Total Uruguay Expat eBook
Banks, Banking and ATM's in Uruguay
FranklinThis article will hope to give a brief overview of the banks and banking system in Uruguay to make it easier for expats to adjust and travelers to enjoy their trip. Most of the focus will be on Montevideo.
Uruguay is a cash economy so one of the main differences you will experience is that it is not common to use checks. Even travelers checks will be difficult to cash. Most monthly bills are paid in cash at a local establishment.
Although US Dollars are commonly accepted at businesses for pesos transactions, you'll get the best rate changing your dollars at a currency exchange. Some products (mostly consumer electronics and some other high ticket items) are priced in dollars. For those you are best paying with dollars. Otherwise you'll have converted your dollars to pesos and then your pesos back to dollars (and probably not at a good rate).
If you are using your credit card to pay for a purchase, make sure they charge your card in the currency of the transaction. ie: if you are buying something in Pesos, make sure your card is charged in Pesos. Your bank will give you a better exchange rate than the store. Again, if the item is priced in Dollars, make sure your credit card is charged in Dollars. You might find a few stores will refuse to charge your credit card in dollars. I would recommend paying in US currency, as I've found the actual charge to be about 5% more than the listed price in such a situation.
ATM's
Unlike the United States where each bank seems to have its own ATM network, Uruguay has 3 ATM networks. "Bancomat", "Red Banc" and "RedBrou". Note: "red" means "network".
The RedBrou ATM's are owned by the BROU Bank (Banco de Republica de Oriental de Uruguay). I find these are often the most problematic. They will often not give out a currency different than the account and sometimes will go out of service when I put my US ATM card in the machine.
The private banks and other locations will have ATMs from Red Banc or Bancomat. These usually function better I have found. They will usually give you the choice of English or Spanish for foreign cards. They only operate in Spanish when you put in a card from an Uruguayan bank.
In general you should be able to withdraw US Dollars or Pesos from your US bank accounts. The machines will dispense US$100 bills or 1,000, 500 or 100 Pesos Uruguayan notes. Because large bills can be hard to change in stores, I normally withdraw 4,900 pesos rather than 5,000 pesos. That gives me some small bills. There are various limits. First your card may have a daily limit. For example one of my US ATM cards limits me to US$500 a day. Regardless of any local ATM limits I can't withdraw more than US$500 in a day no matter what. For my other US ATM cards it is usually US$300 or 5,000 pesos per transaction. So, I can withdraw US$500 in amounts of US$300 and then US$200. Sometimes the limit is US$100. That requires 5 transactions to take out US$500. Check your banks service charges or this could be VERY expensive. It varies greatly bank to bank. Before you move away from the USA see if you can find a bank that has low or no service charges for foreign ATM transactions. HSBC charges me 3% of any ATM transaction $'s or Pesos. A small community bank doesn't charge me any service charges or currency transaction fees. Shop around before you move! Some European and Australian card holders have said they are limited to 2,000 pesos. It's not clear if that it a local ATM limit or a limit of their bank. If you are having trouble making a withdrawal , make sure you are select the correct account (savings, checking, or credit). Try a lower amount. Try a different ATM and/or network. Here is a list of:
Currency Exchange
There are many currency exchanges (called a "cambio") around town. Red Pagos, Abitab (though some of these are just for paying bills and not for exchanging currency), Gales and others. You will probably find they offer better exchange rates than the banks. I've found that they usually give a better rate than their sign outside shows . If you go to a Red Pagos and actively ask what is the best rate they can offer you it will often be better than what they show on the sign in the window (except at the malls, it is always the rate shown on the signs).
If you are changing to a different currency, for example US Dollars to Brazilian Reals, they might change to pesos first, resulting in a very poor exchange rate. The currency exchanges might negotiate a little bit. Don't be afraid to ask.
Banks:
There are two "government" banks you can do business with and a fair number of private banks. The two government banks are:
Banco Hipotecario del Uruguay (BHU).
This is the "mortgage" bank but it is also used for depositing security deposits when renting a property.
Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay (BROU)
This is a general bank and seems to be the easiest for foreigner to open accounts. They have full online banking (in Spanish). They also seem to have the slowest, most bureaucratic, longest lines! (although you may be lucky and sometimes only have a short wait)
You can open accounts in US Dollars, Pesos and Euros. The requirements to open an account seem to be: US$500 for dollar accounts, 3000 pesos for pesos accounts. If you are a resident, you need nothing more than the initial deposit and your Uruguayan Cedula (ID), but as a non-resident foreigner you may need two pieces of ID (a passport and foreign drivers license) to open an account,
The branch you open your account at will probably be the only branch you can make changes to your account. I might recommend the branch at Punta Carretas Shopping. They seem to have slightly better hours and shorter lines.
When you open your account they will ask you about receiving and sending wires. ie: how many wires a month will you receive, from where and for how much. If you are planing to wire money every month for your living expenses, it is best to give them the information when you open your account.
Some have reported lots of grief when trying to receive a wire when they didn't give the information upon account opening.
BROU bank will not accept checks written on foreign bank accounts. Many of the private banks will.
Check with BROU Bank for their service charges and transaction limits. You get a certain number of ATM transactions each month at RedBROU ATMs for free depending on your balance.
Private Banks:
In general you'll find the private banks to be easier to work with (once your account is open). Shorter lines and more services (ie: depositing foreign checks). You'll also find the opening balances and procedures to open an account more difficult.
You may need your ID, proof of address, references from other bank(s) and a significant minimum deposit. If you are a U.S. Citizen there may be additional issues (see below).
If you have an account at one of these banks, in another country, for example, a Citibank account in the USA, don't expect Citibank here to be any easier to deal with.
*Note: the dates listed below are the "Fecha de Instalación" (date of opening) according to the Banco Central del Uruguay
Banco Bandes Uruguay S.A.
Address: Sarandí 402
Date: 25-Ago-2006
Phone: 916 0100
Banco Itaú Uruguay S.A.
(Previously Bank Boston)
Address:Zabala 1463
Date: 01-Mar-2007
Phone: 916 0127
Fax: 916 1739
Crédit Uruguay Banco S.A.
Address: Rincón 500
Date: 01-Ene-1998
Phone: 915 0095
Fax: 916 4292
Nuevo Banco Comercial S.A.
Address: Cerrito 400
Date: 24-Mar-2003
Phone: 916 0541
Fax: 915 3569
Discount Bank (Latin America) S.A.
Address: Rincón 390
Date: 01 January 1978
Phone: (00598 2) 916 4848
Fax: 916 0890
Banco Santander S.A.
(Recent aquired ABN AMRO)
Address: Cerrito 449
Date: 20th September 1982
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Uruguay S.A. (BBVA)
Address: 25 de Mayo 401
Date: 1st October 1964
Phone: (00598 2) 916 1444
Fax: 916 1675
HSBC Bank (Uruguay) S.A.
Address: Ituzaingó 1389
Date: 15-Nov-1977
Phone: 915 3395
Fax: 916 0125
Banco Surinvest S.A.
Address: Rincón 530
Date: 20-Nov-1991
Phone: 916 0177
FaxL 916 0241
Citibank N.A. Sucursal Uruguay
Address: Cerrito 455
Date: 02-Ago-1915
Phone: 915 0374
Lloyds TSB Bank plc
Address: Zabala 1500
Date: 01-Set-1862
Phone: 916 1370
Fax: 916 1262
Banco de la Nación Argentina
Address: Juan C. Gomez 1372
Phone: 916 0078
Fax: 916 4582
Deposit Insurance
Inside the banks they have a sign that says they have insurance on deposits in non-peso accounts up to US$5,000 and for peso accounts UI250,000 (250,000 Indexed Units). As of July 17, 2009, 1 UI = 1.9384 Pesos. So the insurance coverage for pesos accounts is 484,600 pesos or about US$20,000 equivalent. An excerpt in Spanish from the most recent report on the deposit insurance (2007, PDF, Spanish): a garantía operará cuando corresponda según lo establecido en el artículo 7 del referido Decreto (liquidación o suspensión de actividades), hasta la suma de US$ 5.000 (equivalentes al 31 de diciembre de 2007 a $ 107.500) para el total de depósitos en moneda extranjera que tenga constituido cada persona física o jurídica en cada Institución de intermediación financiera comprendida en el régimen, y hasta el equivalente a UI 250.000 (equivalentes al 31 de diciembre de 2007 a $ 433.450) para el total de depósitos en moneda nacional que tenga constituido cada persona física o jurídica en cada una de esas instituciones.
Banco Central del Uruguay
They offer some fairly comprehensive information in English about banking and related topics.
Notes for U.S. Citizens and U.S. Residents (green card holders)
Some of the private banks in Uruguay may refuse to open accounts for U.S. Citizens and green card holders. I was told by two of the banks that they would open an account after I got Uruguayan residency. I never returned to find out if they would and their ownership has since changed anyway.
Some U.S. Citizens report that some of the private banks request they completely a 1099 form to report interest earnings to the USA.
I have opened accounts at other private banks in Uruguay that didn't have any special requirements for U.S. Citizen, Non-Uruguayan residents. I am not listing the names here because they may have changed their policies and there aren't that many banks that you can't ask.
Aside from what grief a bank may or many not give you for being a U.S. Citizen, there is a question on your 1040 tax form asking whether you have foreign bank accounts with a total of US$10,000 or more (ie: 1 bank account with US$10,000 or 10,000 bank accounts each with US$1). If so, there is also an annual treasury form you must complete detailing those bank accounts (the bank, your account number and a rough indication of the balance, ie: under $10,000, over $10,000, over $100,000 etc).
You should contact your tax adviser, CPA and/or attorney for questions about your foreign bank account reporting obligations and the penalties for not making the reports.
Update for Non-Uruguay Residents There seems to be much talk and confusion about non-residents opening bank accounts in Uruguay. A friend, from the United States went to BROU bank on February 9, 2010 to open an account. He speaks just a little bit of Spanish and this is the story he relayed. His first attempt was on a Friday afternoon and after visiting two branches he gave up because both offices had long lines. Tuesday afternoon was better and he had to wait for 8 people in front of him in line. That was the longest part of the process. What BROU required for him to open his account: 1) US Passport, 2) Drivers License from the USA (with his address imprinted on it), 3) an address in Uruguay, and 4) US$500 (only US$200 is required, but there is no monthly fee with a US$500 balance). He was asked if he lived in Uruguay and responded that he was just visiting but planned to apply for residency. He was asked for an address in Uruguay and he gave the address where he is staying (verbally, no documentation was required). He said the whole process took 10 or 15 minutes and was as easy if not easier than opening an account in the USA.
Banks, Banking and ATM's in Uruguay
Total Uruguay Expat eBook
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