OPEN YOUR SAVINGS ACCOUNT IN PERU! (EASY GUIDE)

GUIDE FOR BANKING ADVICES IN PERU (FOREIGNERS ONLY!)

This guide suits perfectly for any foreigner in Peru who wants to open a bank account (not only venezuelans)

After I arrived to Peru the first advice people gave me (as a foreigner) was: open a bank account! It’s an easy procedure for any tourist if you know how the system here works (no tricks, just internet bureaucracy). The coin here is called “SOL” (like the sun), and they also do transactions with USD (you can sell your used stuff in USD or Soles using pages like mercadolibre or OLX, the south american equivalents of Craiglist or Ebay).

Let me explain the whole procedure, if your spanish isn't up to the task then use Google Translate or any other translation tool (the peruvian government page is only in spanish) (easy steps):

1.- Go to any office of "Banco de la Nacion" (Peruvian National Bank) and deposit s/16 (16 soles) for concept 01814. The cashier will give you a receipt (don't throw it, you will need it for the next steps)

2.- Open the following link https://cel.migraciones.gob.pe:8081/pesd2/PEFC_Inicio and click in the first button to the right (see the image)

3.- Fill all the data (easy stuff) and press "CONTINUAR"

4.- Now you will fill the data concerning your bank receipt (step 1).

5.- The page will generate a PDF document (Permiso para firmar contratos). Download and print it.

6.- Go to any agency of BCP (Banco de Crédito del Perú). This is the largest bank and the leading supplier of integrated financial services in Perú. Bring with you: Passport, the page you printed in step 4 and at least s/10 and 3usd.

7.- You can open a savings account in soles and US dollars. Both accounts will use VISA debit cards, My advice: ask for one debit card per account.

8.- You're done! Easy and fast... I did all this in 2 hours (going to Banco de la Nación, printing the PDF, going to BCP Bank, etc).

9.- You can use your cards anywhere (internet and abroad), can receive international deposits (US dollars, euros, etc... just remember to ask for the SWIFT code). In the bank you can also ask for enabling your debit cards for online buys (that's a must, the are disabled to buy via internet by default). If you have (I hope you do) an smartphone just install the BCP app (Android or iOS) and ask also for your digital token (this is a security measure for transfers to third-persons accounts

If you have any doubts please let me know in the comments below...

Take care