# Social Security direct deposit



## Stevenjb (Dec 10, 2017)

Anyone have experience using USDirectExpress (endorsed by SSA) as a debit MasterCard for ongoing SS benefit receipt while living in Mexico. And experience with this deposit method.

As an alternative to using a U.S. bank with concerns of them finding out about non-US residency

SSA pub 05-10137 -- page 29


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

SS checks are direct deposited to a Mexican bank, in which we keep a limited balance. SSA is aware that we live in Mexico. No problem. Our U.S. bank caters to overseas clients and is also aware of our Mexican residence. They have provided us with a checking and savings account as well as a high limit Visa card. Easy online banking.
With some research, there is no need to hide your residence in order to fill your banking needs. A good place to start is the website for "American Citizens Abroad".


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## Hound Dog1 (Feb 6, 2016)

As lagoloo writes. U.S. residency or for that matter, citizenship, is not an issue insofar as social security benefits are concerned.Whilie I am a U.S. citizen, my wife is a French citizen who earned her social security benefits while working in the U.S.We have resided in Mexico for over 17 years and have our benefits deposited directly to our U.S. bank which bank is fully aware that we are full-time residents of Mexico and are Mexican citizens. As you are conccerned about residency in Mexico - relax. No problem with U.S. banks or the SSA.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Hound Dog1 said:


> As lagoloo writes. U.S. residency or for that matter, citizenship, is not an issue insofar as social security benefits are concerned. While I am a U.S. citizen, my wife is a French citizen who earned her social security benefits while working in the U.S.We have resided in Mexico for over 17 years and have our benefits deposited directly to our U.S. bank which bank is fully aware that we are full-time residents of Mexico and are Mexican citizens. As you are concerned about residency in Mexico - relax. No problem with U.S. banks or the SSA.


I am somewhat split on this issue. I have kept most of my finances in the US. I do have a couple of Mexican bank accounts that I use for day to day expenses. For some of the US institutions, I use my Mexican address, for others I use my son's US address. I tried using a Mexican address for all of them, but it caused some problems. It limited what you could do online or otherwise was a headache. Maybe I am using the wrong banks but it is too much trouble to investigate and change.


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

My spouse and I have our major savings in one of the large U.S. investment institutions and they are aware of our expat status, but we are in a money market account and no longer involved in stock trading, so do not have such an account. The latter issue is probably where most people have a problem.

My feelings (possibly baseless) are that I don't want more money in a Mexican financial institution than I can afford to lose. However, we are "nesters", so we ignore that sensible principal and own property here, using the "cross your fingers" guarantee.


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## Hound Dog1 (Feb 6, 2016)

TundraGreen said:


> I am somewhat split on this issue. I have kept most of my finances in the US. I do have a couple of Mexican bank accounts that I use for day to day expenses. For some of the US institutions, I use my Mexican address, for others I use my son's US address. I tried using a Mexican address for all of them, but it caused some problems. It limited what you could do online or otherwise was a headache. Maybe I am using the wrong banks but it is too much trouble to investigate and change.


Just for clarification, we use an international brokerage firm in the U.S.as our primary banking house and, when we moved to Mexico we had to sign on as international clients versus domestic clients as we were designated when we resided in California. In Mexico (or in France for that matter) we use ATMs for cash withdrawals. When we need large amounts of cash for,say, for, a home or car purchase, we wire funds to our Mexican bank and buy the Mexican equivalent of a local cashier’s check. We aee able to avail ourselves of all banking services offerred us in ths U.S. here in Mexico as well.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

lagoloo said:


> My spouse and I have our major savings in one of the large U.S. investment institutions and they are aware of our expat status, but we are in a money market account and no longer involved in stock trading, so do not have such an account. The latter issue is probably where most people have a problem.
> 
> My feelings (possibly baseless) are that I don't want more money in a Mexican financial institution than I can afford to lose. However, we are "nesters", so we ignore that sensible principal and own property here, using the "cross your fingers" guarantee.


I use my Mexican address on my IRAs. It is the regular banks that seem to have trouble with a Mexican address. I changed one bank to my Mexican address then couldn't do something I needed to do, I can't remember what it was now. So I went to change the address to a US address and they wouldn't let me do that online. They said I had to show up at a branch in person. It was a nuisance until the next time I was in the US when I switched back to a US address. In all of the conversations, there didn't seem to be any concern or interest in where I actually resided. It was all just about what I used for a mailing address.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Actually my biggest problem with mail has not been caused by the banks. I use my son's address when I want a US address. He throws anything that comes for me in a carton and once a year or so when I visit him, I look at it and throw it away.

The problem has been that he has moved several times in the past few years, so I have to spend time updating my address with everyone. Hopefully, he will stay put for awhile now. My daughter-in-law is nearing the end of her medical training. She is a fourth year resident. So I guess there is at least one more potential move in their immediate future and one more address change for me. Changing addresses with correspondents is obviously easier than moving. I have helped out some with his moves as well, including driving the moving van for one of them.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

When I first moved to Mexico in 2007, I had my US SS checks sent to my Bank of America account, and they had an arrangement with Scotia Bank and Santander that allowed me to withdraw pesos from any of their ATMs without a service charge being levied. When that arrangement was changed and service charges began to be applied for withdrawals, I went to the US Embassy to request that my checks be deposited directly to my Santander account. This has worked out well for me in the ensuing years.


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## Hound Dog1 (Feb 6, 2016)

TundraGreen said:


> I use my Mexican address on my IRAs. It is the regular banks that seem to have trouble with a Mexican address. I changed one bank to my Mexican address then couldn't do something I needed to do, I can't remember what it was now. So I went to change the address to a US address and they wouldn't let me do that online. They said I had to show up at a branch in person. It was a nuisance until the next time I was in the US when I switched back to a US address. In all of the conversations, there didn't seem to be any concern or interest in where I actually resided. It was all just about what I used for a mailing address.


Interesting that you say that. My wife and I have been living on IRA savings and SS benefits for years here in Mexico. One day it occurred to me that should I die or become incoherent (can the jokes, please’), my wife might need access to my IRA savings so I called my brokerage house and the answering operator glibly informed me that that would be no problem as all my wife had to do was come to San Francisco to sign some forms to get access to my IRAs. It happens that my wife holds dual citizenship in France and Mexico but has no right to enter the U.S. without an appropriate visa,a contingency That was unacceptable to me so I withdrew the balance of my IRA accounts and placed them in our joint savings account.

Do not presume you know the answers to these critical questions because the regulations are a snake that, sight unseen, can bite you in the ass.


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## mattoleriver (Oct 21, 2011)

Just a few years ago the boards were full of posts from people who had involuntarily had their U.S. bank accounts closed with very little warning and with few/no easy options for obtaining new accounts. 
Has that problem gone away? Are U.S. banks allowing new accounts to be opened from Mexico without a visit to a U.S. branch?


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## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

I was one of those who Banamex dumped and the solution was described in my previous post about financial institutions that cater to expats. No visit to a U.S. branch was required.


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## Stevenjb (Dec 10, 2017)

Some interesting choices.


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## Lawgrrl (Apr 24, 2015)

Check the fees for non-US ATMs before you decide:

Outside of US ATM withdrawal: See notice on ATM for surcharge fee
*will have additional $3 fee AND 3% the withdrawn amount

Outside of US Purchases at Stores: 3% of the purchase amount 

The fee info comes from Consumer Reports; I've also checked it on the US Direct Express website under "fees"


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## Meritorious-MasoMenos (Apr 17, 2014)

Lawgrrl said:


> Check the fees for non-US ATMs before you decide:
> 
> Outside of US ATM withdrawal: See notice on ATM for surcharge fee
> *will have additional $3 fee AND 3% the withdrawn amount
> ...


This statement doesn't apply to Schwab Bank, which charges nothing for out-of-US withdrawals; plus it refunds all ATM fees that other banks charge, in or out of U.S.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

It also does not apply to USAA, and probably several other banks with international experience, etc.
If you have a good bank, you can disregard such warnings and misstatements.


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## dwwhiteside (Apr 17, 2013)

Ally Bank also charges no fees for using ATMs in Mexico (and probably other countries as well) and refunds the fees charged by the ATM.


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## WintheWin (Jul 15, 2015)

RVGRINGO said:


> It also does not apply to USAA, and probably several other banks with international experience, etc.
> If you have a good bank, you can disregard such warnings and misstatements.


Careful with USAA, that's my primary (only) bank. 

Debit withdrawals are charged a 1% fee.

However, credit use does not incur a fee. I use my CC as much as possible and just pay it from my debit account.

They will still refund up to ~12$ of ATM fees, it's not unlimited. In Mexico I've never gone over the 12$, because ATM's charge so little (~1.50?)


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## AceM (Jan 19, 2017)

I am not in Mexico yet but i plan on using a UPS PO Box in the states close to the border as my US address


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