# Banking In Mexico



## JimJones

*Mexico Banking Advice*

Hello I am looking for some banking advice. I live in the USA and would like to open a bank account in Mexico when I go there next month. Basically what I would like to do would be to transfer money from my bank here to an account with a Mexican bank. I would like to have my self and either my mother in law or sister in law also on the account with me so that my wife and I can send her family money by just transferring money from our account here to the Mexican account. 

The reason for this is because currently we use Vigo or Western Union type services. The problem with this is when my family members in Mexico go to pick up the money at the casa de cambio / bank they always try to give them the run around and don’t want to pay or want to try to give them half now and the other half later. This is unacceptable to me if I send someone money I want it paid out immediately upon demand of the person that I sent it to no run around, no come back tomorrow, no games. 

Are there any Mexican banks that have branches in Mexico and the US or vice versa?
Can you transfer funds from a US bank account to a Mexican account online?- If so how do you do it?

It would be nice to find a bank that has a branch in the closest big town to my in-laws which is Maravatio Michoacan that also has a branch here in Vegas. I think that it would make it easier to transfer funds if it was all within the same bank instead of trying to transfer funds from say Wells Fargo to a Banamex?

What do you guys that live there full time do?
Any advice would be much appreciated


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## prmjcm

Jim what i do is keep my money in BofA in the US and use a debit card at the ATM at bank Santander which is connected to BofA there is no charge and you can get up to 5000 pesos at a time depending on your limit in BofA, which you can adjust with them. Also Scottibank (not sure of spelling) is also connected to BofA.


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## RVGRINGO

I agree that dealing with a Mexican bank is both awkward and expensive. What you have discovered, with the 'half now' reaction, might be a teller trying to scam the recipient. I suggest that you use a separate account at your bank in the USA, in your name. You could then send your Mexican family a debit card for that account. Once they have received it safely, you can give them the PIN by separate communication; probably by phone. That way, they can obtain cash from any ATM in Mexico (if you pick the right banks, there can be few, if any, fees.) and you remain in control of the account. You'll also have the ability to watch it's activity online and to set the daily limit.
Most of us, who live in Mexico full time, keep USA bank accounts (lower fees, better service, FDIC) and use ATMs with debit cards for our cash needs. There are machines at all banks, larger grocery stores, Sam's, Costco, Walmart, Soriana, Mega, etc., etc. We even have one in 'city hall' in Chapala and one at the roadside in Riberas del Pilar.


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## mexliving

open a separte account for mexico atm withdrawals.... get atm card and take it with you to mexico..

keep 10.00 dollars in that account.... advice family member with atm when you will transfer the funds to that 10.00 balance account and have them withdraw within 1 hour.

this is the best way to do it....

change pin every 2 weeks...


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## arturo_b

JimJones said:


> I would like to *** to transfer money from my bank here to an account with a Mexican bank. *** Are there any Mexican banks that have branches in Mexico and the US or vice versa? Can you transfer funds from a US bank account to a Mexican account online?- If so how do you do it?


Bank of America and Wells Fargo were the pioneers in opening up the remittances market (folks in the U.S. sending money to family elsewhere). They are still the leaders. Each has their own method of transferring funds. Each owns a big chunk of one Mexican bank or another. Check with them both, they both have a brochure about "remittances", "remesas", or "SafeSend" or somesuch.

Both the U.S. and Mexico have been experiencing the internationalization of banking in the last few years. Currently Citibank and HSBC operate in both countries, maybe other banks as well. Again, their methods vary somewhat as to linked accounts and joint tenancy. Visit them and ask for their cross-border brochure.

All of the banks I've mentioned offer online interaction. How? You'll have to ask them. They all also offer different points for withdrawal which, again, you'll need to research to suit your own needs.

Some of the programs I've mentioned favor remittances and try to protect the remitters from being abused by the remittees. Other programs are meant for binational account-holders and favor fluidity over protection.



> *** currently we use Vigo or Western Union *** they always try to give them the run around and don’t want to pay or want to try to give them half now and the other half later.


If your relations in Mexico will not denounce such abuses to PROFECO, then they are being disrespectful to both your money and you. Encourage them (gently) to assert their rights. They will do so, hesitantly, were they to believe that, by not doing so, their income from you will cease to flow. Better still, just steer clear of the overpriced remittance services offered by Western Union, the U.S. Postal Service, and others -- they've already been fined by the U.S. government for gouging their customers. I would also suggest you avoid any connection with Banco Azteca for the same reason.


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## chulor

Can anyone tell me--in pretty simple steps--how to bank in MX while getting SS & Pension checks direct-deposited to an acct in my US Bank?

Or can they direct-deposit to my new MX bank once I get established there?

I'm thinking of keeping a US Acct and having a MX acct too. Is that a good idea?

Thanks!!


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## TundraGreen

chulor said:


> Can anyone tell me--in pretty simple steps--how to bank in MX while getting SS & Pension checks direct-deposited to an acct in my US Bank?
> 
> Or can they direct-deposit to my new MX bank once I get established there?
> 
> I'm thinking of keeping a US Acct and having a MX acct too. Is that a good idea?
> 
> Thanks!!


I think it is a good idea. That is what I do. US income is deposited in a US acct. Then I have a Mexican bank account that I use for expenses here. Depending on your choice of US and Mexican banks, moving money can be easy or hard.

Some people live in Mexico for years just using ATMs with no local bank account. I don't understand it, but it works for some. 

I believe some people have Social Security deposited directly into a Mexican bank account, but that is hearsay. I have no personal experience with it.


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## makaloco

My SS is direct-deposited into my account in Mexico on the third of each month. Advantages are reliability, instant availability of funds, a decent exchange rate, and no hassle with transfers. A disadvantage is that you have no control over fluctuations in the exchange rate … it is what it is on the day of deposit.

I have a Mexican account in pesos and a US account in dollars, tied to a relative's address. The latter works better for paying non-Mexico expenses (health insurance, online charges). Also, one of my retirement accounts imposes 30% mandatory Federal tax withholding if a distribution is sent outside the US. Ouch.


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## Isla Verde

This is what works for me: I have my US pension checks (one from Social Security and aone from a private plan) direct-deposited every month to my Bank of America account. BOA has an arrangement with Banco de Santander and Scotia Bank in Mexico which allows me to withdraw money in pesos from any of their ATMs without any service fees being charged to my account. I also have an account here with Santander, which I use for direct payment of my telephone and electricity bills. It also comes in handy for receiving payments for the translation and editing work I do from the clients I deal with mostly online. It's much easier for them to make a deposit to my account than to come to my home and pay me in person.


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## limeyboy

This is what works for me: I have my US pension checks (one from Social Security and aone from a private plan) direct-deposited every month to my Bank of America account. BOA has an arrangement with Banco de Santander and Scotia Bank in Mexico which allows me to withdraw money in pesos from any of their ATMs without any service fees being charged to my account. 



Isla
This is exactly what our arrangement for our finances will be while we are down in PV
Thank you for posting this great information


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## Isla Verde

limeyboy said:


> This is what works for me: I have my US pension checks (one from Social Security and aone from a private plan) direct-deposited every month to my Bank of America account. BOA has an arrangement with Banco de Santander and Scotia Bank in Mexico which allows me to withdraw money in pesos from any of their ATMs without any service fees being charged to my account.
> 
> 
> 
> Isla
> This is exactly what our arrangement for our finances will be while we are down in PV
> Thank you for posting this great information


You're welcome!


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## wonderphil

Isla Verde said:


> This is what works for me: I have my US pension checks (one from Social Security and aone from a private plan) direct-deposited every month to my Bank of America account. BOA has an arrangement with Banco de Santander and Scotia Bank in Mexico which allows me to withdraw money in pesos from any of their ATMs without any service fees being charged to my account. I also have an account here with Santander, which I use for direct payment of my telephone and electricity bills. It also comes in handy for receiving payments for the translation and editing work I do from the clients I deal with mostly online. It's much easier for them to make a deposit to my account than to come to my home and pay me in person.


eep: nice info, however I wonder if they (the banks) are giving you great exchange rates when you take out peso's from the atm. I am moving part time to Mazatlan starting in Nov and have been looking for info like this. I am also looking to do have this banking relationship at lowest currency exchange costs as I suspect that is where the bank makes their money in this kind of deal. I an going to look into having a bank with a local branch and also a branch in the USA and see if it might be possible to transfer money electronically in and out of Mexico this way. I think Banco de Santander and Scotia Bank might qualify for a far as having a branch in the USA and also one in Mazatlan but I need to look into that. In addition even if they do have branches, they still might not allow electronic transfers of money between countries. SO ...? to be investigated.


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## TundraGreen

wonderphil said:


> eep: nice info, however I wonder if they (the banks) are giving you great exchange rates when you take out peso's from the atm. I am moving part time to Mazatlan starting in Nov and have been looking for info like this. I am also looking to do have this banking relationship at lowest currency exchange costs as I suspect that is where the bank makes their money in this kind of deal. I an going to look into having a bank with a local branch and also a branch in the USA and see if it might be possible to transfer money electronically in and out of Mexico this way. I think Banco de Santander and Scotia Bank might qualify for a far as having a branch in the USA and also one in Mazatlan but I need to look into that. In addition even if they do have branches, they still might not allow electronic transfers of money between countries. SO ...? to be investigated.


Also look at CitiBank/Banamex. CitiBank owns Banamex and allows fee-free transfers.


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## joaquinx

wonderphil said:


> however I wonder if they (the banks) are giving you great exchange rates when you take out peso's from the atm.


You get your best exchange rates from the ATM. Wires, for example, from BofA to HSBC are around 30 centavos lower.


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## chulor

*B Of A No Connections in MX*



Isla Verde said:


> This is what works for me: I have my US pension checks (one from Social Security and aone from a private plan) direct-deposited every month to my Bank of America account. BOA has an arrangement with Banco de Santander and Scotia Bank in Mexico which allows me to withdraw money in pesos from any of their ATMs without any service fees being charged to my account. I also have an account here with Santander, which I use for direct payment of my telephone and electricity bills. It also comes in handy for receiving payments for the translation and editing work I do from the clients I deal with mostly online. It's much easier for them to make a deposit to my account than to come to my home and pay me in person.


I went to B of A and they no longer are connected with Banco de Santander or Bana Mex.


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## joaquinx

chulor said:


> I went to B of A and they no longer are connected with Banco de Santander or Bana Mex.


Yes, they no longer own part of Santander, but usage of their ATMs is still free. I have used them recently.


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## chulor

I went to Wells Fargo and B of A and neither have any affiliations with any banks in mexico


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## chulor

*How to Bank in MX*

I went to Wells Fargo and B of A and none have any affiliations or networks with ANY banks in MX.

How do I keep an acct in US have SS and Pension deposited here and then transfer to a bank in MX?

And which banks are best in MX?

Thanks!


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## joaquinx

chulor said:


> I went to Wells Fargo and B of A and none have any affiliations or networks with ANY banks in MX.
> 
> How do I keep an acct in US have SS and Pension deposited here and then transfer to a bank in MX?
> 
> And which banks are best in MX?
> 
> Thanks!


With a BofA debit card, you can withdraw from the ATMs of Santander and Scotia without a fee.

Most people here withdraw from ATMs and then deposit the funds in a Mexican bank. I have wired funds from BofA to HSBC.

There are no 'best' banks in Mexico, let alone the USA.


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## joaquinx

arturo_b said:


> Bank of America . . .have a brochure about "remittances", "remesas", or "SafeSend" or somesuch.


BofA has canceled their 'SafeSend' option.


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## chicois8

Since your in Vegas open an account with Schwab Bank, their ATM cards can be used at any ATM world wide, fees are returned at the end of the month.......


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## PanchodeSMA

We used Santander ATMs in August withdrawing from a BofA account with no fees.


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## Hound Dog

[_QUOTE=chicois8;1920753]Since your in Vegas open an account with Schwab Bank, their ATM cards can be used at any ATM world wide, fees are returned at the end of the month.......[/QUOTE]_

Actually, if you are going to bank with Charles Schwab, I suggest you open a Schwab One Account at Schwab which is not "Schwab Bank". The difference is technical but important. That way, you get the ATM charges reversed at any ATM managed by any financial institution anywhere in the world where legal ATM transactions are possible when you use a Schwab One Debit Card, _instantaneously_- not at the end of the month.

These interbank agreements regarding ATM fees and exchange rates are the shaft you don´t see that is being inserted you-know-where. I was a commercial banker for some 40 years for a number of years at major international banks and they do not give a damn about you. They love your money which had not only better be substantial but sitting in their bank. As they say, if you seek a friend, get a dog.

If You live in Mexico and continue to do business with Billy Bob Banker back in Hooterville. U.S.A. or some absolutely ruthless bank such as Wells Fargo or BofA , you do so at your own risk and they are only looking for deep pockets in jeans worn by people who provide them their margins.

By the way, I have accounts at both Bancomer and Banamex and they are entirely free of charge so opening a bank account in Mexico is a good idea in my judgment.


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## TundraGreen

We had three threads on banking active this morning. I merged the other two into this thread,. Consequently, now, all of the comments can be found here.


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## kcowan

Mexican banks allow electronic transfers between banks at no charge. I use this to transfer pesos to a friend who looks after exceptional charges that crop up from time to time. I recharge the Mexican account with a personal cheque drawn on my Canadian Bank.


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## TundraGreen

Another option for moving money is CitiBank-Banamex. CitiBank and Banamex are both owned by CitiGroup. I recently transferred money from a Citibank account to a Banamex account with no fees. The money showed up in Banamex instantly. The exchange rate was 0.2 pesos below the exchange rate for that day (12.59 instead of 12.78 pesos/dollar). So effectively, I lost 1.5% on the exchange. 

I would be interested in how this compares to the exchange rate obtained when pulling pesos out of a dollar account at an ATM.


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## wonderphil

TundraGreen said:


> Another option for moving money is CitiBank-Banamex. CitiBank and Banamex are both owned by CitiGroup. I recently transferred money from a Citibank account to a Banamex account with no fees. The money showed up in Banamex instantly. The exchange rate was 0.2 pesos below the exchange rate for that day (12.59 instead of 12.78 pesos/dollar). So effectively, I lost 1.5% on the exchange.
> 
> I would be interested in how this compares to the exchange rate obtained when pulling pesos out of a dollar account at an ATM.


I have read posts that people are taking money out at ATM,s which are linked to certain banks *with no fees and at the official exchange rate*. I would like to believe that but find it sort of *hard to believe*. Companies need to make money to survive and fees are some of the ways and exchange rates can be though of as fees imo. A few basis points charge for exchange rate cost might be reasonable. 

However charging a 1.5% exchange rate differential to transfer money or get it out of a ATM is a rip in my opinion ( even if all banks might do it). Like I said it has been said on this forum that some ATM's give you money at the official exchange rate. What I would like to see is people really analyze their bank statements and see if some other hidden fee was not tacked on to that transaction that they have claimed is free of all costs. 
Yes, I gave up believing in Santa a while ago. 

In your case, it was a transfer with so called "no fees" BUT you were charged 1.5% instantly which is about 550% annualized, (a huge hit I would like to avoid). I like to think of fees, interest charges or other financial things such as what I can earn selling stock options on a annualized basis.


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## joaquinx

wonderphil said:


> I have read posts that people are taking money out at ATM,s which are linked to certain banks *with no fees and at the official exchange rate*. I would like to believe that but find it sort of *hard to believe*.


What is the 'official exchange rate?' You got it from the internet service? Who knows where the bank got theirs. There generally is a 1% conversion fee, which is never posted, and my withdrawals have always been slightly lower that those posted on XE or OANDA, but I could never find the bank's rate.


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## TundraGreen

joaquinx said:


> What is the 'official exchange rate?' You got it from the internet service? Who knows where the bank got theirs. There generally is a 1% conversion fee, which is never posted, and my withdrawals have always been slightly lower that those posted on XE or OANDA, but I could never find the bank's rate.





wonderphil said:


> I have read posts that people are taking money out at ATM,s which are linked to certain banks *with no fees and at the official exchange rate*. I would like to believe that but find it sort of *hard to believe*. Companies need to make money to survive and fees are some of the ways and exchange rates can be though of as fees imo. A few basis points charge for exchange rate cost might be reasonable.
> 
> However charging a 1.5% exchange rate differential to transfer money or get it out of a ATM is a rip in my opinion ( even if all banks might do it). Like I said it has been said on this forum that some ATM's give you money at the official exchange rate. What I would like to see is people really analyze their bank statements and see if some other hidden fee was not tacked on to that transaction that they have claimed is free of all costs.
> Yes, I gave up believing in Santa a while ago.
> 
> In your case, it was a transfer with so called "no fees" BUT you were charged 1.5% instantly which is about 550% annualized, (a huge hit I would like to avoid). I like to think of fees, interest charges or other financial things such as what I can earn selling stock options on a annualized basis.


What I meant by "the exchange rate" at that time is the rate that was used by various online conversion services. I checked 3 or 4 and they all quoted the same conversion rate within 0.01 or 0.02 pesos. But the rate the bank gave me was 0.2 pesos/dollar less.

I don't think an annualized rate means much for a one time event like converting money. Since the conversion happened instantly in my case, the annualized rate was essentially infinite, 1.5%/0 years = ∞%/year.

But I wasn't happy when I realized the rate difference that I got. That is why I asked what the loss on the conversion is for other processes, like from an ATM. I still would like to hear how the conversion rate that people get for various routes compares to the quoted rate for that day.


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## chicois8

I usually check with the Banco de Mexico's website:
Banco de México

A few weeks ago I used my Citibank ATM card to withdrawal 13,000 pesos, I noticed at Banamex the exchange rate was 13.33...When arriving back at my hotel room I went online to see the account and after some math I realized I received 13.33 x $1 USD, the same as posted at the bank....no fees!


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## TundraGreen

chicois8 said:


> I usually check with the Banco de Mexico's website:
> Banco de México
> 
> A few weeks ago I used my Citibank ATM card to withdrawal 13,000 pesos, I noticed at Banamex the exchange rate was 13.33...When arriving back at my hotel room I went online to see the account and after some math I realized I received 13.33 x $1 USD, the same as posted at the bank....no fees!


That web site was informative. Thanks. It lists the rate used by banks exchanging money, the "Interbancario" rate, and the rate used for changing money by customers, the "Tipo de cambio" rate. They quote a difference of about 0.05 pesos or 0.5%. That is better than the 1.5% that I got.


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## chicois8

I would rather trust the numbers from Banco de Mexico ( Mexican equivalent to the Federal Reserve in the USA) instead of some cartel owned casa de cambio.......

I also called my local Wells Fargo and they told me they no longer have any affiliation with any bank in Mexico.........


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## Hound Dog

As I have stated before, I have been retired in Mexico since 2001. In the old days, when I wanted to wire money down here from my brokerage account in the U.S., I would instruct my financial institution in the U.S. to wire dollars down here to one of my Mexican bank accounts. That meant that a few folks had their hands in the pie. My U.S. financial institurion wired dollars to Mexico and then, correspondent banks in the U.S. and Mexico took thier cut even made more onerous by fees for currency exchange. One day, a few years later, my advisor at my U.S. ivestmant house said to me, "Why don´t you exchange dollars for pesos through us piggybacking on our daily exchange of countless dollars for pesos and then direct we wire pesos to your account in Mexico. We get a hell of a lot better exchange rate for our daily transactions in billions of dollars than you will for a few thousand bucks and you will not have several correspondent financial institutions skimming their cut off the top for this and that two bit service." 

I commenced to transfer funds down here following his advice about eight years ago and cut the parasites out of the loop. It has been a pleasure and has saved me some money as well .


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## joaquinx

TundraGreen said:


> That web site was informative. Thanks. It lists the rate used by banks exchanging money, the "Interbancario" rate, and the rate used for changing money by customers, the "Tipo de cambio" rate. They quote a difference of about 0.05 pesos or 0.5%. That is better than the 1.5% that I got.


All these rates are a 'nice to know', but did it help, i.e, get you a better exchange rate from the ATM or did you change sources?


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## TundraGreen

joaquinx said:


> All these rates are a 'nice to know', but did it help, i.e, get you a better exchange rate from the ATM or did you change sources?


That is my question. How does the rate from the ATM compare to the "Interbancario" rate? I haven't tried an ATM.


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## joaquinx

TundraGreen said:


> That is my question. How does the rate from the ATM compare to the "Interbancario" rate? I haven't tried an ATM.


This is from BofA

https://www4.bankofamerica.com/foreigncurrency/index.action?template=faqs#rate_who_set


_The exchange rate for international ATM transactions is set by Visa® International or MasterCard® International, depending on your card's logo. This rate of exchange is either the wholesale market rate or a government mandated rate on the day before the date the transaction is processed. The processing date may differ from the date of the transaction. Visa® International exchange rates may be found at Visa Inc. - Credit Cards and Other Payment Solutions Link opens a new windowFootnote 3 , search on exchange rates.

Each time you use your Bank of America debit card in a foreign ATM there is an International Transaction Fee applied. For specific information on the International Transaction Fee contact Bank of America Customer Service.
_


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## JimJones

So does everybody agree that I can use a Citibank ATM card at a Banamex bank or ATM? Can I walk into a Banamex branch tell them my Citibank account # and withdrawal funds from that account?
And can I open a bank account at a Mexican bank with a US passport?


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## TundraGreen

JimJones said:


> So does everybody agree that I can use a Citibank ATM card at a Banamex bank or ATM? Can I walk into a Banamex branch tell them my Citibank account # and withdrawal funds from that account?
> And can I open a bank account at a Mexican bank with a US passport?


Yes, you can use a Citibank debit card or ATM card at a Banamex branch.

No, you cannot walk into a Banamex branch and withdraw funds from your Citibank account. But you could go online on the Citibank site and transfer money from your Citibank account to a Banamex account.

Yes, you should be able to open a bank account at a Mexican bank with your passport. Sometimes, they ask for a visa as well, but that seems to be inconsistent.


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## joaquinx

For Visa Debit card rates see Exchange Rate Calculator | Visa USA


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## markinoshawa

joaquinx said:


> You get your best exchange rates from the ATM. Wires, for example, from BofA to HSBC are around 30 centavos lower.


You state that you get the best exchange rates at ATM's. How does it compare to exchanging US dollars for pesos through a teller in a bank or at a casa de cambio?

Thanks


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## joaquinx

markinoshawa said:


> You state that you get the best exchange rates at ATM's. How does it compare to exchanging US dollars for pesos through a teller in a bank or at a casa de cambio?
> 
> Thanks


Getting dollars at a bank is difficult as they might not have dollars or refuse to sell them. Banks and casa de cambio are much worse.

For current ATM rates with a Visa debit card see Exchange Rate Calculator | Visa USA


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## chicois8

markinoshawa said:


> You state that you get the best exchange rates at ATM's. How does it compare to exchanging US dollars for pesos through a teller in a bank or at a casa de cambio?
> 
> Thanks



I repete from an earlier post" A few weeks ago I used my Citibank ATM card to withdrawal 13,000 pesos, I noticed at Banamex the exchange rate was 13.33...When arriving back at my hotel room I went online to see the account and after some math I realized I received 13.33 x $1 USD, the same as posted at the bank....no fees!"

The same day while returning to my hotel I noticed casas de cambios with these rates:
BUY= 12.55
SELL=12.95

By the way because many banks are afraid of laundering problems many banks have stopped taking USD.......


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## kito1

I have accounts at 2 credit unions in the US. Both give me almost the exact rate xe is showing at the hour of withdrawal and charge no fee whatsoever on their end. I am a credit card churner for hotel and airline miles but otherwise do NOT do any business with traditional banks.


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## wonderphil

Hound Dog said:


> As I have stated before, I have been retired in Mexico since 2001. In the old days, when I wanted to wire money down here from my brokerage account in the U.S., I would instruct my financial institution in the U.S. to wire dollars down here to one of my Mexican bank accounts. That meant that a few folks had their hands in the pie. My U.S. financial institurion wired dollars to Mexico and then, correspondent banks in the U.S. and Mexico took thier cut even made more onerous by fees for currency exchange. One day, a few years later, my advisor at my U.S. ivestmant house said to me, "Why don´t you exchange dollars for pesos through us piggybacking on our daily exchange of countless dollars for pesos and then direct we wire pesos to your account in Mexico. We get a hell of a lot better exchange rate for our daily transactions in billions of dollars than you will for a few thousand bucks and you will not have several correspondent financial institutions skimming their cut off the top for this and that two bit service."
> 
> I commenced to transfer funds down here following his advice about eight years ago and cut the parasites out of the loop. It has been a pleasure and has saved me some money as well .


That sounds good --- but what do the wire transfers cost you? and what bank do you use? 

I have wired money to Bancomer to make payments on the condo I purchased. However US bank and Chase bank charges $40 or $45 for the wire transfer no matter what the size up to $100000. So I combine up to six months payments into one large transfer to reduce the fee percentage. I think it happens at the interbank rate the same as what you are saying. If you transfer a small amount of money and you are being charged $40, that $40 fee can be is a significant percentage and in that case, it might be better to withdraw the money from an ATM.

If you somehow can reduce or eliminate the money wire fee please advice. 


from Bankco de Mexico web site 


Interbank 48 hours 1/
Initial date
Final date
-


Output



10/04/2013
Buying rate Selling rate 
Rate at 09:00 hours 13.1400 13.1440	

Rate at 13:30 hours 13.0760 13.0800	

Maximum rate 
13.1465	

Minimum rate 
13.0600	


1/ Exchange rate for wholesale operations among banks, foreign exchange firms, and individuals. It is applicable to settle operations the second banking business day after to the trade is negotiated. The exchange rates published are those that took place in the market at the hours indicated. The minimum and maximum levels are quotes of the price at which participants in the market are willing to sell in the specified observation period (9:00-13:30 hrs). Banco de México publishes these exchange rates at 13:30 hours. Source: Reuters Dealing 3000 Matching.

-------
note that the bid/ask spread is .004 pesos wide and during the week days I have seen it only .002 pesos wide. So midpoint is .001 pesos wide. Seems like the banks can almost do the money exchange for free. There is no reason for them to be charging .5% per transfer via exchange rates or some other rip off fee to exchange money. I think at the ATM they get you via exchange rate fees that most people are not really aware of but I might be wrong as I was once in the past.


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## wonderphil

joaquinx said:


> For Visa Debit card rates see Exchange Rate Calculator | Visa USA


I used that link to find: 

Exchange Rates
Currencies fluctuate every day. The rate shown is effective for transactions submitted to Visa *on October 4, 2013, with a bank foreign transaction fee of 0%.*

1 Mexican Peso = 0.075831 United States Dollar

The 'currency calculator' below gives you an indication of the cost of purchases you make when traveling internationally.

Mexican Peso to United States Dollar
October 4, 2013
1 MXN = 0.075831 USD
----------------------
then I took the 1/x to find pesos / USD on Oct 4th which equaled 13.189.

According to bank of Mexico web site, the average exchange rate on Oct 4th was 13.11 so I assume VISA makes about 1/2 of 1% .on this transaction even though the bank rate is zero. This is may be reasonable but/and is an example of a hidden fee.


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## kito1

One of my credit unions charge $10 for an international wire, the other a bit more. I would strongly suggest you try to join one if you can. It could save you quite a big over time.


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## Hound Dog

_


wonderphil said:



That sounds good --- but what do the wire transfers cost you? and what bank do you use?

Click to expand...

_


wonderphil said:


> I use Charles Schwab and wire money, when I wire money, which is a rare event, to my Mexican bank account and I receive a highly competitive exchange rate and pay no wire fee at all. I would only wire funds to buy property or an automobile or something like that and 99% of the money we bring down here is through normal ATM transactions on the street.


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## JimJones

What would you do if you had plans to never return to the US? Your US ATM card will eventually expire and you'll need a new one.


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## wonderphil

kito1 said:


> One of my credit unions charge $10 for an international wire, the other a bit more. I would strongly suggest you try to join one if you can. It could save you quite a big over time.


A very good suggestion, thank you, I will look into doing money transfers through my local credit union to save wire fees.


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## joaquinx

JimJones said:


> What would you do if you had plans to never return to the US? Your US ATM card will eventually expire and you'll need a new one.


This is my BofA experience: You can change your address in your account online. Change it to your Mexican address and BofA will delivery your new card to you in Mexico. There is a drawback in that does not permit you to do wire transfers while you have a Mexican address. Change it back to a US address is not a problem, however, you can not make a wire transfer for 30 days after you make a change of address. :hat:


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## markinoshawa

chicois8 said:


> I repete from an earlier post" A few weeks ago I used my Citibank ATM card to withdrawal 13,000 pesos, I noticed at Banamex the exchange rate was 13.33...When arriving back at my hotel room I went online to see the account and after some math I realized I received 13.33 x $1 USD, the same as posted at the bank....no fees!"
> 
> The same day while returning to my hotel I noticed casas de cambios with these rates:
> BUY= 12.55
> SELL=12.95
> 
> By the way because many banks are afraid of laundering problems many banks have stopped taking USD.......


This concerns me. I was planning on taking USD with me and exchanging them for pesos at a bank or casa de cambio. Since I'm a Canadian, I don't have an account at a US bank that will allow me to access it at an ATM in Mexico. 

Thanks


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## joaquinx

markinoshawa said:


> This concerns me. I was planning on taking USD with me and exchanging them for pesos at a bank or casa de cambio. Since I'm a Canadian, I don't have an account at a US bank that will allow me to access it at an ATM in Mexico.
> 
> Thanks


Canadian debit cards are accepted. In fact, Scotia Bank has branches in Mexico.


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## kcowan

wonderphil said:


> A very good suggestion, thank you, I will look into doing money transfers through my local credit union to save wire fees.


Or just deposit a personal check written on your home account. Takes a while but no transfer fees.


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## RVGRINGO

Any debit card issued by a major, like Mastercard or Visa, will work world-wide. It is a good idea to notify your bank that you will be in Mexico, to avoid having them red flag a transaction.


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## markinoshawa

joaquinx said:


> Canadian debit cards are accepted. In fact, Scotia Bank has branches in Mexico.


Thanks for the response. 

I do understand that Canadian debit cards are accepted at ATM's in Mexico. The card is linked to my CDN $ accounts.

My case is slight different and I am trying to find a solution that will work for me. A number of years ago I started a USD investment account in Canada. I now plan on using the USD from this account for travel outside of Canada. I have a USD bank account at Scotiabank in Canada and can transfer funds from the investment account to it. At this time the only way I can access the USD bank account at Scotiabank is through a teller. No ATM or online access is available.

I found out yesterday that TD Canada Trust in Canada is in the very early stages of offering a USD bank account that can be linked to an account at TD Bank in the US. A bank card for the US account will allow access to the USD at ATM's around the world. This is what I am looking for, however it takes 30 days to setup and my flight to Mexico is on Nov. 1st. At this stage I cannot count on having it place before I leave. I will be in Mexico for 6 months.

I should also mention that like everyone else, I would like to get the best exchange rate when buying pesos.

Thanks


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## RVGRINGO

Just keep it simple; even if that means changing banks to one which gives you full access online and/or via your debit card for withdrawals from either checking or savings accounts.


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## kcowan

markinoshawa said:


> A number of years ago I started a USD investment account in Canada. I now plan on using the USD from this account for travel outside of Canada.


Why use USD? C$ are readily converted to pesos. If you want the better exchange rate, convert the USD to C$ before going to the ATM. Use Norbert's Gambit to avoid being charged FX.

Norbert's Gambit - finiki, the Canadian financial Wiki


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## Corri

Hi! Yes, a new, newby and unsure how to navigate but am trying. I´m retired and searching Mexico for living near the ocean. My big Q is where to find a financial advisor, speaks English, and understands the topsy turvey investment marketplace today. A new student for the right teacher that really knows the Mexican economy for senior citizen investing. Thanks for being here for us newbys.


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## wonderphil

Corri said:


> Hi! Yes, a new, newby and unsure how to navigate but am trying. I´m retired and searching Mexico for living near the ocean. My big Q is where to find a financial advisor, speaks English, and understands the topsy turvey investment marketplace today. A new student for the right teacher that really knows the Mexican economy for senior citizen investing. Thanks for being here for us newbys.


As far as investing anywhere, I suggest being very skeptical of anything you hear, view, or read, and this especially includes any so called expert teachers you may meet in the future. I will leave it at that although there is much more where that came from. Investing in a foriegn country brings a increased level of risk due to many reasons which may not be obvious to some people at first. So for me as also being a newbie to living part of the year in Mexico I will stick to big publicly traded companies that are traded on exchanges in the USA. Later after I learn Spanish and many other things about Mexico better and understand more, I might explore many other opportunities. 

I am bullish on Mexico so I actually have a fair amount invested in the country already through ADR's and other stocks which are traded on USA exchanges.


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## Monty Floyd

joaquinx said:


> This is from BofA
> 
> https://www4.bankofamerica.com/foreigncurrency/index.action?template=faqs#rate_who_set
> 
> 
> _The exchange rate for international ATM transactions is set by Visa® International or MasterCard® International, depending on your card's logo. This rate of exchange is either the wholesale market rate or a government mandated rate on the day before the date the transaction is processed. The processing date may differ from the date of the transaction. Visa® International exchange rates may be found at Visa Inc. - Credit Cards and Other Payment Solutions Link opens a new windowFootnote 3 , search on exchange rates.
> 
> Each time you use your Bank of America debit card in a foreign ATM there is an International Transaction Fee applied. For specific information on the International Transaction Fee contact Bank of America Customer Service.
> _





joaquinx said:


> For Visa Debit card rates see Exchange Rate Calculator | Visa USA


Thank you joaquinx. This is an answer that I have been searching for, for three years.
My US bank says it's the Mexican bank that owns the ATM that I use, that sets the rate and when I ask at the Mexican banks, they tell me it's my US bank that sets the rate.
My experience has been, sometimes I get the posted rate (XE.com), mostly I get a lower rate (1-2%) and on a couple of occasions I got a better rate.
The thing that puzzles me is, when the market rate has stayed above the given rate for several weeks. 
For example, I got a rate of 12.65 when the market rate had not been lees than 12.75 for more than a month.


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## joaquinx

Monty Floyd said:


> Thank you joaquinx. This is an answer that I have been searching for, for three years.
> My US bank says it's the Mexican bank that owns the ATM that I use, that sets the rate and when I ask at the Mexican banks, they tell me it's my US bank that sets the rate.
> My experience has been, sometimes I get the posted rate (XE.com), mostly I get a lower rate (1-2%) and on a couple of occasions I got a better rate.
> The thing that puzzles me is, when the market rate has stayed above the given rate for several weeks.
> For example, I got a rate of 12.65 when the market rate had not been lees than 12.75 for more than a month.


When you stick in your Visa debit card into an ATM and ask for 1000 pesos, as an example, the ATM queries the Visa site who then in turns queries the bank records for the amount in usd that Visa converted. If all is OK, Visa tells the ATM to dispense the 1000 pesos. It then sends the usd amount to the bank for a debit on your account. There at the bank the amount can be posted as received, increased by the bank, and other fees applied.


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## wonderphil

Hound Dog said:


> As I have stated before, I have been retired in Mexico since 2001. In the old days, when I wanted to wire money down here from my brokerage account in the U.S., I would instruct my financial institution in the U.S. to wire dollars down here to one of my Mexican bank accounts. That meant that a few folks had their hands in the pie. My U.S. financial institurion wired dollars to Mexico and then, correspondent banks in the U.S. and Mexico took thier cut even made more onerous by fees for currency exchange. One day, a few years later, my advisor at my U.S. ivestmant house said to me, "Why don´t you exchange dollars for pesos through us piggybacking on our daily exchange of countless dollars for pesos and then direct we wire pesos to your account in Mexico. We get a hell of a lot better exchange rate for our daily transactions in billions of dollars than you will for a few thousand bucks and you will not have several correspondent financial institutions skimming their cut off the top for this and that two bit service."
> 
> I commenced to transfer funds down here following his advice about eight years ago and cut the parasites out of the loop. It has been a pleasure and has saved me some money as well .


Hola HD, 
I am jumping back into this topic without reading the rest of this thread right now so my apologies to all for that. I am now back in the USA and have been further looking into ways of transferring money into Mexico. 
So I know from past posts you (HD) use Charles Schwab for the above. I talked with a Schwab guy and it seems not any better than Fidelity (maybe less // unknown but I suspect only a small difference) this is also true for a wire transfer from Chase Bank. I ask if account size makes any difference (not much but unclear), not like what you have said. 

The following is from the Schwab site talking about fees. note they also have a wire transfer fee which I did not list below. 

Foreign Currency Transactions
Foreign currency transactions are subject to a fee 
based on the amount of currency converted in a 
single transaction, as follows: 
Foreign Exchange Fees
Amount Converted Fee per Currency 
Conversion Transaction
Under $100,000 1% of principal
$100,000–$249,999 0.75% of principal
$250,000–$499,999 0.5% of principal
$500,000–$999,999 0.3% of principal
$1,000,000 and above 0–0.2%	of	principal

So if you convert US Dollars to Pesos in the USA and then send to your account in Mexico it still costs you 1 % of your principal. HD, As an ex banker you should know that nothing is really free about bank services (or brokerage houses) 

So please recheck with Schwab and if you really do not get charged for converting USD to pesos please tell me exact ally how to get on that bandwagon.

:croc:




A few days ago I looked into another site which looked promising 

Send Money to Mexico Online - Cheap Bank Transfers

This is actually a subsidiary of a publicly traded Australian company. Anyway I opened up an account (non funded). and talked to a representative of the company today.

So they convert the money transfer from one currency to the other and transfer it. 
The following is my current understanding of how this works; 
Lets say in this case to your bank in Mexico or whoever you want to pay in pesos. If you transfer more that $5000.00 there is no added on fee However they charge you 1 to 1.5% in the conversion from USD to MXN. Yesterday 6/2/14 they (usforex) gave you 12.72 pesos while the bid ask was 12.913 and 12.987. So usforex is not a big winner either IMO.


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## PanchodeSMA

Recently we have written checks to our Mexican architect and to our Canadian landlords. In one case the check was drawn on a BofA account, the other on a Scottrade Bank account. Both checks posted in the exact amount with no fees. Maybe that's our solution. Open an account at a Mexican bank and deposit checks drawn on US banks when we need money.


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## wonderphil

PanchodeSMA said:


> Recently we have written checks to our Mexican architect and to our Canadian landlords. In one case the check was drawn on a BofA account, the other on a Scottrade Bank account. Both checks posted in the exact amount with no fees. Maybe that's our solution. Open an account at a Mexican bank and deposit checks drawn on US banks when we need money.


Did you pay in Pesos or USD? If you pay in USD there is no exchange rate hit. Sometimes you need to pay in MXN pesos that is when you get hit by the conversion.


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## joaquinx

PanchodeSMA said:


> Recently we have written checks to our Mexican architect and to our Canadian landlords. In one case the check was drawn on a BofA account, the other on a Scottrade Bank account. Both checks posted in the exact amount with no fees. Maybe that's our solution. Open an account at a Mexican bank and deposit checks drawn on US banks when we need money.


How did the exchange rate compare to ATM withdrawals?


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## PanchodeSMA

wonderphil said:


> Did you pay in Pesos or USD? If you pay in USD there is no exchange rate hit. Sometimes you need to pay in MXN pesos that is when you get hit by the conversion.


Both checks were written in USD. Don't know the exchange rate that the payees received.


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## JimJones

PanchodeSMA said:


> Recently we have written checks to our Mexican architect and to our Canadian landlords. In one case the check was drawn on a BofA account, the other on a Scottrade Bank account. Both checks posted in the exact amount with no fees. Maybe that's our solution. Open an account at a Mexican bank and deposit checks drawn on US banks when we need money.


What kind of documents did you need to open a Mexican bank account?


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## joaquinx

JimJones said:


> What kind of documents did you need to open a Mexican bank account?


Passport, Visa, and proof of address.

Depending on the bank, some will open an account with a Tourist Permit, while others want, at least, a Residente Temporal Permit. Proof of address is generally your electric bill which might by in the owners name, but that is acceptable.


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## Monty Floyd

Last Saturday, I took out 10K pesos (the limit at Banamex ATMs). The total was 10, 031 with Banamex ATM fee and that cost me $781.37 plus $2 for my bank's ATM fee, no international transaction fees.
10,031/781.37=12.8377, the posted exchange rate on XE.com was 12.85.

The next day I did the same thing, same results. I can do that every 24 hrs as long as I have the money in the bank. My daily limit is $1000 but I have not found any ATMs here that will dispense more than 10K pesos at a time. No international transaction fees. That is with my Texas bank.

My California credit union does charge an international transaction fee of between 0.5% and 1% but they refund all ATM fees. It works out about the same but they limit me to $500/day.


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## Monty Floyd

joaquinx said:


> Passport, Visa, and proof of address.
> 
> Depending on the bank, some will open an account with a Tourist Permit, while others want, at least, a Residente Temporal Permit. Proof of address is generally your electric bill which might by in the owners name, but that is acceptable.


I concur.

Santander will open an account with the tourist visa (180 day) but you have to maintain a $1000 balance to avoid fees, which I understand can be costly.


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## PanchodeSMA

JimJones said:


> What kind of documents did you need to open a Mexican bank account?


Haven't opened one yet. Researching best option. Lots of banks in San Miguel.


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## AlanMexicali

Monty Floyd said:


> I concur.
> 
> Santander will open an account with the tourist visa (180 day) but you have to maintain a $1000 balance to avoid fees, which I understand can be costly.


When I lived in Mexicali I needed a bank account and went to 5 national banks. All wanted an INM visa except the last one. Bancomer. They took my deposit in pesos and gave me a non Visa/MasterCard debit card on the spot that I activated at the ATM. I never kept a $1000.00 peso balance in the account and the monthly fee was $60.00 pesos. Then I forgot about the account for a couple of years and the $500.00 pesos was not there one day. I went inside and closed the account. Funny the $60 peso fee ate up the $500 pesos I figure in 8 months and yet my account was still active. They never said anything or sent a statement to my house. I showed them my CFE bill and they put down the address on the form.

Last year I opened a Bancomer account with an INM document and SRE codex and CFE bill. I never needed to deposit anything and they gave me a fee free account this time with the same generic debit card this time with a Visa logo on the spot and I activated it at the ATM. Last month my wife was at Bancomer and I tried the card and nothing, more than 1 year. I went inside and they told me my account was frozen for inactivity but I could reopen it by talking to the customer servive desk. I didn´t bother.


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## chicois8

Also when I went to open a bank account they would not accept a CFE bill that was 2 months old,only the most current one.......opened with an FMM, passport and current CFE bill, location Nayarit..........


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## makaloco

I opened a $USD account and a peso account at Bancomer on the advice of my RE agent. I used (and still use) the peso account regularly. The dollar account just sat there for years with the minimum balance. One day I got a call from the branch manager telling me that they were going to block the account because it had been inactive for more than three years. She suggested that I come in and withdraw or transfer a small amount to keep it going. But when I went, we both agreed that I should just close it since I wasn't using it. She transferred my balance to my peso account without a fee, and that was that.


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## joaquinx

AlanMexicali said:


> When I lived in Mexicali I needed a bank account and went to 5 national banks. All wanted an INM visa except the last one. Bancomer. They took my deposit in pesos and gave me a non Visa/MasterCard debit card on the spot that I activated at the ATM. I never kept a $1000.00 peso balance in the account and the monthly fee was $60.00 pesos. Then I forgot about the account for a couple of years and the $500.00 pesos was not there one day. I went inside and closed the account. Funny the $60 peso fee ate up the $500 pesos I figure in 8 months and yet my account was still active. They never said anything or sent a statement to my house. I showed them my CFE bill and they put down the address on the form.
> 
> Last year I opened a Bancomer account with an INM document and SRE codex and CFE bill. I never needed to deposit anything and they gave me a fee free account this time with the same generic debit card this time with a Visa logo on the spot and I activated it at the ATM. Last month my wife was at Bancomer and I tried the card and nothing, more than 1 year. I went inside and they told me my account was frozen for inactivity but I could reopen it by talking to the customer servive desk. I didn´t bother.


I like to know why you opened two accounts and never used them.


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## AlanMexicali

joaquinx said:


> I like to know why you opened two accounts and never used them.


I was thinking I would have more stuff to take care of. The first one I didn´t use because it was in around 2005 when I enjoyed driving around paying my utilities [bored in the house, you understand] and went to a bank branch ATM 2 blocks from my house for cash to do so. The second was on a whim when I got my SRE codex.

My wife has all the automatic bill payments setup already for years.

It appears if Expats have their SRE codex and it is register with SAT [they did check it on their computer] they will give you a fee free account for debit, not checks at Bancomer.


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## TundraGreen

AlanMexicali said:


> When I lived in Mexicali I needed a bank account and went to 5 national banks. All wanted an INM visa except the last one. Bancomer. They took my deposit in pesos and gave me a non Visa/MasterCard debit card on the spot that I activated at the ATM. I never kept a $1000.00 peso balance in the account and the monthly fee was $60.00 pesos. Then I forgot about the account for a couple of years and the $500.00 pesos was not there one day. I went inside and closed the account. Funny the $60 peso fee ate up the $500 pesos I figure in 8 months and yet my account was still active. They never said anything or sent a statement to my house. I showed them my CFE bill and they put down the address on the form.
> 
> Last year I opened a Bancomer account with an INM document and SRE codex and CFE bill. I never needed to deposit anything and they gave me a fee free account this time with the same generic debit card this time with a Visa logo on the spot and I activated it at the ATM. Last month my wife was at Bancomer and I tried the card and nothing, more than 1 year. I went inside and they told me my account was frozen for inactivity but I could reopen it by talking to the customer servive desk. I didn´t bother.


I had a similar experience once. I took all of the money out of an account and thought it was closed. A couple of years later, I realized it was still active and decided to start using it. So I transferred some money into it. The bank immediately deducted the two years of monthly fees from the deposit.


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## makaloco

Alan, what is an "SRE codex"?


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## AlanMexicali

makaloco said:


> Alan, what is an "SRE codex"?


I meant a RFC Alpha Numeric "number" at the SHCP building. Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público.


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## makaloco

AlanMexicali said:


> I meant a RFC Alpha Numeric "number" at the SHCP building. Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público.


Okay, thanks. Bancomer registered me for that when I opened my bank accounts (and it's correct, recently verified on the RFC website).


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## blackhatsmackdat

JimJones said:


> Hello I am looking for some banking advice. I live in the USA and would like to open a bank account in Mexico when I go there next month. Basically what I would like to do would be to transfer money from my bank here to an account with a Mexican bank. I would like to have my self and either my mother in law or sister in law also on the account with me so that my wife and I can send her family money by just transferring money from our account here to the Mexican account.
> 
> The reason for this is because currently we use Vigo or Western Union type services. The problem with this is when my family members in Mexico go to pick up the money at the casa de cambio / bank they always try to give them the run around and don’t want to pay or want to try to give them half now and the other half later. This is unacceptable to me if I send someone money I want it paid out immediately upon demand of the person that I sent it to no run around, no come back tomorrow, no games.
> 
> Are there any Mexican banks that have branches in Mexico and the US or vice versa?
> Can you transfer funds from a US bank account to a Mexican account online?- If so how do you do it?
> 
> It would be nice to find a bank that has a branch in the closest big town to my in-laws which is Maravatio Michoacan that also has a branch here in Vegas. I think that it would make it easier to transfer funds if it was all within the same bank instead of trying to transfer funds from say Wells Fargo to a Banamex?
> 
> What do you guys that live there full time do?
> Any advice would be much appreciated



I use Bancomer with TransFast. Western Union partnerships with banks can be a problem if the agents can give you the run around when you try to.
With the combination I use, it takes 4 hours for the money to arrive and the rates are as good as WU. 

Good luck


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