# Scotia Bank



## Rwrobb (Jul 13, 2014)

Big shake up in Scotia Bank head quarters in Canada. Lots to lose their jobs here in Canada and many other branches closing in other countries. Will have to see what happens in Mexico. Scotia Bank had been going through lots of problems there.


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## michmex (Jul 15, 2012)

Rwrobb said:


> Big shake up in Scotia Bank head quarters in Canada. Lots to lose their jobs here in Canada and many other branches closing in other countries. Will have to see what happens in Mexico. Scotia Bank had been going through lots of problems there.


More on Scotia Bank from the Globe and Mail.

Scotiabank CEO's bold first year capped with deep cuts, restructuring - The Globe and Mail

We don't have any accounts with them but I have used them occasionally to pay a water bill. Their operations seem to be efficient albeit there were never many customers in the branches when I was there. Their branches here seem to few and far apart compared to HSBC, Banamex and Bancomer. If they close many branches will they have any left??


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## SirRon (Nov 4, 2014)

I was thinking about opening a account there, since there are many branches in walking distance from my house, now it makes me wonder if i should seek a different bank


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

I wonder whether the shake-up in Canada will have any effect on Mexican Scotiabank at all. From the customer point of view, operations in the two countries have no connection at all; that is, if you have a Scotiabank account in Canada and one in Mexico, it provides no shortcut for operations between the two – it’s like two different banks.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

maesonna said:


> I wonder whether the shake-up in Canada will have any effect on Mexican Scotiabank at all. From the customer point of view, operations in the two countries have no connection at all; that is, if you have a Scotiabank account in Canada and one in Mexico, it provides no shortcut for operations between the two – it’s like two different banks.


At the end of the article linked earlier, there is a comment that they plan to close 120 branches, mainly in Mexico and the Caribbean.

I think international banking laws force companies with banks in different countries to run them pretty separately. I have dealt with two at various times over the past few years, CItigroup and BBVA. And both seemed to be going in the direction of treating their banks in separate countries as separate entities. The fact that the same company owns banks in two countries does not make it easy to transfer money across national borders. As you say, it is like two different banks. 

If the laws don't force it, they must make it so that there are disadvantages for the banks to be more user friendly to people with financial affairs across borders. Probably, it is aimed at corporations, drug dealers and the wealthy and us poor expats are just caught in the cross-fire.


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## SirRon (Nov 4, 2014)

i remember a time i would use american dollars at the walmart to get the change back in peso, this is no longer permitted, now if you want to pay in dollars to get change back you must use 90% of that dollar bill or more, also same time could go to money exchange places without a passport, lots has changed here in mexico in a short time

like living anywhere else in the world, living without a local bank account can generate lots of headaches

Scotia bank was going to be my first choice, now i'll sit back and wait, research the best option for my simple needs


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

SirRon said:


> i remember a time i would use american dollars at the walmart to get the change back in peso, this is no longer permitted, now if you want to pay in dollars to get change back you must use 90% of that dollar bill or more, ...


I'm surprised that you can pay for purchases with dollars at Walmart in Acapulco. It certainly isn't the case in Mexico City, where I've lived for over 7 years.


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## SirRon (Nov 4, 2014)

Isla Verde said:


> I'm surprised that you can pay for purchases with dollars at Walmart in Acapulco. It certainly isn't the case in Mexico City, where I've lived for over 7 years.


they used to have the best exchange rate, much better than most, tourist trap money exchange places here in acapulco, you live in mexico city, i have always got the best exchange rate in mexico city do not know why


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Isla Verde said:


> I'm surprised that you can pay for purchases with dollars at Walmart in Acapulco. It certainly isn't the case in Mexico City, where I've lived for over 7 years.


A lot of the beach/tourist towns seem to take dollars. The exchange rate isn't usually very great however. In the border cities they seem to give you a more competitive rate on money exchanges. The best advice is still to get a local currency from an ATM no matter where in the world you are.


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## dwwhiteside (Apr 17, 2013)

According to this article, Scotia will close about 35 branches in Mexico. 

Scotiabank to Lay Off 500 Employees in Mexico and the Caribbean - Nearshore Americas | The New Axis of Outsourcing

This is obviously a move to cut costs but, the company is saying the branches that will be closed are cases of "overlap." I guess we'll just wait and see.


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## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

maesonna said:


> I wonder whether the shake-up in Canada will have any effect on Mexican Scotiabank at all. From the customer point of view, operations in the two countries have no connection at all; that is, if you have a Scotiabank account in Canada and one in Mexico, it provides no shortcut for operations between the two – it’s like two different banks.


We have a Canadian Scotiabank seniors' account, which allows us to use a Scotiabank ATM anywhere in the world without fees. (We still pay Scotiabank's exhorbitant currency exchange fees, which run anywhere between 2.5 and 3%, but, in a nice deflection, Scotiabank Canada assured me that those rates are set by Scotiabank Mexico). 
At least as far as access is concerned, we have found Scotiabank branches in virtually every Mexican town/city of any size that we're visited: Ensenada, La Paz, Guaymas, Navajoa, Culiacan, Mazatlan, etc., etc....and.....Zihuatanejo. We sure hope none of these branches shut down. 
As far as service is concerned, Scotiabank Mexico's is as lousy as any other Mexican bank: too often with long lines of customers waiting for the one or two tellers, when there are three or four teller windows. In this respect, Mexican banks certainly have not picked up the relatively new "culture of service" that banks NOB have had to pursue to keep up with the competition. Another irritant is the ATM dispensing wads of 500 peso bills, which are often difficult to exchange, at least at smaller businesses. I take out 9000 pesos/ATM withdrawal, which comes as seventeen 500 peso bills. Then, if you go stand in the line to get change, the most they'll exchange is six or eight of the big bills. ARRRRGH !


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

HolyMole said:


> Another irritant is the ATM dispensing wads of 500 peso bills, which are often difficult to exchange, at least at smaller businesses. I take out 9000 pesos/ATM withdrawal, which comes as seventeen 500 peso bills. Then, if you go stand in the line to get change, the most they'll exchange is six or eight of the big bills. ARRRRGH !


In defense of ATMs, they are not loaded by the bank but by private security firms. When you get a load of 500's, it usually because the last time the ATM was reloaded and the time you withdrew funds, there were a number of people withdrawing amounts between 200 and 1000 pesos. Thus the number of 50's, 100's and even 200's were reduced to zero. This usually happens a day or so after the 1st and 15th of the month.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

On this criticism of Mexican Banks and the choice of bills despensed from ATM machines I say nonsense. We have lived here in both Jalisco and Chiapas Mexico since the spring of 2001 and have bank accounts at Bancomer, Banamex and Banco Walmart. We also have our most important bank account at a brokerage firm/bank in the United States and have bank a account in France. When we utilize an ATM in Mexico, France or the United States at any time during the workweek or when the banks are closed, we always get a good mix of Pesos, Euros or Dollars and at many different Mexican, French or U.S. Banks. I would expect the same if we were in Mongolia. 

By the way, our brokerage/ bank account in the U.S. refunds every and all ATM charges at any ATM I have ever encountered on the planet at any time on any day. I don´t even know what a foreign currency exchange fee is and don´t believe I have ever been charged one openly. 

I still remember that back in 1967, I had my wallet stolen in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and was dead broke. I had to call my father in Alabama and request he urgently wire me enough money out of my personal bank account at a small South Alabama bank to Dar es Salaam to continue my planned journey on to India, Nepal and parts as yet undetermined.

The phone connection to Alabama from Tanzania was static and unreliable in those days and, once my dad got the message and wired the money to Barclays Bank in Dar es Salaam, it took several days to get there. The ATM is a blessing and instant and requires no phone call to Alabama from Africa. You guys have no idea how well you have it these days.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Since I am lucky enough to live a five-minute walk away from my local branch of Santander, I usually withdraw only $1000 or $2000 at a time. To avoid getting stuck with $500 bills, I make a few withdrawals of $400 or $450 during visits to the ATM instead of one big one.


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## Detailman (Aug 27, 2011)

Smart way to do it !

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


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## HolyMole (Jan 3, 2009)

Hound Dog said:


> On this criticism of Mexican Banks and the choice of bills despensed from ATM machines I say nonsense........


You're free, of course, to say whatever you want to say.

I'm not talking about banks in Tanzania, Nepal, or even Alabama. I'm talking about Scotiabanks in Mexico - and today, not 1967. I take out 9000 pesos every time I make an ATM withdrawal from a Scotiabank Mexico ATM. I do that between 16 and 22 times during our 5 - 6 month winters in Mexico, and have done so for the past 8 years. This is our 9th winter. Let's see: that's something like 128-to-176 withdrawals, excluding this year's four withdrawals. Each time, I get seventeen 500 peso bills, two 200 peso bills, and one 100 peso bill. I cannot recall ever receiving any other mix of bills. 

It makes no difference to me who stocks the ATM, and I would seriously doubt that my withdrawals have perfectly coincided with the 1st or the 15th of the month.

I take 9000 pesos each time because I want to spend as little time in, or at, a bank as I can.

As far as suggesting that one can use a bank's services to exchange from one foreign currency to another totally without either some kind of fees/charges/service charges/exhorbitant monthly or annual account fees, or the necessity to maintain huge account balances that pay little or no interest, or a promise to do absolutely all your financial transactions through that bank for the rest of your days on this earth, or to sign away to the bank your first child........well, then, it's my turn to say nonsense. One way or another, amigo, you are paying for the services you think you're getting for free. Any bank that operates differently doesn't stay in business very long.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

HolyMole said:


> I take out 9000 pesos every time I make an ATM withdrawal from a Scotiabank Mexico ATM. I do that between 16 and 22 times during our 5 - 6 month winters in Mexico, and have done so for the past 8 years. This is our 9th winter. Let's see: that's something like 128-to-176 withdrawals, excluding this year's four withdrawals. Each time, I get seventeen 500 peso bills, two 200 peso bills, and one 100 peso bill. I cannot recall ever receiving any other mix of bills.


I could be the amount that you withdraw. Have you tried smaller amounts to see if there is any change in the percentage of 500 notes? Of course, I'm not saying that if you withdrew 500 pesos you wouldn't get five 100s or two 200s and a 100. You might get one 500. What I am saying is that you can't complain if you keep repeating the same withdrawing conditions.


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

_


HolyMole said:



You're free, of course, to say whatever you want to say.

I'm not talking about banks in Tanzania, Nepal, or even Alabama. I'm talking about Scotiabanks in Mexico - and today, not 1967. I take out 9000 pesos every time I make an ATM withdrawal from a Scotiabank Mexico ATM. I do that between 16 and 22 times during our 5 - 6 month winters in Mexico, and have done so for the past 8 years. This is our 9th winter. Let's see: that's something like 128-to-176 withdrawals, excluding this year's four withdrawals. Each time, I get seventeen 500 peso bills, two 200 peso bills, and one 100 peso bill. I cannot recall ever receiving any other mix of bills. 

It makes no difference to me who stocks the ATM, and I would seriously doubt that my withdrawals have perfectly coincided with the 1st or the 15th of the month.

I take 9000 pesos each time because I want to spend as little time in, or at, a bank as I can.

As far as suggesting that one can use a bank's services to exchange from one foreign currency to another totally without either some kind of fees/charges/service charges/exhorbitant monthly or annual account fees, or the necessity to maintain huge account balances that pay little or no interest, or a promise to do absolutely all your financial transactions through that bank for the rest of your days on this earth, or to sign away to the bank your first child........well, then, it's my turn to say nonsense. One way or another, amigo, you are paying for the services you think you're getting for free. Any bank that operates differently doesn't stay in business very long.

Click to expand...

_OK; I guess I have more clout with my bank than you do with yours. I, as a long-time international banker for some 40 years and client of a bank with some knowledge of international currency markets , am not stupid enough to think that banks or, for that matter, Dairy Queen franchises are giving away any services. I do know how to shop around, however. I get my deal - you get yours. Scotia Bank or wherever.


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## sunnyvmx (Mar 14, 2010)

I use the Scotia ATM here Lakeside and it dispenses my requested 5000 pesos in 500 peso notes with the final two 200 peso notes and the last 100 peso note each time. When I get almost all 200 peso notes, I suspect the machine is running out of money and the 500's are gone. I would never withdraw more than the 5000 pesos as there is no guarantee the correct amount will be delivered. Once I received no money and B of A failed to find the descrepency so I lost the $400 plus money and the second time I received only one 500 peso note and B of A credited back my account the difference so I didn't lose out.

I try to use the ATM during the week and not on the weekends when the tapatios from Guadalajara are visiting, especially during Holidays of which there are many. They can be a significant drain on the machine's funds and it's likely to run out of money. I too find that going to the ATM once for my rent and twice more during the month for living expenses is as much time as I want to spend getting my money as it's much more enjoyable spending it.


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## Bobbyb (Mar 9, 2014)

We have our Trust on the house with Scotiabank. I hope they do not shut down the trust department. Their rates are about $150 USD less than the other banks.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

I remember the time I withdrew 4,000 pesos and got the entire amount in 50s. I could barely fold my wallet.


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## wonderphil (Sep 7, 2013)

HolyMole said:


> You're free, of course, to say whatever you want to say.
> 
> I'm not talking about banks in Tanzania, Nepal, or even Alabama. I'm talking about Scotiabanks in Mexico - and today, not 1967. I take out 9000 pesos every time I make an ATM withdrawal from a Scotiabank Mexico ATM. I do that between 16 and 22 times during our 5 - 6 month winters in Mexico, and have done so for the past 8 years. This is our 9th winter. Let's see: that's something like 128-to-176 withdrawals, excluding this year's four withdrawals. Each time, I get seventeen 500 peso bills, two 200 peso bills, and one 100 peso bill. I cannot recall ever receiving any other mix of bills.
> 
> ...



I have a similar experience. I have used many atm's at all kinds of banks in Mexico. I try to take out about the max they will give me and at least 5000 pesos. My bank (fidelity brokerage account) will give me 1000 USD per day on the debit card I am using. Anyway it is a fact that some arm's will pay out all 500 k notes with only a few smaller bills and others will give me a whole lot of smaller bills. I just used the HSBC bank on two occasions that gave me a ton of small bills. As I remember, earlier this year when I used Scotia bank on a few occasions they gave me mostly 500's


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## SirRon (Nov 4, 2014)

joaquinx said:


> I remember the time I withdrew 4,000 pesos and got the entire amount in 50s. I could barely fold my wallet.



same thing has happens to me more times than i can count, i hate getting those small bills, i go threw them much faster, the 500 are harder to spend


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## buzzbar (Feb 9, 2013)

I get a double dose of the frustration that HolyMole mentions. Withdrawing pesos at the Banamex ATM for small day to day expenses gives me a wad of 500s, but when I cross to USA to withdraw dollars for rent payment, Citibank ATMs only give denominations of twenty dollar notes, whatever the requested amount. It's almost enough to make me actually go into the bank to make a withdrawal :shocked: something I last did in about 1998......


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

SirRon said:


> same thing has happens to me more times than i can count, i hate getting those small bills, i go threw them much faster, the 500 are harder to spend


This goes counter to the reason I withdraw monies. I do it so to spend them.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

All of us complaining about the denomination of the peso notes the ATMs give us should be happy that we have money in the bank in the first place  !


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