# Money, banking and transfers



## lancekoz (Nov 6, 2013)

I would like some general advice on how Mexpats deal with money from the US. A little later in my life, I will be eligible for Social Security checks and/or withdrawals from my IRAs. I have both a physical bank account in the US and an online account. 

I know I can use ATMs with a fee... I was wondering if there is a way to get larger amounts out or a fee-free international bank that could treat money in an easier way. Like maybe HSBC?


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

Lance:

You have many options but I advise you to choose a fee-free or limited fee international financial institution with a captive commercial banking facility before you move down here if possible. It´s not clear to me whether you now live in Guadalajara or are planning to move there some day. If you are already here, opening a new U.S. bank account may be more problematic.In my judgment you should definitely have your social security benefits electronically credited to your U.S. bank account and not your Mexican bank account if you have one.

Good luck.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

lancekoz said:


> I would like some general advice on how Mexpats deal with money from the US. A little later in my life, I will be eligible for Social Security checks and/or withdrawals from my IRAs. I have both a physical bank account in the US and an online account.
> 
> I know I can use ATMs with a fee... I was wondering if there is a way to get larger amounts out or a fee-free international bank that could treat money in an easier way. Like maybe HSBC?


Some people have US social security direct deposited in Mexican bank accounts. There are some US banks that allow fee-free withdrawals at Mexican ATMS. Those are the two options I am aware of. 

It is getting harder every year to move money between banks in different countries. I guess we have the 1% and their off-shore accounts plus the cartels and their money laundering to thank for that.


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## RTL44 (Nov 26, 2013)

Another option is to open a Charles Schwab brokerage/checking account. It is a free account (actually earns .01%) with an ATM/Debit card where all ATM Fees are refunded each month and there is no International Transaction fee. It is truly free and has no fees.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

TundraGreen said:


> Some people have US social security direct deposited in Mexican bank accounts. There are some US banks that allow fee-free withdrawals at Mexican ATMS. Those are the two options I am aware of.


When I first moved here, in 2007, I was having my US Social Security checks direct-deposited to my Bank of America account, and I could make fee-free withdrawals at Santander or Scotia Bank. When a 3% fee on withdrawals was instituted by BofA, I arranged to have the direct deposits made to my Mexican Santander account. It was easy to do online and has worked out just fine for me.


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## GCW (Mar 19, 2014)

*Option 3*

I went to my USA credit union and opened a second savings account. Then I opened a savings account with Banamex here with a debit card attached for withdrawing at ATMs. Now I simply transfer a couple grand to the second CU account and call the credit union via skype and tell my girl to transfer one Monday and one Wednesday. I get the International Rate of exchange with no fees. I have had my account here in Mx hit twice but I got the money back eventually. There are a few things you should do to protect yourself...as I found out the hard way...but your bank should help you out there.


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## Azuledos (Jan 21, 2010)

A US interest-bearing Cash Management Account at Fidelity provides debit cards you can use to make peso withdrawals (US$500 daily limit) in Mexico. All ATM-charges are refunded and the transaction fee is 1% (beating the 3% now levied by most US banks). If you need larger amounts, bank wires are reasonablly priced. If you have excess cash in your CMA you can easily transfer it into mutual funds from Fidelity. If you have your IRA managed by Fidelity, then access to those funds becomes easy too. Set up yourCMA account, while you still have a US address.


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## Schort (Aug 9, 2014)

We have 2 US bank accounts that give us up to 2.5% on balances up to $20,000 and ATM fees reimbursed to us every month. We only have to debit / credit 10 transactions. We have a $500 daily limit ($6000 pesos) for withdrawal. 

If the peso drops, like lately, we withdraw 3-4 times to get the 13.2 exchange rate (in this case). We'll get refunded the $33 pesos / transaction fee(s) plus the $38-40 interest / month.

If you look for "reward accounts" you will likely find similar accounts.

We have a "main hub" account that we move money to / from when we need to.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Schort said:


> We have 2 US bank accounts that give us up to 2.5% on balances up to $20,000 and ATM fees reimbursed to us every month. We only have to debit / credit 10 transactions. We have a $500 daily limit ($6000 pesos) for withdrawal.
> 
> If the peso drops, like lately, we withdraw 3-4 times to get the 13.2 exchange rate (in this case). We'll get refunded the $33 pesos / transaction fee(s) plus the $38-40 interest / month.
> 
> ...



You might have included the banks names......


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## Schort (Aug 9, 2014)

chicois8 said:


> You might have included the banks names......


Both small banks & you may have to live in the state they serve. I got in on both living in Texas at the time, but not sure of their qualifications. I misstated the %...up to 2.01%...

Arkansas Bank & Trust
2.01 % up to $20k
https://www.firstarkansasbank.com/personal-checking-pure-checking.htm
To earn 2.01% APY*, simply meet these requirements each monthly qualification cycle:

Have at least 10 debit card purchases post and clear
Have at least 1 direct deposit, ACH automatic payment, or online bill pay post and clear
Receive electronic statements

Farmers and Merchants Bank of Virginia
1.26 % up to $50k
Farmers & Merchants Bank - Timberville, Virginia


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Schort, I am the opposite,large banks...
Citi Bank, Gold Account= $2000.00 USD Banamex ATM withdrawal per day all fees waived... 
Schwab Bank = $2000.00 USD any ATM withdrawal per day all fees reimbursed monthly...
BanamexUSA = $300 USD at Banamex ATM daily with no fees......


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## Schort (Aug 9, 2014)

chicois8 said:


> Schort, I am the opposite,large banks...
> Citi Bank, Gold Account= $2000.00 USD Banamex ATM withdrawal per day all fees waived...
> Schwab Bank = $2000.00 USD any ATM withdrawal per day all fees reimbursed monthly...
> BanamexUSA = $300 USD at Banamex ATM daily with no fees......


I could increase my daily amounts, but really don't need it. We live simple here and only need pesos for rent and sometimes gas for the car. Groceries are on debit / or credit unless it's a local.

I'm mainly with them for the 2.01% and the reimbursements of ATM fees. I had a bad experience with Citi, so I stay away from Megacorp banks personally.

Use E*trade as my "hub" and trading and another regional bank for my CD's...


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## lhpdiver (Jul 30, 2014)

We take a totally different approach to ya'll. We are US middle class folk. We had no kids so we managed to safe a few bucks along the way.

We now have enough Pesos (here in Mexico) that we should be able to live on them for 10-15 years (excluding some unexpected event) . I buy Pesos about two times a year - most recently about 10 days ago when spot was 13.23. I got those pesos for around 13.14. Those of you that THINK you get a better rate are PROBABLY wrong. There are no wire fees (or any other fees) on either side of the transaction. We wire Pesos to Mexico from the US. They arrive as Pesos.

I like my Pesos a lot more than I like my Dollars. I don't like all the changes (hand-cuffing) I see on the US side. I don't like daily limits ya'll talk about etc. I worry about what might come down in the (near) future. What happens if these banks ya'll use say - no more ATM withdrawals ... ? OR no more ATM withdrawals for 30 days (say) ?

I worry a lot.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

I always believed history repeats itself, if one was to remember the devaluation's of the Mexican Peso over the last 32 years you would see why I would never have an account in a Mexican bank...

When I first started coming to Mexico the exchange rate was 12.50 x $1.00 USD...Today it is 13.04..
That has to tell you something.........


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## lhpdiver (Jul 30, 2014)

chicois8 said:


> I always believed history repeats itself, if one was to remember the devaluation's of the Mexican Peso over the last 32 years you would see why I would never have an account in a Mexican bank...
> 
> When I first started coming to Mexico the exchange rate was 12.50 x $1.00 USD...Today it is 13.04..
> That has to tell you something.........


Imagine if the dollar devalues. I enjoy reading zerohedge. Just look at how many side-bets are being made. Russia, india, china (and many others) are moving away from the dollar as the world's reserve currency.

I have grown to expect the unexpected.

btw - everything is cyclical. Those rates you quote go up - and down.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

lhpdiver said:


> btw - everything is cyclical. Those rates you quote go up - and down.


Seems the poor peso only goes one way,LOL


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## lhpdiver (Jul 30, 2014)

chicois8 said:


> Seems the poor peso only goes one way,LOL


For how long ?


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

lhpdiver said:


> For how long ?



Forever!!!!!!


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## lhpdiver (Jul 30, 2014)

chicois8 said:


> Forever!!!!!!


Guess we will just have to agree to disagree. 

Good luck.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

We do not have to agree or disagree, I was just giving my opinion about having a Mexican Bank Account,
I just made a statement about the history of the Mexican peso and how it goes one way and that's the wrong way.......


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

lhpdiver said:


> For how long ?


In the short time I have been in Mexico, I have seen the Mexican peso as high as 10 ($0.10) and as low as 15 ($0.067) to the US dollar.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

TundraGreen said:


> In the short time I have been in Mexico, I have seen the Mexican peso as high as 10 ($0.10) and as low as 15 ($0.067) to the US dollar.


So you probably arrived in or around 2001 or 2002? Correct?
Lucky not much devaluation during the non PRI years, sadly 
the PRI is back in office......


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

chicois8 said:


> So you probably arrived in or around 2001 or 2002? Correct?
> Lucky not much devaluation during the non PRI years, sadly
> the PRI is back in office......


I arrived in late 2007, just before the last high point.


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

lhpdiver said:


> For how long ?


People should remember the 1980s, when I lived in Mexico for the entire decade.

The peso lost 50% of its value OVERNIGHT. The peso had a period of 30-40 years of relative stability, if I recall history correctly. Mexico began spending wildly in the early-mid 1970s based on huge oil expectations, but they spent much faster than even income from rapidly rising oil prices. There were many warnings on peso but then president Jose Lopez Portillo vowed to defend the peso "like a dog."

In his Sept. 1982 state of the union address, he outlawed the dollar as legal tender, confiscated all dollar bank accounts and peso dropped 50%. When he walked through crowds thereafter, Mexicans yipped, yipped, yipped at him in dog barks and howls.

Peso dropped horribly for years after that. Gov't was finally forced to issue "new pesos," lopping off three zeros of old currency, so all of you defending strength and stability of Mexico peso, please remember it is only about 20 years old, and it has no really independent central bank to protect it form central government, key difference with U.S.

The Mexican stock market dropped like a stone in 82. I had the urge to buy, but of course didn't. But those brave souls who bought at the depths of despair made out like crazy. It had dropped about 95%, and even accounting for inflation, it made it all back within five years and went up from there.

Currently, Mexico peso is stable.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

I remember the crisis starting in Dec 1994 with sudden devaluation of the peso followed by hyperinflation. The peso again fell by nearly 50% in a short period of time, although there was a partial recovery over the next several months. But hyperinflation kicked in so Mexicans saw their real purchasing power drop significantly. There were also ramifications of this throughout the rest of Latin America.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

chicois8 said:


> I always believed history repeats itself, if one was to remember the devaluation's of the Mexican Peso over the last 32 years you would see why I would never have an account in a Mexican bank...


I'm trying to think back to when I was traveling in Mexico in the 1980's when, I believe, the exchange rate was more than MX$2,000 to US$1. Whatever it was, it was wild and pesos were traded on the street corners as much as in _casas de cambio_. Mexican banks were incompetently run and eventually almost all taken over by international banking interests (largely the Spaniards). I was living the in Mexico in the early 1990s when the peso was devalued which at the time almost wiped-out the Middle Class. MX$1,000 pesos were devalued to MX$1 and interest rates on loans and credit card balances exceeded 100% annually. It was a dismal/depressing time for that middle-band of the population. Mexico has indeed made great strides towards currency and political stablization, largely due to NAFTA and the influx of assembly/manufacturing plants, etc., and because of US$ billions in annual remittances sent from the USA, but I still think the structure is a bit of a 'house of cards' and I personally wouldn't keep more money in a bank in Mexico than I really needed to. I understand, however, that an expat whose cut ties with their "home country" has little other choice.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

Longford stated: "I was living the in Mexico in the early 1990s when the peso was devalued which at the time almost wiped-out the Middle Class."

Boy is that a strech of the imagination. IMO

The upper class/ middle class did not almost get wiped out as some think. They did not invest in cash normally in those days. They invested in property and businesses. As the peso devalued per week so did prices rise accordingly per week. As wages devaulated per month so did wages increase per month or people stopped going to work. 

Where was it you saw this phenomena you speak of happening?

At the first sign of the peso devaluing rapidly people that had cash bought US $. Some made quite a bit of money in those days. Some lost a few dollars by waiting too long. Almost no one was that ignorant to keep pesos around in large sums and wait for it to go back up.


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

AlanMexicali said:


> Longford stated: "I was living the in Mexico in the early 1990s when the peso was devalued which at the time almost wiped-out the Middle Class."
> 
> Boy is that a strech of the imagination. IMO
> 
> ...


Wow, were you around in those days? I was. It was all one crisis of course, but there were two severe drops, in 1982 and 1994. "ome lost a few dollars" Well, 94 not so much as 82, but 82 was an earthquake. Back then, in1970s and early 80s, Mex gov't lured Mexicans to keeping their money in Mexico by allowing them to have legal dollar savings accounts in banks. Even if peso devalued sharply, they were protected, right? Let me tell you, Alas, tens of thousands of Mexicans held dollar bank accounts, and in secret, Mexican gov't confiscated every single one of them, by making holding of dollars illegal, and converting those accounts into what they called then, "mexdollars," pegged at the official rate, less than half of the rate on the New York exchange. Tens of thousands lost their life savings.

For 12 years, Mex gov't tried to preserve illusion that they controlled official price of pesos, which resulted in wild inflation. Yes, Mexicans learned form 1982 disaster, but they were totally unprotected. You say they protected themselves by buying property. Well, you could afford that. there were no mortgagees back then. You could only buy a house or a car by paying cash. Only about 10 percent or less could do that, probably. I don't have stats on that. For the rest, they could only watch as their currency lost value every single day. The U.S. was in absolute chaos in the early 80s when we had an inflation rate of 15-18%. Mexicans were dealing with annual inflation of 40-60-80-100% annually, with gov't waiting to swoop down and arrest them or confiscate them if they tried to buy dollars or send dollars out of the country.

RE " As the peso devalued per week so did prices rise accordingly per week. As wages devaulated per month so did wages increase per month or people stopped going to work." No, no, no, wages NEVER kept up with inflation, always lagged. Also, people couldn't stop going to work. They had to eat. Of course, Mexican system of many family members of different generations living under one roof meant no one starved, but it was very hard, wild ride.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

I do not know about Masomenos dates, I do know if you went to bed on Dec 31st 1992 with 3000 pesos in the bank you would have waken up on Jan.1st.1993 to 3 Pesos in the bank......Happy New Year,LOL

Since it was devalued to 3 Pesos x $1 is has devalued to the present of 13 x $1....


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

chicois8 said:


> Since it was devalued to 3 Pesos x $1 is has devalued to the present of 13 x $1....


On the other hand, the exchange rate has been 13 pesos to the US dollar for several years, which is a good thing, ¿verdad?


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Maybe ask the Mexican people that question...


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

chicois8 said:


> I do not know about Masomenos dates, I do know if you went to bed on Dec 31st 1992 with 3000 pesos in the bank you would have waken up on Jan.1st.1993 to 3 Pesos in the bank......Happy New Year,LOL
> 
> Since it was devalued to 3 Pesos x $1 is has devalued to the present of 13 x $1....


But what happened to the buying power of the peso when that happened? What could you buy with $3000 mxp on 1992-12-31, and what could you buy with $3 mxn on 1993-01-01?

I tried searching for the answer, but didn't find anything.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

TundraGreen said:


> But what happened to the buying power of the peso when that happened? What could you buy with $3000 mxp on 1992-12-31, and what could you buy with $3 mxn on 1993-01-01?
> 
> I tried searching for the answer, but didn't find anything.


I wasn't there right when it happened, but I remember later in 1993 both the old pesos (with the 3 extra 0's) and the New Pesos were in circulation. So if something cost $3 New Pesos I could pay with $1000 old pesos + $2 new pesos. It was mix and match.

Gary would probably know better, but my vague recollection is that if something cost $1,000 old pesos prior, it would be $1 in new pesos.


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## lhpdiver (Jul 30, 2014)

What I do remember is that in 1994 - the day shtf - I put half my IRA into Telmex and half into Grupo Telivso - at half the price they traded at the day before - only to watch them lose half as much again the following day. It took a long time till I could get out even.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Isla Verde said:


> On the other hand, the exchange rate has been 13 pesos to the US dollar for several years, which is a good thing, ¿verdad?


Probably much better for those of us exchanging US$ for MX$.


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

The Mexican gov't felt it had stabilized the peso enough when it issued the "new peso." The peso had climbed from what I think had been its benchmark in the 1950s and 60s of about eight pesos to one dollar to 12,000 to 13,000 pesos to one dollar by 1994. But though the gov't believed they had stabilized the peso in 1994, they hated the rate and thought it gave a very false impression of the peso, which is why they issued the "new peso," which were new banknotes that cut three zeros from the old peso's rate to the dollar. Because it is just paper money not backed by any precious metal or anything else, the fact that the peso remained more or less at the "new peso" rate shows the gov't was more or less correct. I forget the exchange rate when the conversion was made, but if it had been 12,000 old pesos to $1, it became 12 new pesos. That is very, very different from the horrendous inflation of the 1980s and early 90s, of course, when the old peso did fall so sharply, maybe 12 pesos to $1 to 12,000.

That is when Mexicans were hurt, not during the changeover to the new peso. A major aspect of the new peso is that it's freely convertible to all major world currencies. In the 80s and early 90s, both private citizens and businesses had various restrictions on how much they could convert to dollars, and how to do it, restrictions that sometimes changed very often, several times a year.

The fact that Mexicans and foreign businesses that operate in Mexico know they can change their pesos to dollars freely is a major pillar of its current 20-year stability. It makes it easier for the Mexican gov't (and really, the U.S. gov't, eager to keep Mexico stable) to buy and sell dollars when needed to keep the peso stable. 

All well and good, for 20 years and counting. Everyone should just keep an eye on things. I don't see anything on horizon to destabilize the peso, but the signs, if it happens, will come when you read in the media that rich Mexicans are moving more of their capital out of the country, and businesses are beginning to have trouble getting dollars freely to pay for imports, esp. businesses that need raw materials.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Meritorious -M .... yes, for a long time now the wealthy in Mexico have established residences in the USA, and elsewhere, and have moved substantial sums of money out of the country ... for stability and personal security reasons. Had it not been for the windfall-like earnings from petroleum sales (fueled by Middle East price rises with which Mexico rode the coat-tails) and for the billions in remittances from Mexicans/Mexican-Americans in the USA .... Mexico would be in a far worse situation. There's been a huge amount of foreign capital moved into the country brought by international manufacturers seeking to use the provisions of NAFTA to assemble products in Mexico for low wages for export into the USA and Canada. The phenomonal growth in the vehicle assembly plants in Mexico is a good example of that growth. However, many Mexican companies report difficulty raising capital/loans within Mexico to expand their own businesses. Back in the 1990s had it not been for the USA coming to Mexico's rescue when the currency collapsed, the nation might have slipped into serious civil unrest and a spiraling downfall. This is how I see the situation.


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## lhpdiver (Jul 30, 2014)

We now have a sizable percentage of our net worth here in Mexico and recently were trying to find a good home for it. We already have a very nice relationship with a bank here where we will keep our core money. We walked into 3 'brokerage houses' last week. Without mentioning names - at one of those places the 'director' said "we have someone from our Houston office here today because all of my Mexican clients want to move their money to the US". 

We are of the exact opposite mindset and he wants to take us off-site to hear our case.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

chicois8 said:


> I do not know about Masomenos dates, I do know if you went to bed on Dec 31st 1992 with 3000 pesos in the bank you would have waken up on Jan.1st.1993 to 3 Pesos in the bank......Happy New Year,LOL
> 
> Since it was devalued to 3 Pesos x $1 is has devalued to the present of 13 x $1....





ojosazules11 said:


> I wasn't there right when it happened, but I remember later in 1993 both the old pesos (with the 3 extra 0's) and the New Pesos were in circulation. So if something cost $3 New Pesos I could pay with $1000 old pesos + $2 new pesos. It was mix and match.
> 
> Gary would probably know better, but my vague recollection is that if something cost $1,000 old pesos prior, it would be $1 in new pesos.


So, Chicois8's post that implied you immediately lost everything in your bank account on the morning of January 1st 1993 gives a false impression.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

I was trying to point out how funny things can and do happen over night...Here is the devaluations in the last 60 years and pointing out why I would never have a Mexican Bank Account......

1954 to 1975-12.50 x $1
1976--------20.50 x $1 = +64%
1977 to 1982-21.25 to 149.50 = 600%
1983 to 1992- 150 to 2281 = 1420%
1993 3000 x $1
1994 3000 to 3 pesos
1996 7.59 x $1
2000 9.45 x $1
2004 11.06 x $1
2012 12 .65 x $1
today 13.04 x $1


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

Longford said:


> I'm trying to think back to when I was traveling in Mexico in the 1980's when, I believe, the exchange rate was more than MX$2,000 to US$1. Whatever it was, it was wild and pesos were traded on the street corners as much as in _casas de cambio_. Mexican banks were incompetently run and eventually almost all taken over by international banking interests (largely the Spaniards). I was living the in Mexico in the early 1990s when the peso was devalued which at the time almost wiped-out the Middle Class. MX$1,000 pesos were devalued to MX$1 and interest rates on loans and credit card balances exceeded 100% annually. It was a dismal/depressing time for that middle-band of the population. Mexico has indeed made great strides towards currency and political stablization, largely due to NAFTA and the influx of assembly/manufacturing plants, etc., and because of US$ billions in annual remittances sent from the USA, but I still think the structure is a bit of a 'house of cards' and I personally wouldn't keep more money in a bank in Mexico than I really needed to. I understand, however, that an expat whose cut ties with their "home country" has little other choice.





TundraGreen said:


> So, Chicois8's post that implied you immediately lost everything in your bank account on the morning of January 1st 1993 gives a false impression.


It was one peso to one dollar for a few days then climbed in 1993. No really big deal for savy people to handle.

I remember people in 1982 and for a few year after when people used to price a 2 liter bottle of Coca Cola and adjust their prices from that reference as Coca Cola adjusted the price regularly to not lose a dime. In the crash of 1982 until the federal gov´t. nationalized all the Banks in Mexico I was having the time of my life. For example we, myself and my ex-wife in 1982 bought a tract home for less during a "lag" in the price increase for cash.

We were in Guadalajara in 1985 and almost bought a 2 bedroom apartment in one of the first highrise apartment buildings which was built across the street from the Pan American shopping center for $26,000 US but didn´t. We ended up buying a nice 3 year old house in Mexicali for less than that instead.

When in Guadalajara during a lag in prices the summer of 1985 we stayed and the Mendoza Hotel 1 door off of the Plaza de Armas for $17.00 US per night and ate filet mignon there for $2.00 US. Those were the good old days.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

Meritorious-MasoMenos said:


> The peso had climbed from what I think had been its benchmark in the 1950s and 60s of about eight pesos to one dollar to 12,000 to 13,000 pesos to one dollar by 1994. ...
> 
> That is very, very different from the horrendous inflation of the 1980s and early 90s, of course, when the old peso did fall so sharply, maybe 12 pesos to $1 to 12,000.


The exchange rate in 1993 was around $3 MXN = US$1.

On Dec 20, 1994 it was 3.99. This was the day the peso was devalued.
On Dec 31, 1994 it was 5.325.
By Dec 31, 1995 it was 7.625.

End of 1996 hovering around 8.
End of 1997 it was 8.4.
By Sept 1998 it was >$10 MXN = US$1.

1999 through 2001 it was in the 9 - 10 range. 
In 2002 it went >10.
2003 > 11

2004 11-11.5
2005 to 2007 10.5-11.5

By the end of 2008 shot up to 13, 
and in 2009 up as high as 15 briefly.

2010 to present ranging from 11.5 - 14, mostly hovering around 13.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Just shows recent devaluation, went from 3 to 6 to 9 to 12 and now over 13.......in 20 years.....


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

chicois8 said:


> Just shows recent devaluation, went from 3 to 6 to 9 to 12 and now over 13.......in 20 years.....


(Chicois, I hadn't seen your post with the various exchange rates over the past 20+ years when I made my post. I had started mine and got interrupted, then went back to mine without reviewing the thread, or I wouldn't have bothered posting mine.)


I guess, as Isla pointed out, the fact that 13 seems to be the benchmark over the past 6 yrs is a good thing. The 10 yrs from 1993-2003 were much harsher on the peso than 2004-2014. 

I'm well aware that does not guarantee anything in terms of the future.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

AlanMexicali said:


> Longford stated: "I was living the in Mexico in the early 1990s when the peso was devalued which at the time almost wiped-out the Middle Class."
> 
> Boy is that a strech of the imagination. IMO
> 
> ...


I recall the mid-90s as being really harsh for both middle and lower class Mexicans. I cannot speak to how it may have been for the wealthy.

My husband had a small business, so he could of course set his prices, but if he set them too high people couldn't afford his services. Yet his costs steadily rose, especially as the cost of his materials and supplies steadily rose. He always tried to pay his employees a fair wage, but it was a tough balancing act. He had to pull his sons from private school for a couple if years and put them in the public system due to the devaluation of 1994.

His situation was better than some friends of his who owned a retail business selling imported items. They had recently acquired a loan in US$ to pay for a large shipment they imported. When the devaluation hit, the cost of repaying that loan nearly doubled over the following year, and at the same time they were selling less as most people cut way back on their discretionary spending.


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

ojosazules11 said:


> I recall the mid-90s as being really harsh for both middle and lower class Mexicans. I cannot speak to how it may have been for the wealthy.
> 
> My husband had a small business, so he could of course set his prices, but if he set them too high people couldn't afford his services. Yet his costs steadily rose, especially as the cost of his materials and supplies steadily rose. He always tried to pay his employees a fair wage, but it was a tough balancing act. He had to pull his sons from private school for a couple if years and put them in the public system due to the devaluation of 1994.
> 
> His situation was better than some friends of his who owned a retail business selling imported items. They had recently acquired a loan in US$ to pay for a large shipment they imported. When the devaluation hit, the cost of repaying that loan nearly doubled over the following year, and at the same time they were selling less as most people cut way back on their discretionary spending.


Very good description of how the financial and monetary chaos affected Mexicans, Ojosazules, thank you. On the other side, foreigners paid in convertible currencies had a great time. We felt guilty. Mexicans didn't have any experience in a collapsing currency in the 1980s, but they learned by the 1990s troubles. A lot of big capital goods are now priced in dollars, or pesos in dollar terms. It wasn't that way in 1982. By sheer luck, I had put down a deposit on a new VW the week before Lopez Portillo triggered the peso collapse in Sept. 82, where the peso dropped 50 percent against the dollar. That meant that by the time I had to change dollars into pesos to pay for the car, not at the "official" rate, I paid something like $7,000 instead of $14,000. An associate did even better. He had put down a deposit for a new house, with full payment due in December, by which time he had to pay only about $24,000 instead of $46,000 or so.

I had a great apartment in Condesa that I got at $1,100 a month, but in pesos. In about three years, it was down to about $190 a month. Mexico was so expensive because of the overvalued peso when I got here, my firm was paying me a $1,000 a month just for living expenses. That soon ended, but didn't care. Impossible today.

It was even more extreme in Central America, where my work took me six or seven times a year. Of course, we were all on expense accounts, but it was still fun. In Nicaragua, we used to be able to get complete steak dinners plus drinks for about $1 a pop. Again, also impossible nowadays. I befriended some Russians based in Mexico. They were good Marxists back then. I ran into a few of them in a Nica restaurant, and though they were there to assist their Marxist "brothers." they couldn't help but be giddy over the prices they were paying.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

There is actually quite an in-depth article on the 94 devaluation in Wikipedia. 

Mexican peso crisis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

ojosazules11 said:


> There is actually quite an in-depth article on the 94 devaluation in Wikipedia.
> 
> Mexican peso crisis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Thanks for posting that. It brings back a lot of shuddering memories. Hope Mexico never has to repeat those days. There was real suffering, and 95% of Mexicans had no way to escape it.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

I remember in 1981 sitting poolside at the El Presidente in Lotero BCS talking to the owner of a factory in DF, we were talking about the economy and he laughed and said "Mexico was a country of the 80's"

80% unemployment,
80 inflation and 
80 Pesos to the dollar.........I never forgot it...


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