Banking Transactions: More Controls in Panama

[Moderator_02]

Quote

Banking Transactions: More Controls in Panama

From May 2019, foreign customers will have to declare to local system banks that their funds meet their country's tax requirements.

Thursday, April 25, 2019

The Superintendence of Banks of Panama (SBP) approved Agreement 02-2019, which implements the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, which consists of expanding the required due diligence measures of banks with their customers.

Regarding foreign customers, the agreement explains that "... Affidavit indicating that the inflows and outflows made to the financial institution comply and will comply with tax obligations in their country or countries of tax residence.”

Carlos Berguido, executive president of the Panama Banking Association, told Prensa.com that "... the guild was consulted during the drafting of the agreement, which seeks to standardize actions by enacting the law that criminalizes fraud and lists it as a predicate crime for money laundering."

Berguido added that "... in a broader context, this and other requirements imposed as a measure of risk aversion make customers have an unattractive experience and a comprehensive review of due diligence procedures is needed."

Banks and fiduciaries will have until May 15, 2020, to comply with Articles 1 and 2 of this Agreement, the document explains.

See Agreement 02-2019.

 

https://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Banking_Transactions_More_Controls_in_Panama

[Keith Woolford]

13 hours ago, Moderator_02 said:

this and other requirements imposed as a measure of risk aversion make customers have an unattractive experience

No kidding.

Edited April 28, 2019 by Keith Woolford

[Maureen]

When I went into Scotia Bank in January, to deposit a check written on my Chase account in the States, I was told that this was the last time I could do it. They are not accepting any more foreign checks.

[JohnF13]

Same bank told me that they would charge $300 to cash a cheque from my Canadian Scotiabank, even if I wrote it from my U.S. funds account.  They are not making it easy, folks!

[Uncle Doug]

The US has imposed very nasty and expensive regulations on Panama banks with accounts owned by US citizens. Scotia apparently is making an effort to get rid of their American account holders. While regrettable, it's somewhat understandable. 

[Maureen]

Yes, I can see their point, but on the one hand the government welcomed us and our money with incentives, and on the other hand they make certain things nearly impossible. FATCA and the Panama Papers did nothing to help. 

Earlier this year I was left a small legacy in England, over 10,000, and I had it transferred into Scotia. They wanted to know what it was for, where it came from, who it came from, and all the details of the transfer. I just sent them a copy of everything. Meanwhile millions of dollars are changing hands at a 'higher level'. It's just annoying.

[Bud]

I talked with the bank manager for our bank (Multibank) earlier today and she assured me that there are no plans by their management to make any changes. She was aware of reports from others that some other banks are making changes, some with onerous fees and others with dramatically high minimum balance requirements. She even mentioned that if the idea were to come up within Multibank that she would advise management against it because she knows many of her customers would go elsewhere.

We were relieved to hear her feedback because that is how we get our funds into Panama from our US bank. (For us we just write a check on our US bank account and deposit it in Multibank, then a five day hold, and no fees involved, but with a $3K limit at each instance; never been a problem for us.)

[Maureen]

Wow. Scotio held the check for 3 weeks and charged around $25 for an $8000 check on our US bank. So Multibank wins that one, hands down!