Bank accounts
 

Just thought people may find it useful to know what they need in order to obtain a bank account in Barbados. I've been to both Scotia and First Caribbean and they are both pretty similar. I am going through the final processes with regards to a work permit but as of yet it's not in my passport. I've still managed to get a current/chequing account but am unable to get a credit card until the permit is fully granted. The things you need to open the current account are;

1. A letter stating your employment, including annual salary.
2. A letter stating your accommodation from your landlord, or utility bills with your name and address.
3. A reference letter from your UK bank manager stating you are responsible and keep you accounts in good order.
4. Two forms of identification, drivers licence and passport are fine.

In order to get credit for a credit card you must reside on the island for at least 3 years. With Scotiabank you can get a credit card but the credit must be backed up by savings. So if you wanted a 3000 BDS limit you have to give them 3000 BDS which they hold in a separate savings account for you. You can then add to, or take away from this figure as you wish.

Both banks offer credit cards with which you can collect air miles. With Scotia you can collect American Airline miles, as they are 'one world alliance' partners with British Airways you can use them on BA flights. There is no minimum salary, to my knowledge, to qualify for this credit card. As I said before the credit is secured by your savings.
First Caribbean now offer a Platinum BA credit card. I am unsure how the credit bit works for this, I presume it may be similar to the Scotia card, however to qualify for this card you need a minimum monthly income of 10,000 BDS.

I've gone with Scotiabank mainly because my company bank with them, they have an office close to where I work and because of recommendations from friends and colleagues. They also have an 18-30's current account which has no monthly fee, unlike other current accounts.

Hope this helps.

Re: Bank accounts
 

I have posted in other threads on this topic and I have to say that while DPS03 may be correct he doesn't tell the whole story - not his fault I am sure he is speaking from experience and about his circumstance.

I have a FCIB Offshore account for which I only needed the identification, bank reference letter and to give an idea of where the money originated from. I used a solicitor's letter from UK showing a house sale. Once they had opened the offshore account for me they also instructed an FCIB branch of my choosing to open a BD$ account into which I can transfer money as and when I need it.

This process removed me from the first two bits of DPS03's procedure - luckily for me as I am not here on a work permit or such.

To maintain the offshore account I only need to keep the equivalent of £60000 in accounts/savings/investments with FCIB.

Transferring cash onto the island costs me around US$2 a time regardless of the amount I choose to move in.

Hope this adds to the information from DPS03

Ian

Re: Bank accounts
 

Can you use any Canadian debit cards down here?

Re: Bank accounts
 

i'm guessing not unless the card has one of the affiliation like Plus or one of those.. and when you say a debit card.. I have a US Visa Debit Card, which is accepted like a VISA but it debits straight from my US account (and I don't really use it here, but I'm guessing I could).. or are you talking about a bank ATM card.??