The Banco de Costa Rica and Banco Nacional took the first steps Monday to form a single entity that could compete with private banks.
What the change means is that a cheque written on a Banco Nacional account can now be cashed at a Banco de Costa Rica branch, and vice versa, without having the need to got to the issuing bank or depositing the instrument and waiting for the clearing period of days. Tellers in either bank will have access to a customer’s account information and will accept deposits, payments or other transactions as if they were in the home bank. Automatic teller cards also will work in machines maintained by either bank.
