Banco Pichincha Bank Account

To open an account at this bank you need the following:

1)   A referral letter written by an Ecuadorian (not an expat) who has an account with Banco Pichincha

2)   A copy of a utility bill from the place where you are staying
           * They use this for the address only.
           * It does not have to have your name on it

3)   A statement that shows the money you will be transferring (to obtain an investment CD)

4)   Two color copies of your passport

5)   Two color copies of some additional ID (e.g., credit card, driver's license)

6)   Certificado de Empartemiento
           * This is a certificate you can obtain after you have applied for a 6 month visa
           * I was told they need this to insure you will be staying in the country. However, that
             doesn't make much sense because that would only guarantee your stay for 6 months.
           * In my case, they did not require me to have it.

The only reason I need a bank account in Ecuador is, specifically, because I need to invest $25,000 US in order to obtain an Investment Visa (which will allow me to stay in Ecuador).

Most people will be collecting their full pension and will not require an Investment Visa; but rather, a Retirement Visa (which only requires you to prove that you have $800 US per month coming from a pension plan. 

Acceptable pension plans in Canada are CPP, OAS and pensions from a workplace and Social Security in the US (as well as workplace pensions).

The $800, I mentioned, is for one person. For each additional dependent (spouses included) you have to add an additional $100.

My contact at Banco Pichincha is Senior Omar Bermeo Bravo. He is very helpful and speaks fairly good English. He is located on the 3rd floor (tres piso in Spanish).

The account took about 20 minutes to setup with all the paperwork and form filling. But, I had to wait 3 working days before my passport number showed up in the Banco Pichincha system. This delay could have to do with the fact that their computer system will not accept letters as part of a passport number. They just use the numbers which means that if you are unlucky and someone else from your country is already here with the same set of numbers you might have a problem. The odds are pretty much in your favour though.