Opening a Costa Rican Bank Account

I had intended to open a local bank account since we came here in 2008 but it always sounded difficult and required - I thought - a considerable sum of money. I had read online that Banco Costa Rica (BCR) requested 2 letters of recommendation from people with accounts there. Since I am not yet a resident, I thought that I would also need to open an account in our corporation name. This would require "original" documents stamped, signed and dated within the last 30 days from our lawyer in San Jose. Lastly I had read, somewhere, that an initial deposit of $200 was required. Well I finally got around to requesting letters from 2 friends, had some extra money put aside for the deposit and had a packet of corporation documents that were a little more than 30 days old but at least worth a try. I was ready. As it turns out, I was able to open the account, in my own name, with a $20 deposit and am now able to pay my Costa Rican bills online from anywhere in the world. Guess the lesson I learned from this is to ask the source and NOT trust everything you read online.