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Would you like to open a bank account in Venezuela?
Here is important information about Venezuelan banks.
Opening a Bank Account
To open a bank account in Venezuela, you will have to provide the bank with identification, a utility bill showing an address in Venezuela, a reference from your current bank and a personal reference, preferably from a Venezuelan.
Types of Bank Accounts
Venezuelan banks offer savings accounts and checking accounts.
If you open a checking account, you will be given a checkbook and a debit card.
Currency
Banks in Venezuela only accept the local currency - the bolivar fuerte. There are very strict rules about exchanging foreign currency, and charges for foreign currency exchanges can be very high.
Venezuela has a very active, and illegal, black market, which exchanges foreign country at a much lower cost than legitimate financial institutions do.
Because exchanging bolivar fuertes to another currency, such as US dollars, can be very expensive, you should be very careful if you must carry US dollars or another foreign currency with you. Try not to carry large amounts of foreign currency at once. Thieves often target people with foreign currency.
Banks of Venezuela
Venezuela has state and private banking systems.
The state banking system includes the country's central bank, as an industrial bank and an agricultural bank. The Venezuelan Development Corporation, a state-run organization, operates a number of banks.
Within the private banking system, there are savings and loans, mortgage banks and commercial banks.
A banco universal (universal bank) can provide all kinds of banking services, including personal savings and chekcing accounts, loans, mortgages, investments and corporate banking.
Some international banks have branches in Venezuela. |