Banking Question

I would like to communicate with anyone having information about any US banks having agreements with a Mexican bank. I want to keep a US bank but will be traveling in Mexico and need access to the $$ without monster charges and or access problems. Anyone have any experience?

Roberto. I use Bank of America up here and Santander down there. They are affiliated and do not charge for ATM withdrawls.

I dunno about other services, but you can ask them. I'd prefer you just stay there and forget about all that stuff.

GV Jack said:

Roberto. I use Bank of America up here and Santander down there. They are affiliated and do not charge for ATM withdrawls.

I dunno about other services, but you can ask them. I'd prefer you just stay there and forget about all that stuff.

Ditto to GV. I use BofA and when in Mexico use Santander. The only problem is there aren't many Santander's. I usually find a lot more Banamex and Banorte branches and was thinking of trying to figure out which bank in the US they had a deal with. I know Banorte used to have a deal with Wells Fargo, but not anymore.

Thanks for the info. Good point about number of Santander locations. I will be concerned about that Mexico wide.

This is only one of a host of issues I will need to deal with. One bit of Homeland BS is that you are required to provide a permanent address of residence for some things, a POBox is not acceptable. Guess I'll have to use someone elses !!

We opened a Banamex account in October. They are affiliated with CitiBank so we opened a CitiBank account in the US. The CitiBank account will allow us to transfer money online from CitiBank to Banamex. We just opened both accounts so I'm not an expert yet. (The goal is to be able to pay CFE and other bills without using a Bill Pay service.)

Also, just a reminder that the US and Mexico have signed a FACTA agreement saying they will share banking info with each other by Jan 2014. (No, I haven't read the agreement - I'm waiting for the "Cliff Notes" version :-P )

FATCA News and Information

What are the fees at Banamex? I have heard they charge to make a deposit and pay no interest on deposits.

The FATCA stuff is a disaster when it comes to bank trusts, as far as I can tell.

With all the stuff that goes on with card theft, we have Chase and if we have a few debits on our card from down here they alert you fast to approve or decline the transaction by email, text or call.. I think a $ 70.00 US charge is like a $2.00 transaction fee.

Roberto said:

I would like to communicate with anyone having information about any US banks having agreements with a Mexican bank. I want to keep a US bank but will be traveling in Mexico and need access to the $$ without monster charges and or access problems. Anyone have any experience?

Roberto, we have a dollar account and a peso account at Banamex, which is part of Citibank, but the transfer fees are still expensive, if I need to send myself or Fabiola or anyone else in Mexico small amounts of money, within 10 or 15 minutes I use Xoom, never had a problem and they have over 15,000 pickup locations in Mexico. https://www.xoom.com/mexico. You pick where the money is sent for pickup anywhere internet is available. Somebody here on RPT commented on Xoom and I tried it, it works good for me.

Roberto said:

What are the fees at Banamex? I have heard they charge to make a deposit and pay no interest on deposits.

I don't have my fee sheet with me, but there were 2 types of accounts - one had monthly fees and the other had fees for each check you wrote. I don't remember there being any fees for deposits at the bank - maybe for deposits through the ATMs? I didn't see any accounts that paid you interest on your balance. CitiBank paid interest on some of their accounts but that required a substantial minimum balance. I plan to just continue to use my regular credit union account and move money to Citi when needed to move money to Banamex. CitiBank told us there was no charge to move money to our Banamex account.

It's a convoluted way to do it, but I hope it will work for us while we still live in the US. If / When we move to Peñasco, we might set things up differently.

lagrimas85 said:

Roberto, we have a dollar account and a peso account at Banamex, which is part of Citibank, but the transfer fees are still expensive, if I need to send myself or Fabiola or anyone else in Mexico small amounts of money, within 10 or 15 minutes I use Xoom, never had a problem and they have over 15,000 pickup locations in Mexico. https://www.xoom.com/mexico. You pick where the money is sent for pickup anywhere internet is available. Somebody here on RPT commented on Xoom and I tried it, it works good for me.

Roberto, at many of these 15,000 locations, they dont have bankers hours, you can get your money.for example at any Electra, Coppel or Soriana until 9pm.

lagrimas85 said:

Roberto, we have a dollar account and a peso account at Banamex, which is part of Citibank, but the transfer fees are still expensive, if I need to send myself or Fabiola or anyone else in Mexico small amounts of money, within 10 or 15 minutes I use Xoom, never had a problem and they have over 15,000 pickup locations in Mexico. https://www.xoom.com/mexico. You pick where the money is sent for pickup anywhere internet is available. Somebody here on RPT commented on Xoom and I tried it, it works good for me.

That might work for me. I'll just give you the money and you can send it to me as I need it !!

Roberto said:

That might work for me. I'll just give you the money and you can send it to me as I need it !!

Maybe you should give half of it to me Roberto,:veg: it's never a good idea to keep all your money in one place.:mrgreen:

Kenny said:

Maybe you should give half of it to me Roberto,:veg: it's never a good idea to keep all your money in one place.:mrgreen:

Great idea !! Check is in the mail. Can you send me some cash now ?? The check is in the mail. I promise !!

I will gladly pay you manana for some denaro today.

Rick
Cholla Bay

Roberto.....

We use Wellsfargo and if you have a Mexican bank, you can set up with Wells by giving Wells your Mexican account number. Wellsfargo will then by told free in Mexico for $4.00 will wire up to 1500 bucks to a pecso account in Mexico a day.

I use Bancomer bank and to use their debut card I think its 60 pesos at the ATM.

After first transfer from Wells, you can do it on line, or free telephone call.

Log on to Wells site to transfer to Mexico, then we got this little code thing from Bancomer like PayPal to log on to Bancomer bank internet site. Very secure! When you log on, just click the English button and all your banking is in English.

Don't know about other banks, but WellsFargo and Bancomer works good together and ya can do everything sitting at home on your computer, and to use check transfers both ways!

I got my Bancomer account with just a rent recept and address on it about 3 or 4 years ago at RP.

And am sure there are many Bancomer banks around MEXICO. Sill can use its ATM card at any bank, I even use my Mexican bank debit card in the states.

That's all doc

the man

Roberto.....

double shot! :(

I use Bank of America and it is free. I just call them and make the transfer to one of the local bank in Mexico, then pick the money up with a conformation number they give me. I use this all the time to pay my workkers and it is free.

Rick Fraser
cholla Bay

Thanks to all (except Kenny!). Lots of info to mull over. I omitted to mention that I will be on the road with no permanent address in Mexico. One of the things I have had to deal with here is not being able to get a spare debit card from Arizona National. I lost the card one time and it was a couple of months before I could get a replacement because the a**holes at the processing company kept sending it to the incorrect address. When traveling I won't have access to mail anyway. Son has agreed ot let me use his permanent address and I will put him on a bank account so I guess he could Zoom me money in an emergency. I'm also thinking about a preloaded debit card and maybe accounts at two different banks so I can have reliable acces in the event of loss of a card.

I get along with a simple Tel Cel phone for texting and calls here but may have to update to an i-phone or some such and a plan from Tel Mex that will give me calls and internet access across the country. I will get a laptop computer also and probably start a blog for fun.

Anyone have a fancy Tel Cell plan that would work good for a travelin man?

PintoPoint said:

I will gladly pay you manana for some denaro today.

Rick
Cholla Bay

Check is in the mail. Zoom me some cash !!

Okay, Roberto, where are you planning on going? Just a "we'll figure it out as we go" type of trip? Sounds exciting!!! Details!

Roberto said:

That might work for me. I'll just give you the money and you can send it to me as I need it !!

Good Luck to you, Roberto and thanks for all your help. I saw you were headed to Kino first, you going to kiss up to Ana's land rich grandpa, while your there? Do you still have the land you sent Ana down to Kino to buy for you? Jajajaja

Green Tortoise Adventure Bus Tours - Southern Migration Tour. You could take the bus and buy some Americans van that is ready to get out of the Yucatan

We have a Telcel ZTE smartphone (pay as you go) and use the mobile hotspot feature on it to get internet access on our laptop wherever we are in Mexico. Works great.

lagrimas85 said:

I saw you were headed to Kino first, you going to kiss up to Ana's land rich grandpa, while your there? Do you still have the land you sent Ana down to Kino to buy for you? Jajajaja

Goyo either did not get that land or more likely was screwed out of it by his abogado. Last I heard he was still going out in his panga for crab but did not have access to his fishing camp.

Maybe she did get it and not tell me !!?!?!?

Miakko said:

We have a Telcel ZTE smartphone (pay as you go) and use the mobile hotspot feature on it to get internet access on our laptop wherever we are in Mexico. Works great.

How does that work? You connect the phone to the computer? Assumedly you have to have a cell signal?

Roberto said:

How does that work? You connect the phone to the computer? Assumedly you have to have a cell signal?

Yep...You definately need a cell signal. There is an app on the phone that is a hot spot. You start the app and then on the lap top go to the
internet connect site. Usually lower right of the task bar. Open it up and you should see the hot spot signal icon. Click on it and off you go.
It works just like picking up a wifi signal at Max's or elsewhere. The secret is the Telcel signal distribution. From what I've seen, it gets around
Mexico pretty well.

I think Miakko is talking about a Telcel Amigo cell phone on a pay as you go plan. One thing to watch is the effect on your data plan if you use
the hot spot. I'm sure the folks at Telcel will be glad to walk you through it. If they can help a total idiot like me, with no Spanish skills at all,
they certainly can help a learned gentleman like you.

mis2810 said:

Okay, Roberto, where are you planning on going? Just a "we'll figure it out as we go" type of trip? Sounds exciting!!! Details!

Hopefully I will soon have my new home on wheels (with the able assistance of a friend and forum member). Everything I own will be in a 19 ft. van motorhome !! First will be a run thrugh the US, NM, Georgia, Pa., NY to visit my sons, maybe a couple of months depending if I get to Georgia for Spring Turkey season. I would like to be in NM on June 13 for feast day at Sandia Pueblo to eat and visit all my friends there and practice speaking Tiwa. Two sons want a trip to 74 Draw in the Gila where we camped next to the old sawmill for many years. Then I intend to meander down the west coast of Mexico, hoping to make it to Chiapis and Oaxaca. I will try to visit small communities and to avoid the tourist areas and may go inland depending. I'm trying to not make any firm plans but am doing some research on interesting areas. Thinking about locating hot springs to visit. Love to find some of the old pre 1900 Haciendas. If it was not such a hotbed of cartel activity I would go to Chihuahua to look for Pancho Villas campgrounds where he hid out for many years.

GV Jack said:

Yep...You definately need a cell signal. There is an app on the phone that is a hot spot. You start the app and then on the lap top go to the
internet connect site. Usually lower right of the task bar. Open it up and you should see the hot spot signal icon. Click on it and off you go.
It works just like picking up a wifi signal at Max's or elsewhere. The secret is the Telcel signal distribution. From what I've seen, it gets around Mexico pretty well.

.

So basically the app turns the cell phone into a Wifi transmitter which signal you pick up on the Wifi enabled laptop?

roberto said:

so basically the app turns the cell phone into a wifi transmitter which signal you pick up on the wifi enabled laptop?

bingo!!!!!!

GV Jack said:

bingo!!!!!!

Do you burn off minutes at the same rate as when making a voice call on the phone?

BUT, that would only be good for Mexico. It might work in the US through AT & T, BUT, there would probably be horrendous
roaming charges. You might want two phones. One US and one Mex. Keep in mind though that there are many more wifi hotspots in the US.
A cup of coffee at Big Macs will get you free wifi every time. Sometimes if you park next to or as close as you can to a motel/hotel you can
get a signal, or if you have gonnies, just go into the lobby, sit down and turn on.

PintoPoint said:

I use Bank of America and it is free. I just call them and make the transfer to one of the local bank in Mexico, then pick the money up with a conformation number they give me. I use this all the time to pay my workkers and it is free.

Rick Fraser
cholla Bay

I am not understanding this. You tell B of A which bank to send it to or you can pick up the money at any bank in Mexico using the confirmation number from BofA ?

Roberto said:

I am not understanding this. You tell B of A which bank to send it to or you can pick up the money at any bank in Mexico using the confirmation number from BofA ?

Basically, yes. When I send money from my BofA account to Mexico, it's free. It's called Safe Send and I call BofA to make the transfer over the phone. But, you have to go into the bank the first time to set it up. That being said, I've never sent it to myself. BofA has a deal with Banorte and Banamex. The person on the receiving end has to show their identification and tell them the confirmation number of the transaction. So, if I sent money to my MIL, she is the recipient, I call her and give her the confirmation number and the amount of pesos for her to pick up, she goes to the bank, shows her ID and gives the confirmation number and they give her the money.

Call BofA and ask for the Safe Send department and ask them about sending money to yourself. I'll bet you can do it as long as you set it up for the money to be picked up by you, using your passport.

mis2810 said:

Basically, yes. When I send money from my BofA account to Mexico, it's free. It's called Safe Send and I call BofA to make the transfer over the phone. But, you have to go into the bank the first time to set it up. That being said, I've never sent it to myself. BofA has a deal with Banorte and Banamex. The person on the receiving end has to show their identification and tell them the confirmation number of the transaction. So, if I sent money to my MIL, she is the recipient, I call her and give her the confirmation number and the amount of pesos for her to pick up, she goes to the bank, shows her ID and gives the confirmation number and they give her the money.

Call BofA and ask for the Safe Send department and ask them about sending money to yourself. I'll bet you can do it as long as you set it up for the money to be picked up by you, using your passport.

Now that is an interesting concept. I knew you could do it with Santander, but not the other two. Very Interesting.

Ok, the murk cleared some, but as far as you guys know BofA will send money to Santander, Banorte and Banamex. Can you order the transfer on the internet as well?

This process sounds like MoneyGram but for them you give them cash, not a withdrawl from an account, they send it where and to whom you specify and give you a confirmation number that the recipient uses to pick it up and of course they do charge for the transfer.

GV Jack said:

Roberto. I use Bank of America up here and Santander down there. They are affiliated and do not charge for ATM withdrawls.
.

No charges whatsoever from any bank? No withdrawl fees?

Roberto,
I sent my transfers up over the phone. They transfer the money in Pesos and you designate who you want to pick it up. No charge you just need a BofA account. If you google safe send it will list the banks by areas. I works great. Once it took 24 hours to get the money, no problem.

Rick
Cholla Bay

Roberto said:

Hopefully I will soon have my new home on wheels (with the able assistance of a friend and forum member). Everything I own will be in a 19 ft. van motorhome !! First will be a run thrugh the US, NM, Georgia, Pa., NY to visit my sons, maybe a couple of months depending if I get to Georgia for Spring Turkey season. I would like to be in NM on June 13 for feast day at Sandia Pueblo to eat and visit all my friends there and practice speaking Tiwa. Two sons want a trip to 74 Draw in the Gila where we camped next to the old sawmill for many years. Then I intend to meander down the west coast of Mexico, hoping to make it to Chiapis and Oaxaca. I will try to visit small communities and to avoid the tourist areas and may go inland depending. I'm trying to not make any firm plans but am doing some research on interesting areas. Thinking about locating hot springs to visit. Love to find some of the old pre 1900 Haciendas. If it was not such a hotbed of cartel activity I would go to Chihuahua to look for Pancho Villas campgrounds where he hid out for many years.

The Last feast I went to was at the Laguna Pueblo, September 2002. Janice was working at the Acoma Pueblo at their youth center at the time, and I was helping out with there substance abuse program, while getting donated food from the Brothers of the Good Shepard so that the kids could get some decent meals during the day.
June is nice time of year at the Green Reed Place, and not that far from where you lived. I've been meaning to go back to Albuquerque to give back a little of what I received there, so maybe I can meet you there.

Roberto said:

Ok, the murk cleared some, but as far as you guys know BofA will send money to Santander, Banorte and Banamex. Can you order the transfer on the internet as well?

This process sounds like MoneyGram but for them you give them cash, not a withdrawl from an account, they send it where and to whom you specify and give you a confirmation number that the recipient uses to pick it up and of course they do charge for the transfer.

They don't have a way to do it over the internet. With BofA Safe Send you have to call, thats the downside. Also, you have to go into the bank branch to set it up befire you can send money.

Peso, today 12.81 the bank would probably give you the real exchange rate, Xoom was quoting 12.60. A little less and there is a $4.99 fee.

mis2810 said:

They don't have a way to do it over the internet. With BofA Safe Send you have to call, thats the downside. Also, you have to go into the bank branch to set it up befire you can send money.

I set my locations over the internet and call to set up the transfer. Here is the info.
Rick
Cholla Bay


Bank of America – Free Remittances with SafeSend®
Fact Sheet
Overview: SafeSend is a free feature of any Bank of America personal checking account and
provides a highly competitive foreign exchange rate. Customers can send money
to their loved ones in Mexico safely and conveniently with one simple phone call.
Features: • Signing up is easy – Customers need only open a Bank of America personal
checking account and have the SafeSend feature added to their account;
existing checking customers should go to their nearest Bank of America
banking center and have the SafeSend feature added to their account.
• Completely free – There are no fees associated with SafeSend, and the bank
offers highly competitive foreign exchange rates – no transaction charges, no
withdrawal fees.
• No minimum to send – Customers can remit up to $1,500 at one time and up
to $3,000 within a rolling 30-day period.
• Set up your beneficiaries – Customers can identify up to three beneficiaries
at any given time whose addresses are kept on file to make the transfer
process quick and easy.
• One easy phone call – Customers are able to send money with one easy
phone call, seven days a week, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 1 a.m. ET.
• 4,500 locations – Family members can now pick up cash at more than 4,500
locations throughout Mexico through Santander, BANSEFI/L@Red de la
Gente, TELECOMM-TELEGRAFOS and Banorte.
• Funds available in cash, fast – For cash transfers, money is available within
two hours if transfer happens before 3 p.m. ET. For transfers to accounts at
Santander, the funds will be deposited the next business day.
• Mexican Consulate ID accepted – Bank of America accepts the Mexican
Consulate ID as a form of identification for customers who are opening new
personal checking accounts. when presented as a secondary form of ID.
• It is safe – Customers in the United States have the security of directly
authorizing the transfer of funds to a loved one in Mexico via the phone.

The exchange rate is were they are making they're money, if I do a regular wire transfer bank to bank, I get the international exchange rate, which today was 12.81. They state (B of A)they offer highly compettive exchange rates, so you would have to check that. Like I said Xoom was quoting 12.60 today with a 4.99 fee. so even if BofA says its free what is the exchange they are going to give you? If its a small amount of money its no big deal either way. But it may not be all that free. If for example you sent 1000.00 dllrs and the BofA rate was 12 to 1 and Xoom is 12.60 with a 4.99 fee for the same 1000.00 dollars, it would be around $40.00 cheaper to use Xoom. When I read highly competitive rates, that say's it's not free, but it still might be cheap, just depends on they're exchange rate.

lagrimas85 said:

The exchange rate is were they are making they're money, if I do a regular wire transfer bank to bank, I get the international exchange rate, which today was 12.81. They state (B of A)they offer highly compettive exchange rates, so you would have to check that. Like I said Xoom was quoting 12.60 today with a 4.99 fee. so even if BofA says its free what is the exchange they are going to give you? If its a small amount of money its no big deal either way. But it may not be all that free. If for example you sent 1000.00 dllrs and the BofA rate was 12 to 1 and Xoom is 12.60 with a 4.99 fee for the same 1000.00 dollars, it would be around $40.00 cheaper to use Xoom. When I read highly competitive rates, that say's it's not free, but it still might be cheap, just depends on they're exchange rate.

Bill has a good point. It all depends on the amount you want to send and the rate given. I've never sent large quantities, and I look at it from the perspective of how little can I send for them to receive the amount of pesos we've agreed upon. But, if I was sending money to myself, I would be looking at it from a different perspective.

Some reason I keep doing a double post!

:( :( :( :)

yooooo....

One thing to consider....for banking WiFi at a public place is really not safe. Its not usually safe as its open connect.

Back at Max's place a few years back when there were 2 computers he let people use......
I was at a table facing the two open no secure computers, I logged on to check my E-mail!

Was useing AOL at the time checking my E -Mail. I just happened to look up at the on, un used left computer, and a AOL site was on! Said to self, someone left there internet site on and did not log off!

Then I started to move my mouse, the computer there on the counter, and!!!!!!

my mouse movements were on Max's public computer!

All my e mail was there, as anyone could see and use!

So, if you do banking on an open in secured site, someone, somewhere, may have sight and access to your banking info!

But, I really do not know if todays virus and firewall will stop acess on a open public site!

Just a FYI, and a phone call to your bank may be best!

The Man....

Thanks for all the chatter. Very helpful to aid my thinking right now. Got lots of unanticipted issues to resolve.

Take Kenny with You.

Roberto said:

Thanks for all the chatter. Very helpful to aid my thinking right now. Got lots of unanticipted issues to resolve.

But you're doing the right thing by getting it all sorted out ahead of time. Then you can just relax and enjoy. Most people don't plan enough for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure like you're planning. BTW, I SO jealous!!!!

I laugh abot the difference between US folk and Mexicans regarding planning a vehicle trip. We check the fluids, change the oil, check tire pressure on all 4 and the spare. Go over the emergency road kit, wash the windows, fill up the gas the day before, etc. Mexican friends just get the key and if it starts they're off with out a worry !! A friend drove a vehicle all the way to Matzatlan that I would not have driven to Sonoita. He drove day and night, got there and they turned around brought him back to Penasco then back to Matzatlan all without a hitch !!

Roberto said:

Thanks for all the chatter. Very helpful to aid my thinking right now. Got lots of unanticipted issues to resolve.

Funny isn't it about how helpful everyone is to aid Roberto's leaving town...Hummmmm :roll:

Roberto said:

I laugh abot the difference between US folk and Mexicans regarding planning a vehicle trip. We check the fluids, change the oil, check tire pressure on all 4 and the spare. Go over the emergency road kit, wash the windows, fill up the gas the day before, etc. Mexican friends just get the key and if it starts they're off with out a worry !! A friend drove a vehicle all the way to Matzatlan that I would not have driven to Sonoita. He drove day and night, got there and they turned around brought him back to Penasco then back to Matzatlan all without a hitch !!

Tire Pressure? Fluids? Ha! All they need to do is say "Si Dios Quiere" or "Con el favor de Dios" - and that's it! :happy:

mis2810 said:

Tire Pressure? Fluids? Ha! All they need to do is say "Si Dios Quiere" or "Con el favor de Dios" - and that's it! :happy:

And we respond, "Vaya Con Dios" Oh "Que Dios Te Bendiga".

Stopped by B of A today They stopped the Safe Send program two months ago becasue of low usage.

Last time I used it was late October. I do know Wells Fargo has a similar program, the charge for each transaction is $2.50.