Panama has very strict banking regulations and secrecy. As a result, Panamanian banks make sure that the information you provide is true, such as your residential address or the source of your money. Panama keeps a record of your information and sees to it that there is no chance of fraud. As a result the process is time consuming and requires a lot of patience. However, once you are established and want to open another bank account in Panama, it becomes easy as they already have all of your information and paperwork in their records which must have been previously verified.