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salto_jorge

Jan 20, 2012, 6:55 AM

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Monex

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Has anyone used a company called Monex to transfer funds from Mexico to a bank in the states ?

How high are their fees and any problems using them ?

My check is in Dollars that I want to transfer.

mazbook1

Jan 20, 2012, 4:07 PM

Post #2 of 7 (3025 views)

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Re: [salto_jorge] Monex

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Have no idea about doing this with Monex, but a company (that has branches everywhere there is any concentration of U.S. and Canadian expats) that does this as a regular thing is, Intercam Casas de Cambio, S.A. de C.V., who does this sort of thing all the time (they actually have a dollar account in the U.S. so they can wire transfer to and from NOB sources without the outrageous international wire transfer fees that are charged). They actually transfer dollar funds back and forth via a secure sort of Internet fax, so there is no middle-man at all.

Their fees are small to nothing, their exchange rate is as good as and often better than any of the Mexican banks, and they are friendly and efficient. I can recommend them wholeheartedly.

sfmacaws

Jan 21, 2012, 11:28 AM

Post #3 of 7 (2943 views)

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Re: [mazbook1] Monex

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I've had a Monex account for about 5 years, they are a good company also with branches worldwide. They are the same type of business as Intercam (which some friends use here) and I think either is a reasonable choice. You can set up peso or dollar accounts, transfer either currency, cash checks, have checks cut for a specified amount in either currency and either have the recipient pick it up at the Monex office or they will deposit in the recipients local bank. The exchange rate is good, the fees are negligible and the service is very good. They will even deliver a check to my house here in Merida.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

Moisheh

Jan 22, 2012, 9:41 AM

Post #4 of 7 (2875 views)

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Re: [sfmacaws] Monex

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When it comes to Money Exchanges caution is the key word. In our business in Canada we use these services every week. A number of years ago I was approached by a new firm. We had been using Custom House which is now part of Western Union. The new firm had better exchange rates. All was fine for almost 2 years. Then one day I bought $3500 US personally as down payment for an RV. The cheque bounced and the owner was nowhere to be found. Monex has been around for some time and has a good reputation. I would not use an unknown. BTW: You can register with XE.Com which is also part of Western Union and do all kinds of online wire transfers.

mazbook1

Jan 22, 2012, 3:42 PM

Post #5 of 7 (2831 views)

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Re: [Moisheh] Monex

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I had used the XE.com forex company (which is Canadian) numerous times, and found it very good with excellent exchange rates and very low fees. BUT a few months ago I received a notification in my email that they could no longer be of service to me as they no longer wire transferred pesos to México (I assume that this was when the pesos were purchased with U.S. dollars as I had always done.) It's all part of the NOB governmental drives to control money laundering.

Aaron+

Jan 24, 2012, 2:19 AM

Post #6 of 7 (2742 views)

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Re: [mazbook1] Monex

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Please reread your e-mail from Monex once again. I believe you will find that it said Monex can no longer service clients whose address is in Mexico. It can still send pesos by ACH or by overnight "wire" to recipient´s accounts in Mexico. So, if you are a client with, say, a U.S. or Canadian address as your client address, you may send pesos to parties in Mexico (including your own account there).

Presumably this is a consequence of Canadian or US regulations.

sfmacaws

Jan 24, 2012, 10:03 AM

Post #7 of 7 (2701 views)

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Re: [Aaron+] Monex

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First off, Mazbook was talking about XE.com not Monex.

Second, Monex has always only had my Mexican address and there has not been a problem. Most of their customers are Mexican as well and they certainly are not pretending to live elsewhere. It may be that you need to buy the pesos from them if transferring funds from the US to Mexico. The way they make their money is on the vig, the point difference between what they pay for pesos or dollars and what they charge. It's not much but they are a large company and I'm sure they do well.

I have had a dollar account with them in the past, I transferred dollars to that account from the US and it remained in dollars until I requested part of it exchanged for pesos. It's one way to keep a bit of balance in the exchange rate if you don't need the money right away. The interest rate was good compared to banks in the US. I now only have a peso account and it also pays reasonable interest. You can have a type of stock account with the money invested in the Mexican Bolsa, there are many types of accounts available. You do have to have a verified local address and visa for some of them and there are minimum balance rules as well but I'm not sure of the regulations.

As with most businesses in Mexico, a lot depends on who you deal with and the rapport you have with your account manager. There are some who prefer the people at one place over another. I think the best advice is to stay with one of the large companies like Monex or Intercambio, have your attorney review the contracts if you intend to invest a large amount in an account there, and ask friends for recommendations in your area. If you just want to transfer money for the purchase or renovation of a house for instance, either will work.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán