# Mexican ATM's



## hidouglas (Mar 4, 2009)

I've been to Mexico 8 times for several months at a time and every time I go I only use the ATM's to get money for my travel. I'll be going again this winter. Every time I go I try to figure out which bank will let me have the most amount of money at one time as opposed to having to make several transactions for a small amount and having to pay the ATM fees every time and which one has the lowest ATM fees. Rather than going to each ATM to try to figure it out again I thought I would start a thread to see if anyone has any opinions on this subject. Thank you.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I do not know but BBVA will bot accept our Visa from the States abd we have ab account with them.. and other banks have done the sanr thing.

U think there are different types of limiy,, several machines only dispense beyween 7000 or 8000 pessos My liit dauly for my card is higher so I withdraw several times..Somr ATM let me do ir and some do not.. and now some do not acpet the US card..


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

BanBajio $10,000 per transaction. Fee of $21.00 pesos.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Why spin your wheels going from bank to bank when you can get banking/ATM cards from banks that have either fee free or fee reimbursed.
I carry a Citibank ATM card without any fee at Banamex...
I carry a Capitol One 360 banking card without fees at most OXXO stores. 
I carry a Schwab ATM/Debit card where all fees are reimbursed from any ATM around the world...suerte.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I carry Schwab as well no fees.


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## hidouglas (Mar 4, 2009)

That sounds like you would have to put your money in Banamex then to get it out with their card. I have a Capital One Visa that doesn't charge to use it in foreign countries but not an ATM card. I had to change banks here in the states several years ago because they charged 3% to get your money out of ATM's in foreign countries. A major rip off for no reason other than sticking it to you. It's cleverly disguised as a "conversion fee". My credit union now charges about $5 a transaction which is another reason to get as much out as I can out at once. Then you have to pay the ATM at the bank there also.


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## Ajijic Lady (Jan 19, 2009)

Open a Schwab account. They charge no fees on their end AND they refund ATMs charged anywhere in the world.


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## hidouglas (Mar 4, 2009)

After looking into other options along with the replies I've decided to go with the Capital One 360 ATM card which doesn't have any foreign transaction fees. I use my C.O. Venture card for all my purchases as they give you 2 points for every purchase. And since I am already in the system I won't have to open another account somewhere else just for foreign travel. The Mexican bank ATM fees are minimal so I won't worry about that issue either. Thanks for the good information everyone.


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## Ajijic Lady (Jan 19, 2009)

FYI, I had a Cap360, but the only convenient ATM to me (at an Oxxo) closed, or rather changed to another system. Cap 360s are tied into the AllPoint network, so you may want to check their website to see if there is one near where you will be.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Definitely check, as you will not want to be limited to Allpoint, as they are hard to find. Your US bank determines your daily limit, while the local bank determines the machine limit. If ATM fees are reimbursed by your bank, up to a certain number of withdrawals, you should be fine with any major card brand, like Visa or Mastercard Debit cards. Stay away from non-bank ATMs and unfamiliar systems.


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

We are creatures of habit. We live (present tense) in Mexico and haven't left Mexico in years. 

Let's say we were to plan a trip to the US, however, I would not leave with only one US dollar debit card in my wallet. Probably I would have my Schwab debit card in my wallet and our BofA debit card in my wife's wallet. In the US I would probably ONLY use a BofA ATM. Maybe I'm a little weird. I would also have a couple US dollar credit cards with me.

In Mexico the only US debit card I use is from Schwab. We have accounts with HSBC Mexico and I ONLY use HSBC ATMs (no fees). I, personally, would never go to an ATM at an Oxxo. In fact, I like to use ATMs at an HSBC bank branch, preferably at a location that has gated/guarded parking. When the dollar/peso goes over 21 I use my Schwab card, otherwise I use a peso card. I would try really really hard to never withdraw money at a teller's window and I would look all around me before I put my card in the machine.

Our US/Mexican banks know we live in Mexico and will only allow transactions in Mexico. If I were to travel to the US I think I would have to tell BofA BUT I think I read recently that I no longer need to tell Schwab of my travel plans.

The little bit I read up on your Capital One 360 debit card it looks like a good deal, similar to Schwab. Is it free as the Schwab cards are ? As has been pointed out, you want to really make sure that you use your Capital One card within whatever network they use and I'm not aware of any such restriction with Schwab.

I don't know how to interpret this - "Capital One’s online bank stands apart from many banks because it doesn’t charge a currency conversion fee or a fee for using a foreign ATM network. If an out-of-network ATM operator charges you a fee, however, it won’t be reimbursed by Capital One 360." Are they talking about the small ATM fee or the large conversion fee ?

Edit : I take it back, HSBC will charge me an ATM fee if I use my Schwab card but Schwab reimburses it immediately.


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## hidouglas (Mar 4, 2009)

Thanks for those reply's on the Allpoint ATM's. I was assuming that they were associated with every other card that can use any ATM with the Visa MasterCard and associated logos. But after looking into it after your reply's I see it is not going to work for me. I am going to look into the Chase and Schwab ATM cards now and make a decision.. I know Oxxo's are on every corner but they have limits on how much you can take out and how much they charge so that wouldn't work for me. Thanks again I would have been pissed to find out I couldn't find an ATM to use even though I have several backups just in case. But they all carry fees. I hate that word.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Choose a bank that reimburses ATM fees. If you have a military connection, USAA will be your best choice.


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## Lawgrrl (Apr 24, 2015)

hidouglas said:


> Every time I go I try to figure out which bank will let me have the most amount of money at one time as opposed to having to make several transactions for a small amount and having to pay the ATM fees every time and which one has the lowest ATM fees. Rather than going to each ATM to try to figure it out again I thought I would start a thread to see if anyone has any opinions on this subject. Thank you.


Rather than focusing solely on withdrawal limits and fees, why aren't you looking at exchange rates? the ElDolar app or the website https://www.eldolar.info/es-MX/mexico/dia/hoy gives you the current average exchange rate and what's on offer at each bank. Combine that with a debit card from Charles Schwab that will refund all ATM fees and doesn't charge a foreign currency transaction fee, and you're good to go!


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## lat19n (Aug 19, 2017)

Lawgrrl said:


> Rather than focusing solely on withdrawal limits and fees, why aren't you looking at exchange rates? the ElDolar app or the website https://www.eldolar.info/es-MX/mexico/dia/hoy gives you the current average exchange rate and what's on offer at each bank. Combine that with a debit card from Charles Schwab that will refund all ATM fees and doesn't charge a foreign currency transaction fee, and you're good to go!


Sorry - but I'm not sure I see much value in that link. You would almost be better off looking at Yahoo Finance (USD/MXN) which will show you the current "mid-market" exchange rate.

When you use a US debit card the currency exchange rate will be set by (most likely) Visa or M/C, both of which have online 'calculators' to compute the exchange rate you should get. The variable is the "bank foreign transaction fee" which for Schwab would be 0.0% but for some banks can be as high as 3%. That is on top of the cut taken by Visa/MC. The exchange rate the calculators show is good for an entire day and is set based on the previous day's currency values.


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## dvinton (Mar 8, 2019)

Here is Visa's page that reports currency exchange rates, past and present.

https://usa.visa.com/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.html


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## hidouglas (Mar 4, 2009)

As a follow up and after reading all the replies I decided on a Schwab card. I didn't want to open another account but his is by far the best way to go. Thanks every one for your input.


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## elderp (Aug 22, 2018)

My only advice is watch out for Santander ATM s, they make up their own exchange rate which is always worse than the market rate.


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