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Bank Transfers within Costa Rica Using SINPE

by Super User

Bank to Bank Transfers within Costa Rica Using SINPE 

If you have an bank account at one of the Costa Rican banks you can transfer funds electronically between your account and accounts at any of the other Costa Rican banks using the SINPE platform which is (Sistema Nacional de Pagos Electronicos)  the national electronic payments system operated by the Central Bank of Costa Rica (Banco Central).

The system allows the transfer of money from different banking entibies in Costa Rica by way of a private communications network.  To use the system your bank must be a participant and all banks in Costa Rica do participate in the program.

All you need to have is either a checking, savings, or credit card  with one of the local Costa Rica banks (private or public bank).   Cuenta Cliente SINPE NumberOnce you have the account set up then you can request that  your bank provide you with the 17 digit “client account” number which will be required to send or receive funds.  The client account number is  known locally as the Cuenta Cliente. 

In addition to the 17 digit cuenta cliente  number you will also need to have the the identification number of the person or corporation where you are sending the funds to.   This means you will need the Costa Rican cedula number or the persons residency card number (DIMEX).  The system so far does not allow transfer to persons that do not have either a Costa Rican cedula or Costa Rican residency.   In addition to the identification number you will need to input the  full name of the individual or corporation.

If you have on-line banking you can enter the SINPE section and transfer electronically.  See the example of the SINPE screen for the Banco de Costa Rica below.   You can also request a SINPE transfer with the customer service department of your local bank  branch.

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