# How do I send money to the US?



## TamiJ

I am desperate to figure out the easiest and cheapest way to do this. I have bills over there, and my sister will pay them for me if I send her the money, but I am not sure what is the best way to do this. I set up a paypal account in Mexico, but I can't figure out their fees, or if it's better to do it a different way. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks.


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## kcowan

If you have a chequing account, why not mail her a check? I have used the mail extensively from PV and the letters arrive unopened in 10-14 days. I have sent checks and contracts with success. Make sure to wrap the check in a letter to avoid unecessary tampering.


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## TamiJ

kcowan said:


> If you have a chequing account, why not mail her a check? I have used the mail extensively from PV and the letters arrive unopened in 10-14 days. I have sent checks and contracts with success. Make sure to wrap the check in a letter to avoid unecessary tampering.



Hmmm. Well, I do have a checking account but I need something faster. Also, I am glad you have had success with the mail, but I am leary about sending things like checks through the mail here. But in any case, thanks for the suggestion. I appreciate it!


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## joaquinx

Have your sister open an account at your bank. Then you can transfer funds from your account to hers via the Internet. This assumes that your bank is a US bank. If your bank offers a "bill pay", you can pay your bills and send payments directly to those whom you owe - again via the Internet.


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## TamiJ

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I want to send money from here in Mexico (so pesos transferred and converted to US dollars) to my sister in the US. If I am reading everything correctly online, it looks like I can do this through paypal, and I might try doing so. I just didn't know if Western Union was cheaper, or going through my bank.


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## tepetapan

Figure 3% at the recieving end for PayPal if you use a credit card. I use PayPal in my rental business and it works great. After your sister gets things set up it will only take her a couple days to have access to the money at her bank. It is fast and easy, give it a try.


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## tepetapan

I started with Western Union but they are expensive and refuse to disclose the exchange rate and fees. With Pay Pal you will see the exchange rate before you click the "finish" button.


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## TamiJ

tepetapan said:


> Figure 3% at the recieving end for PayPal if you use a credit card. I use PayPal in my rental business and it works great. After your sister gets things set up it will only take her a couple days to have access to the money at her bank. It is fast and easy, give it a try.


Thanks so much. My sister is already set up to use paypal, so she is familiar with it. I have had a paypal attached to my US address, but opened a new account with my MX address. I am still trying to figure out how to send the money that way with the conversion. It looks like I just put the amount in pesos, and it shows me the USD amount. Does that include the fee, do you know? Or, is there an additional fee on top of that?


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## tepetapan

If you are sending money to family using a Pay Pal balance there are no fees, if you are using a bank account there should be no fees but credit cards there is a fee. Even though you have a Mexico PayPal account you can log in on the regular US site so everything is in english. When I want to transfer US or Canadian PayPal funds to a Mexico bank they do the conversion to pesos, showing the exchange rate.
There is a 1500 pesos minimum withdraw to my bank in Mexico otherwise there are additional fees so likely there is a minimum on the US side also.


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## joaquinx

I have transferred funds from my bank in the US to my bank in Mexico via PayPal and the exchange rate is really low. If you can arrange to have a bank to bank transfer, i.e., your Mexican bank to your sisters US bank, you will have to pay a fee, but the exchange rate will be better and probably cost less than PayPal. Talk to your banker and have your sister talk to hers.


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## TamiJ

tepetapan said:


> If you are sending money to family using a Pay Pal balance there are no fees, if you are using a bank account there should be no fees but credit cards there is a fee. Even though you have a Mexico PayPal account you can log in on the regular US site so everything is in english. When I want to transfer US or Canadian PayPal funds to a Mexico bank they do the conversion to pesos, showing the exchange rate.
> There is a 1500 pesos minimum withdraw to my bank in Mexico otherwise there are additional fees so likely there is a minimum on the US side also.


Do you know if there are fees connected to a debit card? I don't have checks with my account, only a debit card (I am sure that obtaining checks can be arranged, if needed), so I don't know the routing number of any of that pertinent information to set-up the funds to come straight from the bank account. I do, however, have my debit card...


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## tepetapan

You will need to set up the PayPal with your debit account. After it is set up (which will take a couple days so it can be verified) it will be a fee free transaction. 
International bank to bank transfers are not cheap, takes an hour or more at the bank if they even know the proceedure and you have all the correct numbers. Been there, done that and never again.


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## TamiJ

tepetapan said:


> You will need to set up the PayPal with your debit account. After it is set up (which will take a couple days so it can be verified) it will be a fee free transaction.
> International bank to bank transfers are not cheap, takes an hour or more at the bank if they even know the proceedure and you have all the correct numbers. Been there, done that and never again.


Oh wow! Thanks so much. This is definitely the route I am taking to do this.


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## TamiJ

tepetapan said:


> If you are sending money to family using a Pay Pal balance there are no fees, if you are using a bank account there should be no fees but credit cards there is a fee. Even though you have a Mexico PayPal account you can log in on the regular US site so everything is in english. When I want to transfer US or Canadian PayPal funds to a Mexico bank they do the conversion to pesos, showing the exchange rate.
> There is a 1500 pesos minimum withdraw to my bank in Mexico otherwise there are additional fees so likely there is a minimum on the US side also.


Ok-I hope this will be my last question. I added the debit card, and paypal said they were charging the card $20 pesos to make sure the card is mine. In a couple of days I can look at my bank account and get some sort of access code to use to confirm and activate. Does this sound familiar to you?


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## ReefHound

That's typically how they "verify" your bank account. It probably says it will charge it some amount *up to* $20 pesos and you will prove it is your account by knowing exactly what that charge was from your bank account access. It might be $4 or $9 or $17.


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## TamiJ

ReefHound said:


> That's typically how they "verify" your bank account. It probably says it will charge it some amount *up to* $20 pesos and you will prove it is your account by knowing exactly what that charge was from your bank account access. It might be $4 or $9 or $17.


Ok great. That's what I thought, but just had to be sure. Thanks so much!


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## hindvds

hi,
try gmt money transfer
they are good .gives good rates to us
-ravi


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## scubakevin

For 15 years I didn't have a bank account, bills or credit cards in the US but when my parents passed I found it necessary yet not desirable to open a US bank account which after researching the current banking situation I did in Bank of America. When I lived in Manhattan we did our personal and commerical banking with Citibank and loved it but finding a branch near my parents house was an issue and of course I didn't want to complicate my life making deposits and all so BOA won hands down over Wachovia which is a horrible bank.

Anyway, the point is that I make all of my payments from that account and receive all of my electronic funds to that account and either using my ATM card or wire transfers when I need funds in Mexico and e-checks for paying bills in the US like my ATT Cellular Phone and American Express Cards. Those are the only debts that I have since I went back.

I have a Pay Pal account in Mexico for business and never had any issues with it until I linked my BOA account to my Pay Pal. After that every time I tried to pay something it took the money from my bank account or sent an e-check which takes 5 days here in Mexico instead of debiting one of my credit cards. 

After talking with Pay Pal I was told the problem is that the US bank account always links as a first funding option and although I changed it 10 times it went back to the bank account. Finally the girl convinced me to open a pay pal account in the US with a US address and my US credit card. Bad idea, you can imagine the **** storm that came after that thanks to Pay Pals "3rd party" Social Security Number verification software. 

I opened the account as a business account which is a US corporation and provided my Employer Identification Number as required by law. They also requested the SS number of the responsible person so I put mine in and of course their 3rd party software cannot confirm that it is me. I sent passport copy, copy of my EIN documents, Copy of my last PERSONAL Tax Declaration (1996) and a copy of my social security benefits statement.

All of which was rejected by Pay Pal saying they wanted a copy of my social security card. I explained that I was not in the US but had a permanent address there with a company there and I haven't had my physical SS card since 35 years maybe. 

So no go, "can't unlock the account" so I told them to delete me from their system and take my Credit Cards off their system and my bank accounts so I don't have them linked to anything and they tell me they can't do that for a year to make sure that I don't have pendings with them. How stupid since they haven't activated the account and won't so what pendings could I have with them?

Gets better, I called AMEX Platinum Card Services and they told me I could only cancel the cards I have with them and they issue me new cards with new numbers and the bank told me I have to close my bank account and open a new one. I mean have the Americans gone absolutely CRAZY with this crap? My bank only asked to see my passport and Amex didn't give a **** about documents and at Deutsch Bank I never had these issues. As the Song Goes "WTF" "Johnny La Gente Esta Muy LOCA"

Steer clear of Pay Pal if you can.


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## joaquinx

I never had troubles with PayPay with either my BofA card nor my local HSBC card, but with BofA. This is was happened when they sent me a renewal card.

My BofA debit card was due to expire at the end of February and I usually receive a new one 3 to 4 weeks before it expires. On the 17th, I sent an email (via their online service) asking where and if when the debit card would arrive. The next day, I got a reply stating that they sent the card by mail on the 28th of January and they blocked that card, which has the same number as the one in my wallet, and mailed me a new one. I emailed them back stating that sending it by mail to Mexico is a bad idea and will be lost like the first one and will take at least 3 weeks to get here. I had received two other replacements over the years to my Mexican address and they both came by either DHL or UPS. I decided to go to the bank and withdraw some cash and found out that my card didn't work because it was blocked. I called BofA again and told them that my card was blocked and that the second card wouldn't make it here because it was mailed. They blocked the second card and said that they would FedEx or other a new card to me. When it didn't arrive, I called and was informed that they sent it by mail also. Finally, they said that they would send another card by FedEx or other - the fourth card. That is when my friend in the US called (whose US address I use as a mailing address) and said that I received a FedEx package. I knew what it was - the card. I called BofA again and they said again that they would FedEx, UPS, etc a card to my Mexican address. The fifth card made is by UPS. In the middle of March, two cards arrived by mail. One got lost in the mail and the fourth was in Texas.


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## Grizzy

This is an old thread but perhaps someone knows if any banks in Mexico (Lake Chapala area) will let you use paypal? I have a Canadian and US paypal and would love to set up a Mx one with a bank here but was told none of them use paypal. This was fairly recently. I would love to find one that I can deposit and withdraw funds with locally. Thanks in advance!


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## joaquinx

Grizzy said:


> This is an old thread but perhaps someone knows if any banks in Mexico (Lake Chapala area) will let you use paypal? I have a Canadian and US paypal and would love to set up a Mx one with a bank here but was told none of them use paypal. This was fairly recently. I would love to find one that I can deposit and withdraw funds with locally. Thanks in advance!


What do you mean by "use paypal"? I have my HSBC debit card linked to paypal and have transfered funds from BofA to my HSBC account. I pay Skype via paypal and the HSBC account.


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## Grizzy

joaquinx said:


> What do you mean by "use paypal"? I have my HSBC debit card linked to paypal and have transfered funds from BofA to my HSBC account. I pay Skype via paypal and the HSBC account.


I think what you have is what I was looking for. I want to have a bank account here in Mexico at a Mexican bank that I can link to a paypal account. I asked at HSBC thinking they were the logical first choice being international and the person in charge of explaining the new accounts at first had no clue what paypal was then said no, it is not used in Mexico. Perhaps she or I misunderstood? 

So if I open a Mexican HSBC account I can open a Mx paypal account and add the Mx HSBC account to it right?

Hope that is more clear.


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## joaquinx

Grizzy said:


> So if I open a Mexican HSBC account I can open a Mx paypal account and add the Mx HSBC account to it right?


Yea, the bank has nothing to do with the pp account. Open a pp account and supply your Mexican account # or debit card number. pp with make a withdrawal that you have to verify on you pp account. Once, you do that, your Mexican bank account and pp are linked. If you use your debit card number, the bank might issue you a new card after the first one expires and you'll have to relink the account. I had my BofA debit card linked, but I decided to unlink it. pp transfers between my BofA account and HSBC were terrible as it took around 10 days with a real bad exchange rate. Bank transfers were faster and cheaper.

Paying for Skype was not a problem but I did have problems using pp to pay for items in the US, I don't know whose problem it was.


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## scubakevin

Hey Grizzy,

We have our Bancomer accounts and Scotiabank accounts connected to Pay Pal, the thing is if you want to FUND your pay pal account from a Mexican Bank you have to do it as a transfer and according to pay pal it can take up to 2 weeks to appear in your account even though a SPEI transfer bank to bank in Mexico takes about 5 minutes.

When we need to send a payment via Pay Pal we use our Mexican AMEX card to make the payment (has to be in US dollars as AMEX is no longer working with Pay Pal in Mexico for Mexican Pesos) and our AMEX payments are set here in Mexico like the US on the due date the payment is made automatically.

When you withdraw funds from Pay Pal to your Mexican Bank it can take a day or two longer than in the US. For example pay pal to BOA 24 to 48 hours is normal, Bancomer 3 business days is normal but if there is a US or Mexican Holiday it can be 5 days, Scotiabank when I withdraw Pay Pal funds to Scotia it takes the full 5 days, don't know why but thats the way it is. We know that Santander is a sister bank of BOA and if I make withdrawals or anything from the ATM it costs me nothing on either side so we are investigating some changes to Santander.

If you have a US Pay Pal account you can request the Pay Pal debit card or the Visa Credit Card which is connected to your account. In Mexico we don't have that option nor the option of Virtual Terminal.

The problem is I have been with Scotiabank since they were Inverlat 17 years ago and now just have a personal account there, prior we had all our business and personal accounts there but we had issues with their PYME manager and Bancomer was inviting me for a long time, we changed most over to Bancomer even our credit card terminals are with them but now we are not real happy with them either. We already had a meeting with the Bank Manager here to discuss our unhappiness with their PYME Rep here in the City, but it seems we were by our reps in Playa del Carmen with exceptional service that was unheard of here. I mean the PYME rep came once a week with our Preferred Customer Rep to visit us and see if WE needed anything. 

Here in Mexico City the manager just laughed.

After seeing the comment from our friend in Xalapa I should indeed mention that funds not received in pesos when you withdraw to your Mexican Bank the rate is set by Pay Pal not the receving bank where as with BOA International Transfers it offers me the option of BOA converting at xx.xx exchange rate or sending in dollars and letting the receiving bank do the exchange. Since we are preferred clients at Bancomer I always select sending in dollars to Bancomer and they convert at my preferred rate which is sometimes up to 1 peso per dollar different which if you are looking at 1000 dollars thats 100 dollars.


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## dogtags

I use Xoom; USD5 for any amount as long as payment of fees comes out of a bank account. Credit card payment of fees is USD7.99. Weekday morning transfers happen in 3 hour; o'nite & weekends take longer. 
Everything is done on line, even via smartphone.


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## Grizzy

dogtags said:


> I use Xoom; USD5 for any amount as long as payment of fees comes out of a bank account. Credit card payment of fees is USD7.99. Weekday morning transfers happen in 3 hour; o'nite & weekends take longer.
> Everything is done on line, even via smartphone.


Xoom only will transfer from a US bank account right? Or did I miss something on their site? I would like to be able to also transfer from a Canadian account.


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## dogtags

On Xoom's account setup screen, the country of residence list ranges from Afghanistan to Zambia. I assume that you can send from banks in any of those countries. Setup to send from US/Canada is very straightforward. If you are transferring directly into a Mexican bank account (as we do), you will need the CLABE for your account. Other pickup options in Mexico are possible, too.


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## Grizzy

dogtags said:


> On Xoom's account setup screen, the country of residence list ranges from Afghanistan to Zambia. I assume that you can send from banks in any of those countries. Setup to send from US/Canada is very straightforward. If you are transferring directly into a Mexican bank account (as we do), you will need the CLABE for your account. Other pickup options in Mexico are possible, too.


I must have missed that somehow. Thanks again! I will take another good look at it. Sounds perfect for what I want to do.


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