# IT contractor living in MEXICO working for US company - how to get paid?



## pad1llaed

I am H1 until next month. I will be working as contractor living in Mexico but I still need to find out how to get paid?


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## maesonna

What does H1 mean?

Doesn’t the company you’re working for know how to pay you?
Your range of options may depend on whether you have a bank account in Mexico or not.

Here are some options:
-wire transfer bank to bank (not recommended; not necessarily reliable and tends to be expensive)
-PayPal
-send physical cheque in regular mail 
-they deposit directly into your US bank account (if you have one)
-in general the cheapest and safest option is to send it by the same mechanism that Mexican workers in the US use to send money home to their families in Mexico. Because this is a very competitive market, the prices can be as low as $US 5 per remittance. These services can work out to be much cheaper than the traditional services such as Western Union. Search on your company’s bank’s website to find if they offer a remittance service to Mexico. 
For example, Bank of America’s version is called SafeSend. You do not need to have a bank account in a Mexican bank to use these services.


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## jlms

pad1llaed said:


> I am H1 until next month. I will be working as contractor living in Mexico but I still need to find out how to get paid?


Just ask them to wire you the money to your bank account in Mexico.

Be careful to ensure the payments are regular and not too big, otherwise banks will pester you with checks as part of their policies to stop money laundering (under $10000 per transfer should be ok).


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## Queretaro

I also do some IT consulting work and they usually deposit in my U.S. bank account (I am a U.S. citizen). That is definately the easiest since wire transfers cost a lot, and paypal charges a huge commission for international transfers (~15%). Hope this helps.


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## BajaGringo

I just have them deposit it into my US bank and withdraw the money from an ATM. I had my US bank set the daily withdrawal limit high and use HSBC which will give me a choice to withdraw in pesos and dollars.


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## bournemouth

BajaGringo said:


> I just have them deposit it into my US bank and withdraw the money from an ATM. I had my US bank set the daily withdrawal limit high and use HSBC which will give me a choice to withdraw in pesos and dollars.




The option of withdrawing in pesos or dollars only exists in limited areas, mostly along the borders I understand. You certainly do not have that choice at HSBC ATM's in the Jalisco area.


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## RVGRINGO

I'll confirm that. I think I've only noticed one machine that gave a choice of dollars or pesos, and it was right on the banks of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo del Norte.


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## BajaGringo

We are over four hours drive south of the border and have that option. I wonder what the exact criteria is / how far from the border...


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## RVGRINGO

Remember, Baja, you live in a 'different country' from mainland Mexico. Many things are different with so many US Californians running back and forth in the northern part and tourists flying in and out to Cabo, etc. On the mainland, the currency is only the peso. Some larger stores may take dollars at a poor exchange rate, but the majority will not.


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## sanantonio

pad1llaed said:


> I am H1 until next month. I will be working as contractor living in Mexico but I still need to find out how to get paid?


We are also U.S. citizens living and working in Mexico for a U.S. company. My husband negotiated being payed in U.S. money deposited straight into our U.S. account and we will usually use ATM or one main credit card for restaurants, cost-co. purchases , etc.


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## RVGRINGO

I have found that most expats living in Mexico do have their income or pensions deposited to their home banks and use ATMs to obtain cash. Many also keep an emergency account in a Mexican investment house, such as Lloyd, Multiva, etc., in case they suddenly need hospitalization or to make an unexpected large purchase in pesos. There are machines everywhere, so getting cash is not a problem. Everyone will pay the 1% foreign exchange fee, but many have banks or banking relationships which do not charge ATM fees at certain cooperating banks.
Note that credit card use in Mexico is rare in most places and the local economies are based on cash transactions. In many cases, there is a higher price charged for use of a credit card and most receipts show the entire credit card number. There are also many instances of credit card theft. I would only use ours in major international businesses, like Costco, Sears, etc. and, then, only in a pinch.


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