# Best/safest/cheap



## edenmayne (May 14, 2011)

way to send money to Mexico? 

Usually Moneygram is a good and safe bet BUT on this ocassion (cos there is a largeish amount) it is gonna cost as much as $100 to send the money.

I am going to google this and do some reseearch anyway but just wondered if there may be some bank or institution I have not thought of..

By the way I am in UK.

Thanks


PS IS IT SAFE TO TRANSFER MONEY TO MEXICAN BANK LIKE BANCOMER? I ASK COS I AM SURE I HEARD A WHILE AGO THAT NOT ONLY COULD I GET CHARGED AT THIS END BUT THE BANKS MAY CHARGE AT THEIR END? I WOULD HATE FOR SAY 1000 PESOS TO ERRRRRR " GO MISSING" IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN


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## jlms (May 15, 2008)

I am afraid not. I have used several and it is a PITA.

Bancomer is perfectly safe, but your bank in the UK will charge you quite a bit for the transfer.

I believe PayPal is now available in Mexico, so that could be an option. I have not used because the only person to whom I send money is a technophobe :-(

I have sent money in cash successfully in the past, Royal Mail will happily ensure it, and once it is tracked and insured Correos Mexicanos' employees have no choice but deliver the goods, but I have done this for small amounts only, so no to tempt fate with a possible robbery in the MX side of things :-(

Another possibility is a cash card: you could buy it in the UK, mail it (empty) to your party, then fill it up and your recipient would be able to get the cash in an ATM (there are cards that issue dependant cards if necessary).


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## edenmayne (May 14, 2011)

The post Office do it for free but apparently the exhcange rate is not that great...

This was the thing that bothered me re bank transfer - I knew there would be a fee.... I just wondered on top of the fee here in UK would the Mexican bank charge. He uses Banorte.

I have just checked the pre loaded card thing... they charge for the card then there is a small fee for drawing the money out - but they arent clear on exchange rates either...

So I am checking for a card that locks in exchange rate of pesos when I load it up.

Any further ideas and tips would be appreciated...


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## La Osita (Oct 31, 2010)

I just checked and realized that Wells Fargo Bank is in the UK. If there is one near you, check with them. I use Wells Fargo in the US and have Express Send attached to my checking account. Simply, you are able to send money, up to $1,500/day, to Mexico for a flat fee of $6.00. I send money to myself,or when I was in the US, to my husband as cash to Bancomer. There is NO fee on the Bancomer end. The beneficiary simply goes to the bank with ID and the transaction # which you will have to give him, to pick up the money. The money transfers generally within a matter of minutes. Hope this helps.


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## La Osita (Oct 31, 2010)

Oh, you can transfer money to a number of different banks and institutions in Mexico. I just use Bancomer because it's easy. Just a thought, if you do use Wells Fargo to move money, remember that if you transfer the money into a Mexican bank acccount, if you move more than 15,000 pesos into the account they will charge you 3%. Better to send it as cash.


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## makaloco (Mar 26, 2009)

The 3% tax in Mexico is for cash deposits and doesn't apply to checks, wire transfers, direct deposits, and the like. I've used wire transfer to send funds from my account in the US to my Bancomer account. For a while there was no charge by my US bank, and the fee on the Mexico end was 200-some pesos (about $20 USD). Now my US bank charges $40, so I've stopped doing it that way. I just write a check on my US account and deposit it to my Bancomer account. There's no fee, and the exchange rate is locked in, but it requires someone being in Mexico to deposit the check. The other downside is that it takes about eight days for the funds to become available.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

makaloco said:


> The 3% tax in Mexico is for cash deposits and doesn't apply to checks, wire transfers, direct deposits, and the like. I've used wire transfer to send funds from my account in the US to my Bancomer account. For a while there was no charge by my US bank, and the fee on the Mexico end was 200-some pesos (about $20 USD). Now my US bank charges $40, so I've stopped doing it that way. I just write a check on my US account and deposit it to my Bancomer account. There's no fee, and the exchange rate is locked in, but it requires someone being in Mexico to deposit the check. The other downside is that it takes about eight days for the funds to become available.


I do the same thing at Banamex. Just write a check in dollars and deposit it. Banamex charged me $100 pesos last time. The money showed up in my account instantly, but I had enough balance to cover it, so that might have been why there was no delay.


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## kcowan (Jul 24, 2010)

Are you trying to pay for a condo rental? Often the owner or rental agent offers other alternatives.

Before we purchased, I would send checks to the US or Paypal payments. When we rented off VRBO in Paris, they even accepted Visa because the charge for cash transfer was at both ends ($95 plus FX).


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## FHBOY (Jun 15, 2010)

If rental - our agent uses a PayPal account - transfers immediately.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

itnavell said:


> .....................remember that if you transfer the money into a Mexican bank acccount, if you move more than 15,000 pesos into the account they will charge you 3%. Better to send it as cash.


Wrong! That's for cash only. Checks and transfers are not penalized in this 'anti-money laundering' program.
I guess that the purpose of the transfer would make a difference. If it is a payment, then the comments above will apply. However, if it is to send money to an individual or to yourself, on a regular basis, then a debit card for a dedicated account, controlled by the sender, might be the most economical method. A card could be mailed to the recipient, while the sender could make the appropriate deposits to the dedicated account, as needed or desired. Coordination by e-mail should suffice and the result would be instant cash for the recipient. The sender, owner of the account, may determine the daily limit; anywhere from $300 to $1000 USD, for example.
Larger amounts, for rare events, would require a bank or wire transfer. Western Union is still an option and the recipient need not have a bank account.


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## edenmayne (May 14, 2011)

Not for condo rental  for VISA at Uk embassy - it would be so much easier if I could pay online but my partner has to pay in local currency - he is in Mexico City at the moment.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

The simple method would be for your partner to identify a convenient Western Union destination; probably at a bank. They will have the familiar sign on display. Then, you could send the funds by WU to that person, at that destination. If the recipient has proper identification, he can pick up the funds in cash (pesos) without difficulty. That works well for transfers to Mexico; not from Mexico, for some reason.


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## edenmayne (May 14, 2011)

RVGRINGO said:


> The simple method would be for your partner to identify a convenient Western Union destination; probably at a bank. They will have the familiar sign on display. Then, you could send the funds by WU to that person, at that destination. If the recipient has proper identification, he can pick up the funds in cash (pesos) without difficulty. That works well for transfers to Mexico; not from Mexico, for some reason.



I know this but WU and Moneygrams charge $100 (USD) plus  I was kinda hoping to find a cheaper way...


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## La Osita (Oct 31, 2010)

RVGRINGO said:


> Wrong! That's for cash only. Checks and transfers are not penalized in this 'anti-money laundering' program.
> I guess that the purpose of the transfer would make a difference. If it is a payment, then the comments above will apply. However, if it is to send money to an individual or to yourself, on a regular basis, then a debit card for a dedicated account, controlled by the sender, might be the most economical method. A card could be mailed to the recipient, while the sender could make the appropriate deposits to the dedicated account, as needed or desired. Coordination by e-mail should suffice and the result would be instant cash for the recipient. The sender, owner of the account, may determine the daily limit; anywhere from $300 to $1000 USD, for example.
> Larger amounts, for rare events, would require a bank or wire transfer. Western Union is still an option and the recipient need not have a bank account.


Thanks for letting me know. But, I have to tell you that the information I posted was given to me by the customer service rep at Bancomer when I was opening an account with them two weeks ago. Up until now, I was using the Express Send with Wells Fargo to send cash to the Bancomer. She told me specifically that if I transferred more than 15,000 pesos directly into my account that I would be charged 3%. I have to assume then, that she is wrong.


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## La Osita (Oct 31, 2010)

Well, or possibly I misunderstood her comment. Just out of curiosity now, I'm going to ask her the same question when I go to the bank this week.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Many have misinterpreted the new rules; including bank employees. The key is 'cash' ('efectivo') deposits as opposed to checks or transfers.
You may have to ask another person, or ask for the documentation of the rules, etc.


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## La Osita (Oct 31, 2010)

Thank you. I'll try that.


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## terrybahena (Oct 3, 2011)

itnavell said:


> I just checked and realized that Wells Fargo Bank is in the UK. If there is one near you, check with them. I use Wells Fargo in the US and have Express Send attached to my checking account. Simply, you are able to send money, up to $1,500/day, to Mexico for a flat fee of $6.00. I send money to myself,or when I was in the US, to my husband as cash to Bancomer. There is NO fee on the Bancomer end. The beneficiary simply goes to the bank with ID and the transaction # which you will have to give him, to pick up the money. The money transfers generally within a matter of minutes. Hope this helps.


I do the same thing but use Santander at the Mexico end- no fees.


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