albertabob

Have read quite a bit about the diffiulties people have using the ATM's in Costa Rica. When I raised this potential concern with my bank, I was advised that it is necessary for them to pre-authorize the cards for international use. It only took seconds but it is apparently something that has to be done. So...thought I would pass this possible solution on!
p.s. was also advised to ensure my credit card company was notified that charges from that part of the world would be forthcoming.

kthyrn

I did not have a problem using the ATM's in CR or getting them to work. There are a couple of different charges as you might imagine and of course the conversion rate to consider, but for the convenience it was ok. I did not preauthorize anything prior to going and had no problem.

faithie

We had no troubles whatsoever with the ATM's....

MonicaRichards

We had quite a few problems getting our card to work in Costa Rica and we had called our bank in advance and even called them half-way through our trip only to be assured that it was nothing on their end causing a problem. I guess sometimes the ATMs in Costa Rica are just finiky.

shillmac

Certain ATM's work with certain cards. In part, it has to do with the type of card you are using. Plus is accepted more widely than Cirrus. Our bank card that we prefer to use (we don't use credit cards at ATM's) is a Cirrus card and most of Costa Rica's ATM's don't accept it. We have found that the Bank of San Jose will, so we try to use their ATM machines when possible. There just aren't as many BofSJ ATM's as there are some of the larger banks. Of course, you can always do your business inside the bank with no problem, but it definitely is more inconvenient.

We learned a few years ago that our credit card wouldn't work in Costa Rica if we hadn't let them know that we would be using it out of the country between such and such dates. This is actually a security measure that we appreciate. We always call and give a heads up on our travel plans.