# Banking in Oaxaca



## Nileferns (Sep 13, 2014)

Hello,
Excuse me if my question may be addressed elsewhere. I plan to live in Oacaxa for at least a year. My US bank where my retirement is deposited will wire transfer to many banks in Mexico. Do I need to wait till I arrive in Oacaxa to open an account at a bank? I understand the wire transfer is $45, and it's recommended to use ATM to get the money in Mexico, but I'm confused as to how to set it all up? Thank you for any who can help me . . .


----------



## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Nileferns said:


> Hello,
> Excuse me if my question may be addressed elsewhere. I plan to live in Oacaxa for at least a year. My US bank where my retirement is deposited will wire transfer to many banks in Mexico. Do I need to wait till I arrive in Oacaxa to open an account at a bank? I understand the wire transfer is $45, and it's recommended to use ATM to get the money in Mexico, but I'm confused as to how to set it all up? Thank you for any who can help me . . .


I don't know how you could open an account at a Mexican bank before you arrive. And I see no reason why you would want to, nor why you would want to spend money for an immediate wire transfer.

When you arrive in Mexico, stop at an ATM with your US bank debit card and get some cash. After you are settled with an address (needed to open a bank account anyway), you can think about whether you need a local bank account or want to just continue to use an ATM. 

In my opinion, a local bank debit card is useful, but many do without and just rely on ATM machines from banks in their country of origin.


----------



## Nileferns (Sep 13, 2014)

Oh great! So my US debit card will work at whatever bank I choose to transfer the money to? Ok, I think I'm over-complicating things. Thank you so much! I'm sure I'll have more neurotic questions soon!


----------



## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

My problem with international wire transfers to my wife´s bank here in Mexico is Chase will not do them on line or by telephone. I needed to go in in person to a branch in the US and sign the transfer.

I have read some US banks will do international wire transfers by phone once you do the first 1 in person. 

I can do wire transfers on line inside the US but they phone me or text message me with an automated system with the # they have on record and give me a code to finish the transfer.

Chase charges $45 US for an international wire transfer.


----------



## Nileferns (Sep 13, 2014)

*Banking in Oacaxa*

Good information! Thank you for responding. I'm new to this forum and it looks like it will be super useful! I'm still at the baby step stage. My biggest concern thus far is managing finances while in Oacaxa. The following is a "rough draft" of my plan. As I learn more and progress, hopefully it will be refined. 

I'm retired. My current account here in US is Chase and I pay all monthly bills online. I will still need to pay those same bills once in Mexico. I'm assuming that won't be a problem with a good internet connection. 

I plan to visit chase regarding wire transfers. Based on your response, I may omit them as a candidate. My online research show Wells Fargo may be a good choice. If so, I will continue paying bills via Chase, transfer funds to my Wells Fargo account, and wire transfer to Bancomer in Mexico. It's my understanding that my ATM card from Wells Fargo will work at a Bancomer ATM in Mexico.(??) I can share my Wells Fargo account with a trusted relative to perform the transfers. 

So there my plan. Any input, corrections, criticisms, ideas, etc is appreciated! Maybe I'm way off base, I don't know. Thank you!


----------



## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

Wire transfers of funds is a non-problem if you choose the right financial institution in the U.S. in which to bank and from which to wire or otherwise transfer funds to Mexico as well as most places around the world. 

We have banks in the U.S. and Mexico and have for years. These relationships facilitate the transference of funds at favorable currency exchange rates and free of wire transfer fees on a recurrent basis at any time convenient to us.

Our financial institution/bank in the U.S. first exchanges USD in our account there for Mexican Pesos at favored institutional rates not available to us as individuals and then wires those Mexican Pesos to our bank in Mexico without the use of a Mexican correspondent bank while waiving any wire transfer fee which they normally quote at $25USD.

We have experienced no problems whatsoever in affecting wire transfers of funds between the U.S. and Mexico and, in fact, just this past week we transferred Mexican Pesos from the U.S. to Mexico to buy a new car at a Guadalajara dealer and the pesos were credited to our account at our Mexican bank one business day after we ordered the wire transfer from our bank in the U.S.

The process of ordering the wire transfer could not have been simpler. We simply faxed our wiring instructions to the international wire department at our finnacial institution in the U.S. before 4:00PM EDT in the U.S. and the funds were converted from USD to MXN that day and wired out to our Mexican bank that afternoon arriving in our Mexican bank account that business day. Because our financial institution is a major international firm, they were able to exchange USD for MXN at a rate that worked much to our benefit so, not only did we wire funds at no cost to us but we benefited from their institutional exchange rate which was locked in with our express permission upon their receipt of our faxed wire transfer request. 

Incidentally, we were not required to call them to affect this currency exchange and funds wire and had the option of faxing our instructions to them or scanning our instructions from our home computer to their computer instantly at no cost. Upon receipt of our faxed instructions, the bank called and confirmed the transaction and locked in the exchange rate with our permission. 

All we had to do after receipt of the funds necessary to buy the new car from the Guadalajara dealer was to transfer the necessary pesos to their account in Mexico from our account in Mexico and this could be done instantly on our home computer or, alternatively, by our affecting the tranfer from our account to their's at any bank teller window anywhere in Mexico and our Mexican bank has full-service branches all over the nation. Of course, both our U.S. and Mexican financial institutions have stringent identification procedures in place to prevent fraudulent funds transfers or transfers made under duress so this procedure can be completed at minimal risk, inconvenience and cost to the account holder(s).

The above transaction demonstrates the importance of having a banking relationship or even more than one banking relationship here in Mexico. Sure, one can bring in limited amounts of pesos fom one´s U.S. bank on a daily basis by using ATMs and that is fine for every day working capital but that would take a number of ATM transactions over time if one is purchasing a home or car or some other big-ticket ítem and, what does one do with the money one must accumulate over time in order to affect the transaction if one has no local bank into which to deposit cash while accumulating enough to pay the vendor and complete the transaction? In one´s mattress at home or in a cookie jar in a country where home invasions/burglaries/strong-arm street robberies are not uncommon?

If one is to accumulate enough money to buy a car or a home or a new home entertainment center or what have you, and one is to do this with some degree of personal security, one needs a local bank here in Mexico to affect wire transfers at minimal cost and favorable exchange rates and one must be physically present here in Mexico with an established address and proper residency or visitor credentials to establish an ongoing Mexican banking relationship. Here are some criteria for choosing a local bank:
* Choose a bank sophisticated in international banking transactions and with a branch convenient to your chosen Mexican town and residence. 
* Choose a bank (if possible) with an extensive national branch network where you can affect banking transaction near your residence or in numerous places throughout the nation. There are a number of Mexican Banks from which to choose. Banamex, Bancomer, HSBC, Santander, Banco Walmart, Banorte and others come to mind. If you are challenged in Spanish and only conversant in a foreign tongue, you should also choose a bank where you are more likely to encounter employees who speak your language at least to a degree desirable to facilitate normal banking transactions. 
* Choose a bank which will open an account for you free of service charges if you maintain mínimum balances there over time. These mínimum balance requirements can vary significantly from bank-to-bank and account type to account type so do your homework.
* Try to find a bank with various savings accounts or term certificates of deposit that will return you some interest income for funds not immediately needed. For example, Banco Walmart has a 90 day certificate of deposit available today that will return to you over 3.0% interest while that Bank´s normal totally liquid savings account will return you a nominal 1.0% or less so, whatever bank you choose, look for an opportunity to structure savings in a mix of liquid and illiquid investments in accordance with your needs. I would avoid checking accounts as you will find, over time, that personal checks drawn against your bank account are unneeded for most people since the exchange of personal checks for personal or business reasons is not an important factor in carrying out financial transactions in Mexico (other than business to business transactions) and you can always purchase a cashier´s check on a savings account if the need occasionally arises.

Regardless of scuttlebutt among many expats living in Mexico, you will find doing busiess with Mexican banks easy and, normally stress free as long as you bank prudently and maintain modest balanes in the Mexican banks you use. To each his/her own but it is an important matter of principle for us to keep the bulk of our modest savings in U.S. financial institutions in USD based accounts thereby avoiding or minimizing very real exchange and sovereign risk you incur with significant investments in Mexican banks or investment intruments no matter by whom issued. 

Good luck to you.


----------



## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Nileferns said:


> Good information! Thank you for responding. I'm new to this forum and it looks like it will be super useful! I'm still at the baby step stage. My biggest concern thus far is managing finances while in Oacaxa. The following is a "rough draft" of my plan. As I learn more and progress, hopefully it will be refined.
> 
> I'm retired. My current account here in US is Chase and I pay all monthly bills online. I will still need to pay those same bills once in Mexico. I'm assuming that won't be a problem with a good internet connection.
> 
> ...


I am not sure what you would gain by opening a Wells Fargo account. It looks like they will transfer $1000 to a Bancomer account for $10. But you can do better. There are banks that will allow ATM withdrawals without fee. Usually you need a qualifying balance to get the free withdrawals. But if you have sufficient cash to maintain a balance, that is probably the cheapest way to move small amounts of money. For large purchases, a house or car, another mechanism involving a Mexican bank is required as pointed out by Hound Dog. A Mexican bank account is also useful for paying utility bills online as well. 

Personally, I have two accounts at a Mexican bank in addition to several at US banks. One of my Mexican bank accounts has a very small balance and I carry that debit card with me at all times. The other has a more substantial balance and I only take that debit card when I plan to make a purchase that exceeds the amount in the smaller account.


----------



## Nileferns (Sep 13, 2014)

*Banking in Oacaxa*

Thank you very much for your responses! It looks like I'm at the right place for advice! 
I have never been in a forum such as this . . still learning my way around. I really appreciate the advice I'm receiving from you "veterans". As a non-social-media type of person, aka oldster, I see the value of this source! Thank you so much. I'm sure this site will become my "crutch" for a while, as I navigate my way to a new life. I hope someday I can return the favor! Ok, so I'm going to go figure out how to submit my profile!


----------



## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

If you already have a US bank where your pension/SS checks are electronically transferred and that account pays your monthly bills why would you complicate things and open a Mexican Bank account and start transferring funds all the time at a high expense...
Just leave everything the same and use the US banks ATM card in Mexico, you say it's only for a year or so,.........suerte


----------



## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

I have 2 checking accounts with debit cards in the US and transfer money on line from my primary account to the secondary one when I am going to do an ATM withdrawal here that morning and do not keep much money in it otherwise. Just to be safe. Banamex charges a $31 peso fee and Chase a $5.00 US fee no matter how much and I can get $500.00 US each time máximum in pesos, of course.


----------



## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Why would anybody pay fees with so many options available?
Citi bank ATM at Banamex= fee free
BanamexUSA ATM at banamex= fee free
Schwab Bank ATM at any ATM worldwide= fee refunded
and I believe Capitol One is fee free also.......


P.S. It is spelled Oaxaca........suerte


----------

