# Santander -- no accounts for residente temporal holders



## travelingrae (Dec 9, 2016)

I went to a Santander bank in Mérida to try to open an account, but was told that the Santander policy is to only open accounts for residente permanente holders, as well as citizens. No residente temporal holders accepted. 

I'm not going to try to bother to double verify that by trying again at another branch since the man didn't feel dismissive at all and explained that it has to do with tightening banking regulations. He told me to try HSBC, Banamex, and BBVA Bancomer in that order. I'm not keen on HSBC because of the dearth of ATMs and Bancomer will never see me again after an issue I had with them, so that means I'll go spend a morning at a Banamex this week. :fingerscrossed:

Anyway, I thought this might be useful information for someone else trying to open a bank account.


----------



## Me Linda (Jan 26, 2017)

I feel your pain . While you are at banamex , if you have an American ATM card , would you see if it works at the banamex ATM machines? I want to open a banamex account but none of my cards ( chase & B of A ) work in their machines. I have been trying for a week I think it maybe just this branch .


----------



## travelingrae (Dec 9, 2016)

Me Linda said:


> I feel your pain . While you are at banamex , if you have an American ATM card , would you see if it works at the banamex ATM machines? I want to open a banamex account but none of my cards ( chase & B of A ) work in their machines. I have been trying for a week I think it maybe just this branch .


I have Canadian cards, so I can't help you unfortunately. Last time I tried to withdraw at a Banamex (few weeks ago in Xalapa), I had no trouble.

What does it matter if your US cards work or don't in the ATM if you're going to have an account with them and their own debit card? That's one of the reasons I want a Mexican account, so I can stop using my Canadian debit cards down here.


----------



## Me Linda (Jan 26, 2017)

All of my income goes into a American account. I will need to pull the money from them for me and the Mexican account. I have no car the banamex is only bank ( and ATM ) within walking distance to my house . if I have a account there no ATM fees ( no fees at US bank ). I will try again next week and if it doesn't work I give up .thanks 4 any suggestions


----------



## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Me Linda said:


> All of my income goes into a American account. I will need to pull the money from them for me and the Mexican account. I have no car the banamex is only bank ( and ATM ) within walking distance to my house . if I have a account there no ATM fees ( no fees at US bank ). I will try again next week and if it doesn't work I give up .thanks 4 any suggestions


Open an account with Citi Bank which owns Banamex, if you can open a Gold Account all your withdrawals will be fee free at Banamex ATMs..........


----------



## horseshoe846 (Feb 8, 2017)

chicois8 said:


> Open an account with Citi Bank which owns Banamex, if you can open a Gold Account all your withdrawals will be fee free at Banamex ATMs..........


We have an account at Banamex. A couple years back it was a patrimonial account but we have since scaled it back. At one point Citi approached us to open a US account. They wanted - at a minimum - one million dollars to establish the account (no kidding). And the vetting process was similar to acquiring top secret clearance in the US. We told them to take a hike. But - we are Mexican residents and retain no US address...


----------



## Canadiense82 (Jul 7, 2017)

Hello 

I am a Canadian who will be living in Mexico for one year (2018-2019). I currently get paid in USD to a US Account (RBC) and transfer the money into my Canadian account (RBC). What is the most cost effective way to transfer money to use in Mexico? Can I open an account in Mexico for the year? I'll have a TRV. I don't mind opening another account in the US, if this makes it easier/cheaper.


----------



## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Canadiense82 said:


> Hello
> 
> I am a Canadian who will be living in Mexico for one year (2018-2019). I currently get paid in USD to a US Account (RBC) and transfer the money into my Canadian account (RBC). What is the most cost effective way to transfer money to use in Mexico? Can I open an account in Mexico for the year? I'll have a TRV. I don't mind opening another account in the US, if this makes it easier/cheaper.


I suggest you just take cash out of ATMs from your US or Canadian bank account. Mexico still uses cash for most things. It is probably not worth the effort to open a Mexican bank account if you will only be here for one year.


----------



## horseshoe846 (Feb 8, 2017)

Canadiense82 said:


> Hello
> 
> I am a Canadian who will be living in Mexico for one year (2018-2019). I currently get paid in USD to a US Account (RBC) and transfer the money into my Canadian account (RBC). What is the most cost effective way to transfer money to use in Mexico? Can I open an account in Mexico for the year? I'll have a TRV. I don't mind opening another account in the US, if this makes it easier/cheaper.


I think that for only a year I'd stick with US debit/credit cards and not open a Mexican bank. You certainly wouldn't want to convert your monies from dollars to loonies to pesos. You want to look for a US 'bank' which does not charge foreign transaction fees and gives a decent exchange rate. ATM fees amount to something like $2 USD per transaction (and some banks will reimburse them) but the big hitters are the exchange rate/transaction fees. But you must have a taste of that already moving your monies between the US and Canada ?

I have no idea - are Canadians impacted by FATCA ? Are there times when a Canadian needs to file US taxes ? If so that would be another reason to not open a Mexican account for such a short time period.


----------



## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

Canadiense82 said:


> Hello
> 
> I am a Canadian who will be living in Mexico for one year (2018-2019). I currently get paid in USD to a US Account (RBC) and transfer the money into my Canadian account (RBC). What is the most cost effective way to transfer money to use in Mexico? Can I open an account in Mexico for the year? I'll have a TRV. I don't mind opening another account in the US, if this makes it easier/cheaper.


So you convert US Dollars to Canadian Dollars and then withdraw pesos from an ATM from your Canadian account? The cheapest way is to go from USD to MXN avoiding he conversion loss to CAD. The conversion loss must be great.


----------



## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

joaquinx said:


> So you convert US Dollars to Canadian Dollars and then withdraw pesos from an ATM from your Canadian account? The cheapest way is to go from USD to MXN avoiding he conversion loss to CAD. The conversion loss must be great.


In Canada, most, if not all, Canadian banks offer US$ accounts. If you want to access the money to use in Canada, you can transfer to a regular CDN$ account. If you want to access US$ cash e.g. for travel, you can withdraw US$ currency straight from the US$ account, so no conversion fee / loss involved. 

I suggest the OP check with his bank (RBC = Royal Bank of Canada) to see if he can withdraw directly from his US$ account using an ATM in Mexico. If so, the conversion would be US$ to MXN pesos, and there will not be the loss inherent in doing double currency conversion (US to Canadian, then CDN to MXN).


----------



## annnelise (Jul 23, 2017)

From the reports I've looked into Scotiabank ranks the highest in Mexico, since it's headquartered in Canada I think it'd be a great option.

I've been looking into HSBC and they have some pretty steep requirements. As a US citizen and independent contractor, I have moving my assets into another account at the top of my relocation to-do list. I'd definitely be interested to hear of anyone who has a temporary residential or tourist visa and a Mexican bank account from a company that isn't also in the US. I have read Belize is a great country for an international account, and banks are open to non-residents, so another possibility to consider, ADO to Belize City is convenient. 

Would love to hear people's updates on their progress, and I'll update when I finalize my plans.


----------

