At Habla Ya we know it's not easy to pay for something that you haven't seen, in a far distant country, miles and miles away, so you can save your spot with just a $99 deposit and PAY THE REST UPON ARRIVAL! After you Sign Up & Register!, we'll confirm your booking details via email and send you a secure link to reserve your spot. Your $99 deposit will count towards tuition - Spanish lessons, or in case of "no-show" or cancellation within 1 week of start date, will be considered a cancellation fee. Just as most small businesses, we're greatly impacted by last minute cancellations, as it's difficult to assign your spot to someone else, so please let us know asap if your plans change and we'll reimburse your $99 if you let us know with at least 7 days in advance of your start date. Emergency Cancellation Policy: due to COVID-19, our regular cancellation policy cannot apply and we have put in place an emergency cancellation policy. We are currently unable to grant any refunds but we can grant credits towards Online Spanish Lessons or postponing your start date for future dates without losing your deposit.
Cash upon arrival
You can pay all your fees upon arrival. Boquete, Panama City and Bocas del Toro have plenty of ATMs where you can withdraw your money from if you're traveling with a debit or credit card with a valid PIN number. In Bocas del Toro there are two ATMs. In Boquete and Panama City, within a 1 km radius of our school there are about 5 cash points and a similar amount of banks.
You can pay for your program by withdrawing the maximum amount ($500 per day) on several consecutive days during your first week. If you prefer to avoid having to do it like this, then you can also make a bank transfer to our account from abroad.
Cost wise it's obviously more convenient and safer to travel with a debit card (as opposed to having a bunch of cash on you) because many banks do not charge anything for withdrawals made in Panama, others allow a certain amount of international withdrawals per month without any charge and others will charge you around $3 per transaction which is 0.6% per transaction if you withdraw the maximum amount allowed per transaction ($500). A little bit of cash is necessary as many local businesses don't accept credit cards. On the other hand, if you use your credit card you'll probably get charged 3 - 5% per withdrawal or transaction.
Credit & Debit Cards
We accept VISA, Mastercard (1.85% processing fee) and American Express (2.5% processing fee) as forms of payment.
Checks
We accept checks from any local bank (from bank accounts within Panama) at no extra cost, on or before the day your course starts.
If you would like to pay with an international check (from a bank account outside of Panama) or a travelers check we need to receive the check at least 30 days before your course starts and you have to add $10.35 to the total cost of your course to cover the processing fees imposed by the banks in Panama.
Checks from international banks (foreign to Panama) take around 15 days to clear and local banks charge $10.35 to process them. Banco Nacional (which is a local bank) cashes these checks as long as they are written out in your name and charge 1% so this is also another option.
If you would like to pay with a local, international check please write the check to Turismo Educacional, S.A.
If you live in Panama City, Boquete or Bocas del Toro you can bring the international check to our office at least 15 days before your course commences.
If you live outside of Panama please send the check by mail at least 45 days before you plan to study with us. You can post it to the following address:
Eva Barría de Santamaría
Apartado 0816-00204
Panama, Panama
If your course starts within less than 45 days but more than 25 days you can also send the check by DHL or FedEx. With these services a check normally takes 3 business days to reach us. Please use the following information:
Carlos Raúl Cabrera Toledo
Telephone 730 - 8344
Habla Ya Spanish School, Boquete
Chiriqui, Panama
Once you have sent it to us, please let us know writing us an email to . If the funds for the check have not cleared before your course starts, you'll have to select another method to make your payment.
Direct Deposit to our Bank Account
Making a bank transfer is very convenient as you won't have to carry the cash on you, nor will you incur in credit card processing fees or go through having to withdraw $500 per day with your debit card at an ATM upon arrival. If you're paying for your program in another currency rather than US Dollars, then you will most likely get a much better exchange rate as opposed to withdrawing the cash from an ATM upon arrival, paying with a credit card or exchanging currency at the airport (there aren't that many currency exchange options in the country).
To make a deposit to our bank account the following information is provided.
Our account number is 03-48-01-125516-5. Our bank is BANCO GENERAL, S.A. - PANAMA, and or company name is: Turismo Educacional, S.A.
VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE TAKE NOTE: An intermediary bank in the U.S.A is used to make the transfer to Panama. Please specify that the final credit is for Turismo Educacional, S.A., account number 03-48-01-125516-5. YOU ALSO HAVE TO ADD OUR PHYSICAL ADDRESS AND ALSO YOUR OWN ADDRESS. Our address is Central Avenue, Los Establos Plaza, 20-22, Boquete, Chiriquí, Panamá.
Electronic money transfer to:
CITIBANK, NEW YORK, N.Y.
SWIFT CODE CITIUS33
ABA 021000089
for final credit to the account of:
BANCO GENERAL, S.A. - PANAMA
ACCT 10951934
SWIFT CODE BAGEPAPA
For Final Credit to: Turismo Educacional, S.A.
Account number: 03-48-01-125516-5
Western Union
You can make an online wire transfers to Panama using Western Union. If you decide to use this method to make your payment please address payments to:
Carlos Raúl Cabrera Toledo
Boquete, Chiriqui
Panama
Telephone 730 - 8344
Once you have sent the funds please write us an email to letting us know that you have made the payment.