The last couple of weeks have rendered many lessons about getting money from the States to Nicaragua...specifically San Juan del Sur. Let me summarize a few facts I have learned about the subject...
1) A foreigner can open a bank account here if you know how and have the patience. I'm told that BDF will allow you to open an account with 2 letters of reference and a passport. Havin gnot done this I can not verify any further details.
2) BAC has a branch in Miami and it may be possible to open an account there and then be able to access your account directly from any of their numerous branches here.
3) Getting money from the ATM requires that the power is on, that there is money in the machine to be withdrawn, that the machine is working and finally that the Casa Blanca hotel where the machine is located is open. Having all three of these elements in place at the same time does happen, although the odds are against.
4) Travelers checks are as useless as a wet box of rocks. There are very few places that will cash them at all and when they do there's a hefty (like 20 percent usually) exchange fee and they can sometimes take as long as 2 weeks to clear. In San Juan del Sur a hostel called Casa de Oro will cash them at a fair rate but only when the manager is there. In Managua the BAC bank main branch office will also cash them at a good rate. This might take some time since you have to speak with about 3 or 4 different people to make it happen.
5) Sending money by western union is possible but the last time I tried to do a legitimate transaction from their web site it was declined and they wouldn't even tell me why. The money was deducted from the sending account and not recredited for a couple of days. I won't use this method in the future.
6) Wire transfers work fine but you must have the info for the bank in the States, the bank in Nicaragua and the payee. For all three entities you must also provide physical addresses even though Nicaragua doesn't even have names for most places here. Some improvisation may be required. I have found the best source for physical addresses of banks here to be the Nicaraguan online yellow pages results of a google search on the bank name.
7) Everyone here experiences cash flow problems eventually. It is usually temporary and can be minimized by proper planning. If you're not a jerk people here will be happy to help you through the rough spots.
I will likely continue this post later as I get more experience on the subject.
