Peru Guide
Money
Banks and wiring money
Bank opening hours vary enormously, but as a general rule most are open weekdays from 8am until 5pm. In Lima, in particular, many banks close for the afternoon at about 1pm from January to March; the Banco de Credito, Peru's most efficient bank, has some branches that open on Saturday mornings, but this isn't the norm. Try to avoid going to the bank on Friday afternoons, and it's generally better to arrive first thing in the morning. Most banks will change dollar travellers' cheques and there are often relatively shorter lines at the Banco de Credito, while Banco Continental and Interbanc usually have air-conditioned offices and shorter waits. There's an enormous amount of time-consuming paperwork involved in even the simplest transactions – some places fill out several copies of each form. You'll always need to show your passport.
Having money wired from home using one of the companies listed below is never cheap but can be convenient and useful in emergencies. Western Union is the most ubiquitous of money-wiring companies, with offices in all major cities of Peru; their Peru call centre number is 
01/442-0014 or 0800-12080. It's also possible to have money wired directly from a bank in your home country to a bank in Peru, although this is somewhat less reliable because it involves two separate institutions and usually takes three days. If you go this route, your home bank will need the address of the branch bank where you want to pick up the money and the address and telex number of the Lima head office, which will act as the clearing house; money wired this way normally takes two to five working days to arrive, and costs around £25/$40 per transaction. The Banco Continental, Banco de Credito and Interbanc offer a relatively smooth service at the Peru end.