Costa Rica Guide: Money

Our money guide provides information on bank accounts, credit and debit cards and money transfers. If you need to open a bank account, we will explain how to do it - step by step.

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  Banks & Currency

  An introduction to Costa Rica's financial system

  The currency in Costa Rica is the Colon, denoted as C. The Colon is divided into 100 céntimos. Colon notes in circulation are C 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, and 10,000. Coins in circulation are of C 5, 10, 20, 25, 50 and 100.

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  Accounts

  How to open a bank account in Costa Rica

  Different banks in Costa Rica all hold different requirements for opening a bank account. For savings accounts in Colones, initial deposits range from 3,000 Colones to 25,000 Colones. For US Dollar accounts count on a range from US$ 10 to US$ 500.

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  Insurance

  Types of Insurance

  Insurance in Costa Rica is a state monopoly. In Costa Rica, this means only the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) and its agents can sell insurance. Dealing with the INS directly can be very difficult, whereas agents are more customer friendly.

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