General
Banks are open between 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m., Monday to Friday.
To open an account, obtain a credit card or credit, you will need a CPF number (see
Legal and Administrative). Banks may appear inflexible and unhelpful regarding this requirement but it is against the law
to open an account without a CPF number and they face significant penalties if they do so.
Until you have a local account, you can use Travellers' Cheques. In some cases, you
can cash cheques from your home bank using an American Express (or, less commonly, a Diners' Club) card as a guarantee. Most
travel agencies and hotels will change money for you: the official rate for the day is available at 11.00 a.m. which they
generally prefer to wait for.
You can obtain cash advances against an international Visa or MasterCard if you have
a PIN. Automatic teller machines at HSBC, Banco do Brasíl, Bradesco and Unibanco will accept your card.
Some newcomers to Brasíl find the level of physical security at banks off-putting.
Armed guards are a Federal requirement and many banks have adopted revolving doors equipped with metal detectors. The deterrent
associated with these measures is, however, very effective and, in Curitiba, armed robberies are very rare.
Caution should be exercised when using ATM machines at night: no banks in Brasíl
use the "through-the-wall" arrangement seen in other countries and all have secure access facilities. You should ensure that
the selected outlet is well lit and avoid lingering outside the lobby when you have completed your transaction. In addition,
avoid contact in the ATM lobbies with strangers offering assistance (no matter how plausible or well dressed they are).
Banks
The main banks in Curitiba
are HSBC, Banestado, Bradesco, Caixa Economico, Itaú, Real and Unibanco.
In addition to their own proprietary ATM networks, Brazilian bank cards are acceptable
at the nationwide chain of Banco24Horas machines. Banestado is the state bank and the only bank at which certain payments
can be made.
BankBoston, Citibank and Lloyds have branches in Curitiba.
Unless you have an account with them at home they are not very convenient for personal use. They have only one branch each,
located in the city centre and their bank cards don't work at other banks' machines. However, it is possible to have money
transferred to them from overseas.
Bank accounts and credit
When you open a current (or checking) account, you will be issued with a cheque book.
Dependent upon the bank you choose, you will receive them either one at a time or in batches: New cheque books are delivered
to your home or collected from your branch. Some banks have service charges based upon the number of cheques you write: many
banks print the limit for which the bank will guarantee payment on the face of the cheque.
It is essential that you establish overdraft facilities in advance. A cheque returned
for insufficient funds can have serious consequences that include entry of your name into central databases to which all banks
(and many retail outlets) have access. Removing your name from the blacklist can take up to a year and is, of course, a complicated
process. A second returned cheque would usually lead to a closure of your accounts and cancellation of your credit card. Cheques
are widely accepted, principally because Brazilian consumers appreciate the consequences of writing cheques that may not be
honoured.
You will also receive a cash machine card when you open your account: this can be
used as a debit card in most supermarkets and many shops as well. Cash machines limit the amount you can withdraw in one day
and at any one time as a security measure. It is usually up to R$600.
Transferring money
Whilst much of the bureaucracy associated with Brazilian exchange control has been
removed, inward remittances are still monitored by the Central Bank and you will have to sign a number of documents acknowledging
receipt of funds transferred from overseas. It is advisable to let your bank in Brasíl know that you have arranged a transfer
from overseas.
