# Atypical money question



## Newwmexpat (May 19, 2014)

I have recently accepted an 18-24 month contract near Mexico City. All of my legal and immigration concerns are squared away but I have a money question. I'll be in Mexico getting paid in Mexico in pesos but want to send a majority of my money back to my family in the US. I've done some research on here and other sites and have found two things:

1. Most people want to send from US to mexico and since I want to go the other way there isn't much info.

2. Few banks I could find that would do this have limits of $5,000 USD / month and I'll be wanting to send back considerably more.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!!!!


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## coondawg (May 1, 2014)

Use more than one bank.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

Western Union Mexico


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

How are you going to be earning over $5000us a month in Mexico. Tell us the secret


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## Newwmexpat (May 19, 2014)

@coondawg I thought about this, but I've also read that setting up accounts in Mexican banks with temporary work visas or even visitor visas can be a pain and if you can set them up at all that the deposits are subject to a 2-3% tax as some sort of pre-income tax. Is there any truth to this or do you just walk in setup an account and rock and roll? I've done this in other countries but have no experience in MX.

@joaquinx Have you done this before? If so how did it work out for you (i.e. were you happy with exchange rates, delivery time, ease of use, etc.)? I'm sure there are a lot of options like this out there, but I am just a little apprehensive to walk in to somewhere and hand them a wad of cash without having some experience expectations.

@sparks LOL Configuring long range, high speed, carrier grade fiber optic networks for phone and data use. I'm actually going to be bouncing around Mexico quite a bit for 18-24 months, then to Guatemala and couple other places in Central/South America then over to Kuwait of all places. I love the travel, the job and the money, but with an 18 month baby at home and another one due to be born while I'm gone there are definitely downsides. If you or anyone you know has a significant IT background and preferably international travel experience, let me know as we're looking for more people and the pay is amazing! That $5,000US figure I found as a cap for the banks is a fraction of what I'm actually going to get a month so IF you're willing to deal with the time away from family, the missed events, etc. it can be a VERY lucrative path.


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

I think a system admin for a campus with 350 computers .... might almost qualify except we were still using the network I built in 1996 when I retired in 2005. Fiber was just around the corner but retirement called


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

Setting up a bank account with a residence visa (even if temporary) is no harder than it is for nationals or permanent residents. Usually you need your official ID (passport), visa, proof of residence (a utility bill, even if it isn’t in your name), and money for the initial deposit, same as any Mexican or permanent resident.


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## joaquinx (Jul 3, 2010)

Newwmexpat said:


> @joaquinx Have you done this before? If so how did it work out for you (i.e. were you happy with exchange rates, delivery time, ease of use, etc.)? I'm sure there are a lot of options like this out there, but I am just a little apprehensive to walk in to somewhere and hand them a wad of cash without having some experience expectations.


Never used it before. I transfer funds from the US to Mexico, but I have read of people who use this service to send funds to the US. As for the exchange rate, you will always be disappointed. Some bank somewhere is going to make money on your exchange of monies.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Employers typically establish a bank account for an employee, even an expat employee, because payroll at so many companies is now done electronically ... as it's done in the USA. What I'd probably do, in your shoes, is obtain an additional debit card and send it to my family in the USA who could, when necessary, use it to withdraw funds from an USA ATM machine ... no differently than how so many expats keep their funds in the USA and obtain cash/Pesos in Mexico by withdrawing using an ATM card. You can speak with the bank branch manager/staff about this. There are withdrawal/use fees in the USA, but i suspect they'll be much less using the ATM withdrawal methind than sending wire transfers. You can compare the costs of both.


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## Newwmexpat (May 19, 2014)

Longford said:


> Employers typically establish a bank account for an employee, even an expat employee, because payroll at so many companies is now done electronically ... as it's done in the USA. What I'd probably do, in your shoes, is obtain an additional debit card and send it to my family in the USA who could, when necessary, use it to withdraw funds from an USA ATM machine ... no differently than how so many expats keep their funds in the USA and obtain cash/Pesos in Mexico by withdrawing using an ATM card. You can speak with the bank branch manager/staff about this. There are withdrawal/use fees in the USA, but i suspect they'll be much less using the ATM withdrawal methind than sending wire transfers. You can compare the costs of both.


Thanks for this idea! I'm pretty sure that my employer down there will not be setting me up an account, but if I can set one up relatively easily then I would imagine that this would be the best option for small purchases and cash withdraws, but what about for transfer of payroll funds as my salary will be more than daily withdraw limit? What I'd like is a bank like BBVA Bancomer that I can have an account with and do account transfers to a BBVA Compass account back in the states. Has anyone ever tried this?


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Daily withdrawal limits are set by default when you open an account. That was the case with our bank in the USA. We discovered that those limits can be increased, if you ask. That allows for fewer trips to an ATM, as well as lower costs; the bank fees are per transaction, not a percentage of the amount.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Newwmexpat said:


> Thanks for this idea! I'm pretty sure that my employer down there will not be setting me up an account ...


I think you need to back-up a minute, and have a conversation with the HR department at your to-be employer ... to learn how payment is made.


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## Newwmexpat (May 19, 2014)

Longford said:


> I think you need to back-up a minute, and have a conversation with the HR department at your to-be employer ... to learn how payment is made.


They will be paying me by either check or direct deposit/wire transfer (my choice) to a mexican account. This is because I'm actually a subcontractor and there is some contractual mumbo jumbo that makes them have to do it that way.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Definitely; you do not want to be paid in bundles of cash. Cash deposits, as opposed to checks, are frowned upon by banks and there is a low limit on how much you can deposit in cash each month. It is much lower than what you mention above. Those regulations are in place to help defeat money laundering. Do talk to HR and find out what bank they will use and if they can make direct deposits to your account in the same bank.
(cross posted with the above)
Sincwe they will offer the option of a wire transfer, why not ask them to do it directly to your USA bank account. Then, you would have no need for a Mexican bank account (always a bit of a hassle) and could use your US bank debit card for cash needs anywhere.


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## Newwmexpat (May 19, 2014)

RVGRINGO said:


> Definitely; you do not want to be paid in bundles of cash. Cash deposits, as opposed to checks, are frowned upon by banks and there is a low limit on how much you can deposit in cash each month. It is much lower than what you mention above. Those regulations are in place to help defeat money laundering. Do talk to HR and find out what bank they will use and if they can make direct deposits to your account in the same bank.
> (cross posted with the above)
> Sincwe they will offer the option of a wire transfer, why not ask them to do it directly to your USA bank account. Then, you would have no need for a Mexican bank account (always a bit of a hassle) and could use your US bank debit card for cash needs anywhere.


That would be my preference for sure, but "to a Mexican account" is pretty clearly laid out in my contract. I'm definitely going to ask that but I'm just looking for back up plans.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Is there a limit to what you can wire from a Mexican account to a US account?


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## Newwmexpat (May 19, 2014)

citlali said:


> Is there a limit to what you can wire from a Mexican account to a US account?


I'm not 100% positive but the limited info I've found from a couple banks said $5k USD per month.


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## Parcos (May 13, 2014)

citlali said:


> Is there a limit to what you can wire from a Mexican account to a US account?


This limit doesn't make sense to me. My wife's uncle opened a restaurant in LA last fall and the project was funded with a wire transfer from Mexico in the neighborhood of 3 million pesos. I didn't ask any questions at the time but there didn't seem to be any problems.


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## Newwmexpat (May 19, 2014)

Parcos said:


> This limit doesn't make sense to me. My wife's uncle opened a restaurant in LA last fall and the project was funded with a wire transfer from Mexico in the neighborhood of 3 million pesos. I didn't ask any questions at the time but there didn't seem to be any problems.


hmmm...well I have an appointment today with my bank in the US to discuss this. They told me on the phone yesterday that if I had an account number on the Mexico side that they could increase inbound wire limits from that account but I need to go in to discuss it. I'll let everyone know when I find out.

Thanks for everyone's help so far...


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## Parcos (May 13, 2014)

Newwmexpat said:


> hmmm...well I have an appointment today with my bank in the US to discuss this. They told me on the phone yesterday that if I had an account number on the Mexico side that they could increase inbound wire limits from that account but I need to go in to discuss it. I'll let everyone know when I find out.
> 
> Thanks for everyone's help so far...



So the 5 grand limit is coming from the US banks, not the banks in Mexico?


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I was not aware of the 5000 dollars limit but if it is in dollars you may find out that it has nothing to do with Mexico. 
I am glad you brought this up as I now have to check it with our banks,


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## Newwmexpat (May 19, 2014)

Okay so here's the latest update.

The $5,000 limit is not so much a limit but a threshold set by my bank here where transfers over that amount from Mexico in a month will be held until the "appropriate paperwork and verification are complete." They looked at my account history and waived this in the branch.

They informed me that BBVA Bancomer in MX (even though they're owned by the same company) will not be able to do an account to account transfer and any funds transfers will have to be wired in. They (Bancomer) will charge $35-45US for outbound wires and BBVA Compass will charge $6US for inbound transfers.

However, my US debit card down there will work at the Bancomer ATM's for free and my MX debit will work at Compass ATM's here for free. Also, I was able to bump our daily ATM limit from $300 to $500.

So the plan now is to have the wife use the Bancomer debit card to pay bills and pull $500/day out of the ATM's to be deposited in to Compass then we'll do quarterly (or so) wires for the rest.

Hopefully, this plan will work out for us and anyone else in this situation.

From the what it's worth department, it really pisses me off that someone who's just trying to do honest work to build a family nest-egg has to jump through a million hoops to get the money home because all the dishonest people (read cartels) have screwed up the system for the rest of us. Oh well....

Thanks for all the help and suggestions thus far! If anyone has any brilliant flashes of wisdom even still, I'm all ears!


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Newwmexpat said:


> From the what it's worth department, it really pisses me off that someone who's just trying to do honest work to build a family nest-egg has to jump through a million hoops to get the money home because all the dishonest people (read cartels) have screwed up the system for the rest of us. Oh well....


Sorry, but I can't summon up much sympathy for someone who will be earning so much money in Mexico that he'll be able to send home more money every month than I spend in five.


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## TommyD8 (Jun 14, 2013)

Newwmexpat said:


> So the plan now is to have the wife use the Bancomer debit card to pay bills and pull $500/day out of the ATM's to be deposited in to Compass then we'll do quarterly (or so) wires for the rest.
> 
> Hopefully, this plan will work out for us and anyone else in this situation.
> )


I would have a discussion with the wife about being security conscious with all those ATM withdrawls...

Just for her safety.


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## Newwmexpat (May 19, 2014)

Isla Verde said:


> Sorry, but I can't summon up much sympathy for someone who will be earning so much money in Mexico that he'll be able to send home more money every month than I spend in five.


Hahahaha....well several of my stops including my first one will be in or near Mexico City. Maybe I'll buy you a cup of coffee or something and weasel out a little more sympathy! 

With a little luck, in 18 years or so I'll be back down there or somewhere similar for good. Years ago I had another job where I was able to spend time in Belize, a very little bit in the Carribean and some in Central and South America. The latin/beach style of life is definitely the speed I like. My ultimate dream is to live on some picturesque beach some where and run a scuba diving tour boat. Hopefully, just a few more years of these decent paying gigs and I can make it happen.

We shall see....


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## Newwmexpat (May 19, 2014)

TommyD8 said:


> I would have a discussion with the wife about being security conscious with all those ATM withdrawls...
> 
> Just for her safety.


I completely agree!!!!!! Luckily, she has pretty decent situational awareness from growing up with a Dad who had a very similar job in the military to mine so we've beaten it in to her pretty well! 

Also, she'll be pulling the cash out of the ATM at the bank where she'll deposit it so as long as she does this during the day as we've agreed, she should be able to just walk about 20ft (inside the bank) with the money. I think/hope the risk there should be pretty minimal.

Thanks for the thought though...too many people don't think about this kind of thing.


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

Newwmexpat said:


> However, my US debit card down there will work at the Bancomer ATM's for free and my MX debit will work at Compass ATM's here for free.


 Not entirely free, because the banks set the exchange rate when you do these types of withdrawals, and of course they don’t set it to their disadvantage. However, it’s not a reason to be concerned; ATM withdrawals are a way to access the best exchange rate that you’re likely to be able to get with transactions on this scale.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Newwmexpat said:


> Hahahaha....well several of my stops including my first one will be in or near Mexico City. Maybe I'll buy you a cup of coffee or something and weasel out a little more sympathy!


I appreciate your sense of humor. Sure, I'd be up for a nice cappuccino when you find yourself in Mexico City, though isn't that supposed to be "tea and sympathy"?


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## Newwmexpat (May 19, 2014)

Isla Verde said:


> I appreciate your sense of humor. Sure, I'd be up for a nice cappuccino when you find yourself in Mexico City, though isn't that supposed to be "tea and sympathy"?


I try not to get too wrapped up in semantics even in the midst of a teacher


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Newwmexpat said:


> I try not to get too wrapped up in semantics even in the midst of a teacher


Semantics is what gives meaning to my life!


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## Newwmexpat (May 19, 2014)

maesonna said:


> Not entirely free, because the banks set the exchange rate when you do these types of withdrawals, and of course they don’t set it to their disadvantage. However, it’s not a reason to be concerned; ATM withdrawals are a way to access the best exchange rate that you’re likely to be able to get with transactions on this scale.


Right. I know I'm never going to "win" when it comes to exchange rates but, like you said, I think it's our best option.


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