Banks in Chile: Tips for Expats

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Chile has several major banks serving private clients. According to 2024 rankings, the largest by Tier 1 capital are:

• Banco Santander Chile (largest by capital)
• Banco de Chile
• Banco de Credito e Inversiones (BCI)
• BancoEstado (most accessible for expats)
• Banco Itau Chile
• Scotiabank
• BBVA

You can also find a lot of representative offices of international banks, but that's not what interests us now, as they are mostly focused on corporate clients.

Which bank to choose?

In most countries, when you need to choose a bank, you compare their services, the price, and their reputation, and then you choose the one that seems the best fit for your needs.

That's how it should work in theory.

But in Chile, opening a bank account remains challenging for expats in 2024. Banks are conservative and typically deny services to foreigners without proof of high income from local companies, usually requiring two years of residency. You'll likely open an account with the first bank that accepts you, which could be your company's bank or through personal connections.

To help you choose, here are a few facts:

• BancoEstado is the most accessible option for expats, being the only bank that consistently works with temporary residents. You can open a CuentaRUT online as soon as you get your national ID. It's the public bank and doesn't discriminate by income level.
• Banco BCI has a service called BCI NACE, which is dedicated to new entrepreneurs, who are just starting their company. A few years ago, banks were only willing to open accounts to companies already making money… Now, it's still difficult, but BCI is one of the most entrepreneur-friendly.
• Banco ITAU and Banco Santander are focused on affluent people. Therefore, if you have a nice steady income or a lot of assets (not necessarily in Chile), you should not have problems. Same thing if you are an entrepreneur with a nice project that has a growth potential. If not, these might not be the best option.
• ScotiaBank offers a "Cuenta Corriente para Extranjeros" specifically for foreigners on temporary visas, requiring proof of monthly income of at least CL$301,000. Despite its name, it doesn't offer credits or checks - technically it's a "cuenta vista."
• Banco BICE offers a current account without a credit line, and is more inclined to open an account if your project is large enough (a few hundred thousand euros).

Very limited opening hours

Like most administrations in Chile, banks are only open from 9 am to 2 pm, Monday to Friday, which explains the queue you can sometimes see at 8:45 am when you walk near a bank. Everyone wants to do operations before going to work.

A few branches can open a little later, or even during the weekend, but that's (very) rare. Have a look at your bank's website for more information.

However, it's good to know that even if a bank closes at 2 pm (sometimes 15 minutes before), they will attend you if they have allowed you to enter.

Online services

Online banking services are well developed in Chile, with penetration rates reaching nearly 30% by 2023. Your online account allows wire transfers, balance checks, and other banking operations. The interbank wire transfer system provides immediate availability of funds between local banks. However, you generally cannot open accounts online - you must appear in person at a branch with required documentation.

Keep these two things in mind:

• Try to download your bank statements as soon as they are available (especially for company accounts). Indeed, you can download the last 12 statements for free, but they will charge you for older statements.
• Check that your relationship manager has properly registered your email in the system. All wire notifications or confirmation requests are indeed sent by email. But I got the same problem with two banks: none of them registered my mail, and none of their systems generated an error when trying to send an email to an account with no mail registered. Therefore, you are stuck without the possibility to perform a wire transfer, or to check if you have received funds...

Do you want to go more in detail?

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✅ Practical tips based on 7-year relocation experience
✅ To-do lists to help you start
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