# Transferring US$ to Banks in Mexico



## odontonema (Apr 10, 2014)

Hello All...I am a new member and i would sure appreciate some feedback about banking methods to transfer funds (on a regular basis) from the US to a Mexico bank. I have been living in Mexico for a number of years. I have a bank in the US with some accounts and retirement funds are direct deposited to this US bank.

From time to time (i.e., once every two months or so), i transfer US dollars from my bank to Banamex USA and then when i need pesos, I transfer from Banamex USA to my Banamex account in Mexico. So, the funds leave the US as dollars and arrive in my account as pesos. Over the years, this arrangement has worked quite well.

Increasingly, Banamex USA has become more cumbersome and difficult to work with and i am looking for an alternative way that is trusted and secure to accomplish the transfer of funds. You cannot imagine how much i would appreciate hearing from you, odontonema


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## wonderphil (Sep 7, 2013)

bump


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Both Mexico and the United States have adopted increasingly strengthened currrency transfer regulations - primarily as an effort to reduce money laundering. There, too, are the actions being taken by banks to increase revenue by charging all sorts of fees. If you have an established banking relationship in Mexico then it seems to me you should be asking your question(s) at that bank. You may also want to consider moving your money in the USA from a bank which charges fees for transfers and/or ATM withdrawals to another bank, brokerage or credit union which either doesn't levy a fee or whose fee is lesser than you're now paying.


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## makaloco (Mar 26, 2009)

I usually write a personal check from my US bank to deposit in my Mexican bank (Bancomer). It takes about eight working days to clear. Exchange rate is okay, not the best, but there are no fees. The exchange rate is set on the day I deposit the check so that I'm not subject to fluctuations while waiting for it to clear. Other banks may do it differently, of course.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

why transfer funds instead of using the BanamexUSA ATM card in any Banamex ATM fee free?
You get a better exchange rate from ATM than dollar /peso transfers..........


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

chicois8 said:


> why transfer funds instead of using the BanamexUSA ATM card in any Banamex ATM fee free?
> You get a better exchange rate from ATM than dollar /peso transfers..........


Piles of Bullsh"t as delivered by BanamexUSA/ Banamex still stick to your boots as you exit the swamps. As an ex-banker with over 40 years experience starting with free toasters for opening an account in the 1960s to (service charge free/better Exchange rates in the 21st Century) I say as P.T. Barnum said, " Ingress free, egress $5.00Dollars).


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## sfmaestra (Oct 8, 2013)

Can you translate this, Hound Dog? You lost me. (I'm not a banker.)


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Aren't ex bankers between lawyers and used car salesmen in popularity?
[snip]


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

OK, sfmaestra and chicois8:

Dawg was trying to be clever with that post about bankers´ BS sticking to one´s boots so let me phrase that differently bearing in mind that I am not a banker but an ex-banker having retired some 13 years ago after about 40 years in that business:

I know this is a cliche but we all know there is no free lunch. Bankers don´t purposefully give away services although they sometimes do out of naivete. The money bankers seek is made on the "spread" between what they pay you to hold and invest your money and what that money costs them and the "spread" is akin to Scrooges Vault. The more sophisticated bankers figured out long ago that the piddly service charges they were imposing on customers was "chump change" meant only to marginally augment earnings insignificantly. These so-called ties between U.S. and Mexican Bbnks or any other international gimmick are a ruse meant to induce you to let your resources sit under their commands so they can "play the float" and make money on your money so they forgive the two-bit fees and make the customer happy because the customer has no idea what money the bank is making of of the customer´s "stored" funds or, "so called" exchange rates or a thousand other financial services. 

There is nothing wrong with this, The mom-and-pop store selling you Tootsie Rolls for one peso is making a profit off of the sale as that should or why should they bother even opening their doors and offering you a Tootsie Roll. 

I have maintained accounts at a major international brokerage firm for over 13 years in rertirement and have never paid a direct fee for any transaction whatsoever but that doesn´t mean they are not making money doing business with me as should be the case. They make life easy for me and I help them augment their profits. You rub my back and I rub your back. Humanity as meant to be.


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## GCW (Mar 19, 2014)

Just to let you all know I finally got my money back from Banamex. If you read my previous post Banamex paid someone else's American Express from my debit account 22 mil pesos in October. They said American Express requested the payment and it wasn't their fault. We went to CONDUSEF and they mediated for us. When CONDUSEF asked Banamex for a signed authorization to transfer funds from my account they deposited the money in my account. We have been hit twice with fraud at Banamex, but will keep at least one account with them. Switching to Scotia bank next month. The lawyer at CONDUSEF suggested that Americans who transfer money down here should do so only when needed and take it out of the bank immediately, leaving only enough to keep the account open. Hope our experience helps others.


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## terrybahena (Oct 3, 2011)

I transfer money from Wells Fargo to Santander online. It was free but now I pay $2 per transfer to WF. It's easy and forces me to be smarter about budgeting so I don't pay too many 2 dollar fees.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

terrybahena said:


> I transfer money from Wells Fargo to Santander online. It was free but now I pay $2 per transfer to WF. It's easy and forces me to be smarter about budgeting so I don't pay too many 2 dollar fees.


I'd worry about a 2 usd fee. It mounts up over the years.


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## Anonimo (Apr 8, 2012)

chicois8 said:


> why transfer funds instead of using the BanamexUSA ATM card in any Banamex ATM fee free?
> You get a better exchange rate from ATM than dollar /peso transfers..........


Because, as I understand it, the daily ATM limit from Banamex USA is about $5500 pesos. Please correct me if I'm wrong.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

Anonimo said:


> Because, as I understand it, the daily ATM limit from Banamex USA is about $5500 pesos. Please correct me if I'm wrong.


I went to Banamex this week. My US bank has a $500.00 US daily limit. Banamex let me take $6500.00 pesos. I went home and checked on-line and the charge was $513.00 US. $12.67 exchange rate.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

My citi bank account lets me withdrawal $2000 USD a dayfrom Banamex, I withdrew 6000 Pesos x 4 times (24,000 Pesos ) today,went online and received an exchange rate of 13.03, fee free.......Citi Gold Account.........

Tomorrow I may try my Schwab Bank account and see their exchange rate......

I understood my Banamex USA account could withdraw only $300 USD a day.......but you can transfer up to $10,000 USD a day into a Banamex account fee free but at a lesser exchange rate, they get you coming or going,LOL


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## Tucson (Oct 30, 2010)

Hound Dog said:


> Piles of Bullsh"t as delivered by BanamexUSA/ Banamex still stick to your boots as you exit the swamps. As an ex-banker with over 40 years experience starting with free toasters for opening an account in the 1960s to (service charge free/better Exchange rates in the 21st Century) I say as P.T. Barnum said, " Ingress free, egress $5.00Dollars).


Thank you, Isla Verde, for your editing and keeping this forum "friendly".


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Tucson said:


> Thank you, Isla Verde, for your editing and keeping this forum "friendly".


You're welcome. However, in this case, I didn't change anything in Hound Dog's post; all I did was change the formatting of the quotation.


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## Anonimo (Apr 8, 2012)

chicois8 said:


> My citi bank account lets me withdrawal $2000 USD a dayfrom Banamex, I withdrew 6000 Pesos x 4 times (24,000 Pesos ) today,went online and received an exchange rate of 13.03, fee free.......Citi Gold Account.........
> 
> Tomorrow I may try my Schwab Bank account and see their exchange rate......
> 
> I understood my Banamex USA account could withdraw only $300 USD a day.......but you can transfer up to $10,000 USD a day into a Banamex account fee free but at a lesser exchange rate, they get you coming or going,LOL


So, Chicois8, it's necessary to distinguish a CitiBank (Gold) account from a mere BanamexUSA (a division of, or owned by CitiCorp) account, right?

You are so right about "they get you coming and going".


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

There are qualifications to be met for the CitiGold Account, probably which many people posting here are unable to meet.


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## Bobbyb (Mar 9, 2014)

There is a reason why Mexicans do not trust their banks. I keep all my $$ NOB and just use an ATM. My bank does not charge me any fees for using the ATM (grandfathered) and I gladly pay the 26 pesos to the Mexican ATM. No need to worry about bank fraud. Unless one is building a house or remodeling why is the Mexican account necessary? I pay cash for Propane and pay the Telmex bill either at Telmex or OXXO. CFE is paid at a kiosk and water once A year at the water dept. Works for me. Mexican banks suck!


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Bobbyb said:


> There is a reason why Mexicans do not trust their banks. I keep all my $$ NOB and just use an ATM. My bank does not charge me any fees for using the ATM (grandfathered) and I gladly pay the 26 pesos to the Mexican ATM. No need to worry about bank fraud. Unless one is building a house or remodeling why is the Mexican account necessary? I pay cash for Propane and pay the Telmex bill either at Telmex or OXXO. CFE is paid at a kiosk and water once A year at the water dept. Works for me. Mexican banks suck!


Sorry you've had bad experiences with Mexican banks - what were they exactly? I've had an account with Santander for several years and have had no problems with them. I use my account with them to have my electricity and Telmex bills paid automatically. It's also useful when I do translating and editing work for Mexican clients - they can deposit the money they owe me directly into my Santander account without needing to come to my apartment to pay me in person.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Anonimo said:


> So, Chicois8, it's necessary to distinguish a CitiBank (Gold) account from a mere BanamexUSA (a division of, or owned by CitiCorp) account, right?
> 
> You are so right about "they get you coming and going".



Anonimo, 
Citi Gold is a fee free with their ATM card..minimum balance required .........
BanamexUSA has a banking card, fee free at any Banamex ATM.....
Schwab has a debit card and and fees are reimbursed each month...I don't use the debit side of the card and have its limit set at one dollar......hope this helps..........


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## Bobbyb (Mar 9, 2014)

Isla Gold: My first experience was over 20 years ago. I was not retired yet but my wife was. She would spend 6 months in Mexico and I traveled back and forth from Canada. Being a business person the first thing we did was open up a bank account. There was no ATM anywhere near us. I don't even remember if there were any ATM's in Mexico at that time. This way she did not have to keep large amounts of cash on hand. Seemed to work OK. In the spring we returned to Canada and there was about the equivalent of $150 in the account. When we returned in the fall they had withdrawn a service fee every month for not using the account. The balance was less than $50! I closed the account. She also had about $1000 in an investment account. It automatically renewed on the anniversary date every month. If you wanted to close the account it could only be done on the anniversary date ! How ridiculous They would open for money exchanging every morning until noon. If you were in the line ( long line) at noon they simply closed the wicket and sent you home . Lessson learned!


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

Bobbyb said:


> If you were in the line ( long line) at noon they simply closed the wicket and sent you home . Lessson learned!


Great story. I would always try to base decisions on events that happened 20 years ago.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

"If you were in the line ( long line) at noon they simply closed the wicket and sent you home . Lessson learned!"




joaquinx said:


> Great story. I would always try to base decisions on events that happened 20 years ago.


Same thing happened to me several times in the recent past few years in several, if not in all banks there, I presume, in Mexicali when changing US 100s. They said we cannot change US to pesos after 2PM as the rate will be locked before 2 not now. We don´t change dollars now. Come back tomorrow morning. 2PM Baja time is 12 noon DF time. I finally got the message. 

Scotiabank there wouldn´t take US 100,s and some casa de cambios wouldn´t, but Bancomer and Banamex would . $500 US or over they made you sign a form on the US side at the casa de cambios and show a picture ID.


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## GCW (Mar 19, 2014)

Got a call from my chiropractor this morning all pissed. Seems he got hit with the same scam as my wife and I. Someone used his HSBC debit account to pay off their American Express credit card automatically twice a month. He only transfers down his SS so they didn't get much over $500 bucks. Still, it seems strange that Americans with both Banamex and HSBC have been hit and American Express is on the other end of the scam. Like me, he isn't and American Express member so they won't help. Be careful amigos and check your accounts often. Wife and I don't keep more than the minimum in our account.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

We got hit by Am Ex who ask for a 5000 dollars travel advance from Schwab in the US and go it.. We had never asked for an advance ant eh Am ex was only used to pay for our 12 euro bill from Skype but we had travelled to Europe the month before so Schwab did not question the unusual travel advance...Am ex sent us a new platinum card although we specified we wanted a green card, change our address and passwords. The Am Ex fed ex pachages were open at customs so we do not know how the scam happened but it was a real pain to fihgt and we cancel all credit cards as a result..


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## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

citlali said:


> We got hit by Am Ex who ask for a 5000 dollars travel advance from Schwab in the US and go it.. We had never asked for an advance ant eh Am ex was only used to pay for our 12 euro bill from Skype but we had travelled to Europe the month before so Schwab did not question the unusual travel advance...Am ex sent us a new platinum card although we specified we wanted a green card, change our address and passwords. The Am Ex fed ex pachages were open at customs so we do not know how the scam happened but it was a real pain to fihgt and we cancel all credit cards as a result..


Just to add a little something to what Citlali just wrote:
* At that time, about 2005, We had been members of American Express since 1969 and had never even once, _ever_, requested a cash advance on our American Express or any other credxit card. Why a request all of a sudden for a $5,000USD advance after so many years did not raise any red flags is beyond me. 
* It seems that American Express had gotten not only a request for a $5,000USD cash advance on our card but had simultaneously received notification from "us" to cancel our long-held green card and issue us a platinum card. It further seems that "we" had requested a change in our e-mail address and home mailing address to somewhere in Texas. It was during that period of time that we were expecting a renewal green card from American Express delivered by overnight courier, which had yet to arrive at our home at Lake Chapala. We figured, but, of course, never could prove, this was an inside job at American Express or the overnight courier ( I don´t remember which one but it had to be FedEx DHL or UPS) so we freaked out and cancelled completely our AmEx membership which we had held in good standing for about 36 years at that point. We then reported this blatant fraud to American Express but since we then immediately cancelled our membership, we have no idea how the problem was resolved if it ever was but we suffered no personal loss whatsoever. 
* Up until we got notification of these attempts to defraud us, we had been traveling for a month in France and had been out of touch for some time as we traveled tha French back-country. Fortunately, we arrived back at our home in Mexico before the fraudsters could draw down any of the cash advance or finally affect the change in our e-mail account and home address to Texas and fraudulent request for a card upgrade to platinum. 
* We are lucky that American Express had an internal control system that notified us that they would be pleased to approve our cash advance for $5,000USD, upgrade our card and change our e-mail and mailing addresses as per our requests. Because the company notified us via our old e-mail address of these changes, we were able to head off this fraud before our checking account in the U.S. was hit up for these charges but these events caused us to re-think our needs living retrired here in Mexico and we cancelled not only our America Express cards but all other credit cards as well which were all issued by U.S. Banks. We now, for the past nine years, have carried only debit cards on our U,S. and Mexican bank accounts mainly for ATM access but also for all collateral services for which we used to use credit cards. Never a problem (yet) with vendors, security deposits at hotels, internet purchases from reputable vendors or any other services we have required since 2005. I will say, however, that we feel it prudent for us to pay cash out-of-pocket to face-to-face vendors from hotels to restaurants or you name it.

By the way, we constantly check our U.S. and Mexican bank accounts on line to watch for any fraudulent activities to mitigate any further rist of fraud charges.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Hound Dog said:


> Just to add a little something to what Citlali just wrote:
> * At that time, about 2005, We had been members of American Express since 1969 and had never even once, _ever_, requested a cash advance on our American Express or any other credxit card. Why a request all of a sudden for a $5,000USD advance after so many years did not raise any red flags is beyond me.
> * It seems that American Express had gotten not only a request for a $5,000USD cash advance on our card but had simultaneously received notification from "us" to cancel our long-held green card and issue us a platinum card. It further seems that "we" had requested a change in our e-mail address and home mailing address to somewhere in Texas. It was during that period of time that we were expecting a renewal green card from American Express delivered by overnight courier, which had yet to arrive at our home at Lake Chapala. We figured, but, of course, never could prove, this was an inside job at American Express or the overnight courier ( I don´t remember which one but it had to be FedEx DHL or UPS) so we freaked out and cancelled completely our AmEx membership which we had held in good standing for about 36 years at that point. We then reported this blatant fraud to American Express but since we then immediately cancelled our membership, we have no idea how the problem was resolved if it ever was but we suffered no personal loss whatsoever.
> * Up until we got notification of these attempts to defraud us, we had been traveling for a month in France and had been out of touch for some time as we traveled tha French back-country. Fortunately, we arrived back at our home in Mexico before the fraudsters could draw down any of the cash advance or finally affect the change in our e-mail account and home address to Texas and fraudulent request for a card upgrade to platinum.
> ...


I love your first 6 words,LOL


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## Bobbyb (Mar 9, 2014)

joaquinx: Your sarcasm is noted and not appreciated. Here is a more current story. I was the Chairman of an unofficial charity in Mexico. Some of the monies we raised went to a registered Mexican foundation. It was always a hassle as we had US checks and US cash. They deposited just under $2000 USD into their bank account. Those monies went astray at the bank. Even though the paperwork showed the deposit the Foundation never got a cent. Many appeals to both the bank and the authorities. Being a Foundation making waves is not always the best choice. After 18 months they just gave up. Ask the residents in Alamos who deposited monies into a pseudo credit union. The ads in the newspaper and the decals on the door showed that all deposits were protected up to a limit by the Feds. The credit union folded and the Feds denied any coverage. Years later I think the depositors received a % of what was owed. Too many people come to Mexico thinking that things here are just like NOB. Not true. Buyer beware! Another note: When you use a US or Canadian ATM card in a Mexican ATM you have protection from fraud or errors. If you do not receive the correct amount of pesos your NOB bank will correct everything. Try that with a Mexican ATM card


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## sputnik (Jan 10, 2011)

So, Hound Dog....what method do you use to get your money to Mexico. We will be retiring next June...researched alot...one friend said use USAA but it is just for military....narrowed it down to having pension direct deposited in Inter National Bank in U.S which partners with Banorte...so I can go to ATM in Mexico and they charge 2% currency exchange fee....is this the best that it gets? Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated....


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

About 14 years ago, most, if not all, of those credit unions/saving associations failed. Even I was tempted to put money in them. As for Mexican banks and their debit card, I haven't lost a centavo in six years. I fact, I know of many other who haven't lost a single centavo. What does this mean? Probably nothing. I can tell you that you'll never have a bank account in a Mexican bank, and I will go on depositing funds and withdrawing them and buying from the local supermarket and Costco with my debit card. Yes, my pension goes into a bank in the US and I transfer money monthly to my Mexican bank. I'll probably keep it that way and simply avoid all the hassle of changing banks. It's that simple for me. The day I worry about a few centavos in the exchange rate, I'll turn the whole thing over to my heirs.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

sputnik said:


> So, Hound Dog....what method do you use to get your money to Mexico. We will be retiring next June...researched alot...one friend said use USAA but it is just for military....narrowed it down to having pension direct deposited in Inter National Bank in U.S which partners with Banorte...so I can go to ATM in Mexico and they charge 2% currency exchange fee....is this the best that it gets? Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated....


Citibank/Banamex. You can withdraw funds from a Citibank dollar account at a Banamex ATM with no fee. On Friday, the exchange rate I got was 13.136. Quoted rates for that day:
Yahoo 13.094
Xe 13.136
X-rates 13.136
ExchangeRate 13.134


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## sputnik (Jan 10, 2011)

ok, thank you so very much...


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## dwwhiteside (Apr 17, 2013)

I moved from Dallas to Colima about 14 months ago. Before leaving Dallas, I opened an account at BBVA Compass after being assured I could easily transfer money from BBVA Compass to BBVA Bancomer. What a joke. Yes, I could transfer money but, I had to physically walk into a BBVA Compass branch to do so.

So, I moved my US money to Bank of America and opened an account in Colima with Scotiabank. I have had nothing but positive experiences with Scotia. Shortly after opening my account they called me to introduce me to an investment account that actually pays a decent interest rate, about 5% per year. Transferring money between BofA and Scotia is very simple but not exactly free. I can do the transfer online and it usually takes about three business days for the money to show up in my Scotia account.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

dwwhiteside said:


> Transferring money between BofA and Scotia is very simple but not exactly free. I can do the transfer online and it usually takes about three business days for the money to show up in my Scotia account.


I was doing the same thing when I needed a large sum of money and after BofA starting charging 3% on conversions, I switched to xoom.com to transfer the money. Do a comparison. I found it slightly cheaper than the ATM. You don't have to open an account to get the exchange rate and the fee is 4.99 usd. During banking hours (Monday through Friday), the transfer takes two hours.


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## sputnik (Jan 10, 2011)

Thank you so very much for your input....yes we had BBVA many years...terrible and cost too much when we were in Mexico...we now have Bank of america and have had for awhile...just last year they started charging 3% to pull out of Santander...didnt before....Ok, thank you for your input, we will look into that....and Banco Azteca, as i see they have moved into California, although we are in Dallas too, we like Carlos Slim's view of gold and silver, when and if the dollar crashes....thanks so much again


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## sputnik (Jan 10, 2011)

Does anyone out there have an acct at Banco Azteca....??? I read last night that Carlos Slim has provided small loans through his bank to the 70% poor in Mexico. People who cannot get loans through the big banks. We also like the idea that you can buy and sell gold and silver libertads there as he also believes the dollar may crash or at least not be the "reserve currency" of the world...not being an alarmist here,,,just want to be wise ....if anyone has any input about Banco Azteca, I covet your advice...thanks so much..


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## dwwhiteside (Apr 17, 2013)

joaquinx said:


> I was doing the same thing when I needed a large sum of money and after BofA starting charging 3% on conversions, I switched to xoom.com to transfer the money. Do a comparison. I found it slightly cheaper than the ATM. You don't have to open an account to get the exchange rate and the fee is 4.99 usd. During banking hours (Monday through Friday), the transfer takes two hours.


Thank Joaqinx! I am definitely going to check out xoom.com. BofA is now charging $35 to make a transfer; plus shorting me on the exchange rate. Hopefully I can save some of that money with xoom.

BTW, I had another checking account with Ally bank in the US. If you use, or want to use an ATM card, this is could be a good option. They do not charge any fees for using an ATM card, even in Mexico. And, if the local ATM you use charges a fee, Ally will reimburse it at the end of the month.


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## sputnik (Jan 10, 2011)

thank you so much for reminding me...we have been preparing for our move for about 5 yrs now and i remember researching a year ago about xoom but dont remember what I read...i will go back and research it...if we have our pension deposited in a US bank how would xoom work to get it to Mexico. Would we need a Mexican bank? or would it be sent a bank (like RIA money send does) and we pick it up? Also, if anyone doesnt know...just this week Walmart partnered with RIA to send money all other the world can pick up money for cheaper fees than banks...I think $9 on every $1000 sent...but of course you would have to have someone on one end to send....


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