# Transfer large $ to Mexico



## HughT (Jan 18, 2017)

Hello,
I am new here and beginning to come up with concrete questions about our move to Mexico. We are a same sex couple currently living in the USA. My husband is a Mexican national. We hope to move by the end of this summer. Question one is: What is the best way to get large amounts of US$ to Mexico. We will be selling our house and will eventually buy one in Mexico. I am planning on living in Mexico but for a few more years will commute to my job in the USA. I work for the airlines so it really does not matter where I live as long as I have an airport near by. We will be living near Leon for that purpose. I'm assuming I will need to get a permanent resident visa? Of course health care, current health insurance, medications, mail, do I need to keep an address in the US?, are a few more concerns. I appreciate any help and look forward to hearing from you and perhaps meeting some of you. Thank you.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Try Intercam


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## michmex (Jul 15, 2012)

we used wire transfers for our USA bank directly into our Mexican bank account. Cost was about $25 at each end of the transfer. 1-3 days to complete transfer depending on time of day and day of week transfer was made.


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## HughT (Jan 18, 2017)

Thank you. Is there a limit to the amount?


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

HughT said:


> Hello,
> I am new here and beginning to come up with concrete questions about our move to Mexico. We are a same sex couple currently living in the USA. My husband is a Mexican national. We hope to move by the end of this summer. Question one is: What is the best way to get large amounts of US$ to Mexico. We will be selling our house and will eventually buy one in Mexico. I am planning on living in Mexico but for a few more years will commute to my job in the USA. I work for the airlines so it really does not matter where I live as long as I have an airport near by. We will be living near Leon for that purpose. I'm assuming I will need to get a permanent resident visa? Of course health care, current health insurance, medications, mail, do I need to keep an address in the US?, are a few more concerns. I appreciate any help and look forward to hearing from you and perhaps meeting some of you. Thank you.


:welcome:


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

For the time being, at least, keep your US address and banking. Frankly, I suggest that you keep your banking in the USA anyway. When you purchase a house in Mexico, you will find that most agents have a US bank that you can use for escrow with an electronic transfer from your US bank. You should be able to manage your US banking online, no matter where you are, and ATMs are everywhere in Mexico for your cash needs. If you feel that you may need a Mexican bank, shop around carefully and do not deposit more than your short-term needs. In more than 13 years, we never found a need for a Mexican bank account.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

RVGRINGO said:


> If you feel that you may need a Mexican bank, shop around carefully and do not deposit more than your short-term needs. In more than 13 years, we never found a need for a Mexican bank account.


The amount you deposit in a Mexican bank is like taking money to Vegas. Only take what you can safely lose.

Bank wire transfers are the cheapest and fastest way to transfer large sums of money. I talking a house or a car and not general living expenses. It is best and highly recommended that you talk to your US bank before doing this as some banks like for you to make the initial transfer within their brick building rather than over the internet.


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## eastwind (Jun 18, 2016)

Definitely second RVGRINGO's advice. In fact, you might want to set up another US bank account while you still have a residential US address, because it's probably impossible to do so after you don't have a US residential address. 

The reason for the second US bank account would be to find one that gives you the best deal on international ATM withdrawals. There are three costs associated with international ATM use: 

- currency conversion rate. Typically this is what people focus on, but it's the least of the three because most banks give a really good rate
- ATM fees. Most bank ATMs here in mexico charge 22 or 33 pesos per withdrawal. Some US banks will refund this fee, but those banks usually require 'gold' type accounts with large amounts on deposit with them. You can minimize this by doing only large (max) withdrawals, say US$500.
- Currency conversion fees. A lot of US banks charge you 1% of the amount withdrawn.

Schwab has been recommended by others on this forum. I think they said it refunds foreign ATM fees and does not charge currency conversion fees. Citi gold, if you can qualify for it (big bucks) also.

Before creating a Mexican bank account, make sure you understand the post-9/11 rules put in place. Google "FATCA and FINRA rules".

There are some who wish to leave the US irrevocably, renounce citizenship, give up social security, and sever all ties. In that case the advice changes, but you may still want something more reliable than a mexican bank - maybe keep your main money in the Caymans?


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## whiteumbrella (Mar 21, 2017)

What about xoom.com (a PayPal service)? I see you can transfer up to 2999 USD from a US bank connected to your Payal account, and is is paid to you in pesos at your chosen bank pickup location. or you can transfer it to your Mexican bank account. I noted that the transfer fee per transaction is $4.99 and the exchange rate was about 10 pesos less per dollar this way. I guess that might be on a par with transaction fees in Mexico?

Or is it just better to do ATM withdrawals from your US bank account....and what bank would be the best to use? We have TD bank, which is a Canadian bank, and also Chase Manhattan.

My S/O and I will only be in Mexico 6 months this year, so the transfers in pesos seems better for us, but it worries me to be walking around with a lot of cash. How to people handle this issue?

Arriving in Jacotepec around 1 July, later will be in PV, then on to Asia for 6 months.

Muchas.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

whiteumbrella said:


> What about xoom.com (a PayPal service)? I see you can transfer up to 2999 USD from a US bank connected to your Payal account, and is is paid to you in pesos at your chosen bank pickup location. or you can transfer it to your Mexican bank account. I noted that the transfer fee per transaction is $4.99 and the exchange rate was about 10 pesos less per dollar this way. I guess that might be on a par with transaction fees in Mexico?


Just to let you know, I use xoom to fund my Mexican bank account. 

Yes, you can transfer up to (up to is the key word here) 2,999 usd, however there are restrictions. One, the bank might set a lower limit. HSBC, for example, say it's 999 usd, but probably much less. I transfer 900 usd and that works every time. Two, you might have a monthly cap on the number of transfers per month.

The xoom exchange rate plus the 4.99 per transaction fee is slightly more than the BofA debit card rate. You get a few more pesos, but at 900 usd, it is around 100 pesos.

They are fast with the bank to bank transfer. During banking hours, it's around two hours.

Send a lot of money to a 3rd party agency like Electra and others might not work. Sure xoom will send it, but will the store have enough pesos to fill the request? You have to check if they have the funds BEFORE you give them the access code to dispense the pesos.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Keep your money in the States and only transfer what you need to live on or buy a large item.
When I came to this country I got 8 pesos to the dollar now it is 18..good thing that my money stayed in the US.


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## circle110 (Jul 20, 2009)

All the money advice you've gotten so far is solid and I agree. I used a wire transfer to get money down for a real estate purchase. I have a Mexican bank account that I use solely to receive such a transfer (I'll need to buy a car soon so I'll use it for that purpose for only the second time). All other $ needs I just use a debit card at ATMs. I have Schwab bank and it is free to withdraw -- they reimburse ATM withdrawal fees as well as international charges.

One other comment: you mentioned that you will live close to Leon for access to the airport. Have you considered Guanajuato City? The airport is between Leon and Guanajuato, although it is a little closer to Leon. However, we lived in Guanajuato in the colonia Marfil and it was barely 15 minutes from our place to the airport. It would easily be that much travel time (or more) from most parts of Leon to get to the airport. And in my opinion Guanajuato is a wayyy better place to live than Leon.


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## dwwhiteside (Apr 17, 2013)

Another poster mentioned Intercam. I have had an account there for about three years now and have been very pleased with their service. Using Intercam to transfer money to Mexico is actually quite simple. Intercam has accounts at several U.S. banks. When I want to transfer money to Mexico (to my account at Intercam) I actually just do a domestic transfer to an Intercam account in the U.S. I generally use Citibank but there are others as well.

Now, you have to supply an "FFC" (For Future Credit) on the transfer to ensure it gets to your Intercam account. And that generally means I have to do a same day wire transfer; otherwise, I have no place to add the FFC information. However, this is a domestic wire transfer, not international.

Intercam then sets the exchange rate. However, I generally contact my banker at Intercam to get their current rates. So, I know ahead of time exactly how many pesos I will get for the dollars I transfer. 

In the U.S., I use Ally bank. Ally is actually the banking arm of GMAC and they are strictly an on-line bank. They have no "brick and mortar" locations that I know of. What I like about Ally is:
a) they have never charged me a monthly fee of any kind just for having a bank account there
b) they do not charge me a fee for using any ATM anywhere in the world (or anywhere I have traveled so far)
c) they reimburse any fees charged by the ATM I use.

I just looked at my Ally statement earlier today and saw that they added $8.95 USD to my account as reimbursement for the ATM fees I was charged in the past 30 days.

So, when I need a large sum of money here in Mexico, I use a domestic (U.S.) wire transfer to move money to Intercam and it is then credited to my Mexican Intercam account. I can then either write a check, go to the bank and get a cashiers check or go to the bank and get cash. But, for my regular daily expenses, I just use my Ally debit card at any ATM here in Mexico and any fees charged by that ATM are reimbursed.


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## DiverSailor123 (Sep 17, 2016)

Best Option Of ALL! You Send Me The Cash in a Plain Brown Card Board Box shipped UPS to my Florida Address and I will smuggle the money into Mexico and meet you at an agreed upon location .. I await your PM :spy:


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