

[MikeFisher]

for the use of a foreign card at an ATM the dominican banks can not cash any extra fee ahead of the fee you have under contract with your bank/card provider aso.
i.e. i use a simple Mastercard, the same one since i am 15 or 16 years old, balance for the use get's taken monthly from a german bank account of mine. i pay for the use of the card in a foreign country 1.85% of the amount of money taken and for the use at an ATM i pay a 5 euro fix fee per transaction, independent of the amount of money taken.
ATM's show limits of money per transaction, you can of course do several transactions in a row at the same ATm, one directly after an other. in case of my card they show up as different transactions, 5 euros per transaction plus 1.85% of the amount taken.
check that the limits of your card (daily/monthly limits) are set on a point where the amount suits your daily/weekly/monthly needs and calculate the costs and then compare them to the cost of a dominican bank account, standing in long lines aso. withdraw's at ATM's also always provide you with the real exchange rates, in my case of taking pesos at an ATM getting taken from a euro account provides me with great currency exchange rates, well worth the transaction fees.
hope that helps
Mike

[daydream]

I have also used my Nationwide card all over and have never been charged - the exchange rate they use is also very favourable.

If you wish to open a peso account you can open one at Progresso with just your passport - you don't need references (this was the case in the branch in Puerto Plata)

Daydream

[granca]

1) The UK Nationwide Visa or Mastercard carries no charges on the exchange rate for its use here (or anywhere else). You get Visa's or M.C.'s international exchange rate. There is a 2 1/2 % charge on the sterling value which they call a cash advance charge and you are charged interest from day one.
2) Banco Popular will open an account for you on production of Passport. My advice is to have both a peso and dollar account both to be of the ahorro type , so you get interest,
3) Money transfers can be done through HIFX Ltd, there is no charge for £5,000 and above. They exchange it into dollars and put it into your dollar account, takes 3 to 4 days.
4) You can take dollars out of the account, up to $3,000 on demand. Do not change it into pesos at the bank, their exchange rate is horrible. Try CaribeTours.
All this is from personal experience. Buena suerte.

[MikeFisher]

Originally Posted by granca

1) The UK Nationwide Visa or Mastercard carries no charges on the exchange rate for its use here (or anywhere else). You get Visa's or M.C.'s international exchange rate. There is a 2 1/2 % charge on the sterling value which they call a cash advance charge and you are charged interest from day one.
2) Banco Popular will open an account for you on production of Passport. My advice is to have both a peso and dollar account both to be of the ahorro type , so you get interest,
3) Money transfers can be done through HIFX Ltd, there is no charge for £5,000 and above. They exchange it into dollars and put it into your dollar account, takes 3 to 4 days.
4) You can take dollars out of the account, up to $3,000 on demand. Do not change it into pesos at the bank, their exchange rate is horrible. Try CaribeTours.
All this is from personal experience. Buena suerte.

good advice,
just one point to add.
for your expenses in Pesos just always transfer a specific amount of pounds to the pesos bank account, always the best exchange rate, the money you will keep as a saving of course transfer on a US dollar account. that way no exchange rate involved.
and yes, open savings accounts)named 'cuenta de ahorro', so the bank pays you interests, don't open "cuentas corriente", here the banks would charge you fees for maintaining the account).
Mike

[kurdela]

Thanks a lot for your replies. I'm really really grateful))