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mcm

Jun 22, 2009, 2:48 PM

Post #1 of 22 (5973 views)

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Receiving debit or credit cards by mail in Mexico

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I've been told, by another foreigner, that "Mexican law prohibits the sending or delivery of credit or debit cards from outside the country INTO Mexico".
Now -- I've had mixed experience with receiving new debit cards here. On one occasion, a Bank of America debit card sent to our Mexican address (also the address on the account) failed to arrive -- it was requested multiple times.
On another occasion, a couple of years later, the same account and debit card, it did arrive in our regular mail, no problem.

We generally have not had problems receiving mail from a variety of financial institutions -- statements, mailings, etc.

Does anyone have any definitive info on this -- that is, is it possible that Mexpost will not allow the delivery of credit/debit cards?

I admit that I have yet to check in person at the post office.
But perhaps the collective wisdom of this forum can provide an answer....
Thanks!

jennifer rose

Jun 22, 2009, 4:08 PM

Post #2 of 22 (5956 views)

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Re: [mcm] Receiving debit or credit cards by mail in Mexico

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I've received both in Mexico, delivered by the Mexican postal service.

Your best bet would be to go to the post office and ask. Or refer to http://www.sepomex.gob.mx/

joaquinx

Jun 22, 2009, 7:08 PM

Post #3 of 22 (5921 views)

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Re: [mcm] Receiving debit or credit cards by mail in Mexico

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I have receive two BofA debit cards while in Mexico. Both arrived by DHL and not by Mexipost. Mexican banks usually have a contract delivery services deliver credit/debit cards. Ask your bank to send them by DHL or another international delivery service.

Kimpatsu Hekigan

Jun 22, 2009, 7:33 PM

Post #4 of 22 (5914 views)

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Re: Activating debit or credit cards received by mail in Mexico

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The last debit card I received by mail in the States from a U.S. bank had a sticker affixed with wording similar to:

This card can only be used after you call FROM HOME to verify you have received it.
1-800-xxx-xxxx
Please remove this label after calling, and begin using your card.

Presumably, the automated verification system uses caller ID to check that you're calling from the phone number associated with that card.

If you're in Mexico and the card is mailed to you there and the phone number associated with the card is a U.S. number, how do you get around this requirement?

Just checking...

-- K.H.

Before enlightenment: Chop wood, haul water.
After enlightenment: Chop wood, haul water.

esperanza

Jun 22, 2009, 7:39 PM

Post #5 of 22 (5911 views)

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Re: [kimpatsu_hekigan] Activating debit or credit cards received by mail in Mexico

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I've done this many times and have never had a problem activating a credit or debit card from Mexico. I've also called from phones other than my own, both here and in Mexico, and the card has activated without any trouble.

So who knows what phone number the cards are connected to! Apparently it's NOT my home phone.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

johanson

Jun 22, 2009, 8:43 PM

Post #6 of 22 (5896 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Activating debit or credit cards received by mail in Mexico

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Me too esperanza, but I have always answered using my VoIP phone with a Seattle phone number. What brand of VoIP did I start using? The one you personally recommended to me esperanza perhaps 8 year when you lived in Ajijic, www.IconnectHere.

mcm

Jun 23, 2009, 5:32 AM

Post #7 of 22 (5865 views)

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Re: [johanson] Activating debit or credit cards received by mail in Mexico

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I've been able to activate cards by calling the customer service number that they list, if I'm not at the phone associated with the card. No problem.

Thanks for the answers to my card delivery question. I was pretty sure that there is no regulation regarding card delivery through the post office, but will also check at the post office, and if they tell me differently, will post here. I do understand that mail can be hit/miss at times -- as I said, sometimes a card has arrived, and sometimes not. If I run into another problem, I'll ask the bank to send the card DHL.

jerezano

Jun 23, 2009, 8:34 AM

Post #8 of 22 (5827 views)

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Re: [mcm] Activating debit or credit cards received by mail in Mexico

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Hello,

No there is no Mexican law prohibiting delivery of international credit or debit cards through the Mexican Correos system. Or if there is such a law it has been ignored for the past 20 years. Also without xray of the letter how could Correos determine that it is a credit card?

The banks themselves can be a problem. My bank before many sales and changes of name used to refuse to send the card through the Mexican mail system and always used a contract delivery system such as DHL etc. But some ten years or so ago they started using the regular mails and with the sticker requiring activation by phone.

Both Visa and Master card have collect call long distance numbers for use of clients outside the United States. Some banks do also. I used to activate in that manner. My bank now has 800 numbers here in Mexico and I use that system. Perhaps your bank does too. Check. with them. Or if you bank on-line a secure message to their customer service will usually activate the card for you. I have done it that way a couple of times.

jerezano

husker

Jun 23, 2009, 8:40 AM

Post #9 of 22 (5823 views)

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Re: [kimpatsu_hekigan] Activating debit or credit cards received by mail in Mexico

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SKYPE

sparks

Jun 23, 2009, 3:00 PM

Post #10 of 22 (5754 views)

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Re: [mcm] Receiving debit or credit cards by mail in Mexico

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My bank and family have FedEx'd and DHL'd me cards. I'd never use the postal system

Sparks Mexico - Sparks Costalegre

BajaGringo

Jun 24, 2009, 10:32 AM

Post #11 of 22 (5678 views)

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Re: [sparks] Receiving debit or credit cards by mail in Mexico

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I go with Sparks on this one. If you live to far from the border to be able to pick them up yourself from a NOB mailing address, have them sent via a reliable delivery service. I know of many who have received their cards in the mail without problem but I also know of some that never seemed to get there. Why take the chance for the small cost of a secure delivery?

Our House Building Project in Mexico...
Lomas de San Martin
Loving Life on the Baja Peninsula

Papirex

Jun 24, 2009, 1:43 PM

Post #12 of 22 (5647 views)

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Re: [BajaGringo] Receiving debit or credit cards by mail in Mexico

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I think the reliability of the postal service may depend on where you live in México. All of our mail here in Cuernavaca passes through the México City central post office, which is notoriously dishonest.

My suegra has lived at the same address in México City since 1932. In all that time, not one box has ever been delivered, they just disappear. Every single personal letter from The US arrives after the envelope has been sliced open. They are looking for cash or anything of value. When questioned about the opened envelopes, the postmen always give the same answer, “That's the way we got it.”

Years ago, before we moved here permanently, all of the banks had been nationalized, and there was not a single ATM in México. The only way I found to send money securely via the mail at that time when my wife was down here visiting her family was to buy a US postal money order and mail it to her via the US mail service with a certified letter, return receipt requested. The US post office puts a seal on all four of the envelope flaps, and another seal in the center of the back of the envelope where all four flaps meet. In addition, there is a card attached to the envelope that must be mailed back to the sender. That is the return receipt.

Those envelopes looked official as hell and the mailman brought them to the door of my suegras house. He told my wife that nobody at the post office had ever seen an envelope like that. We think that they were too afraid to open them.

The banks were hopeless, but the cambios would cash US postal money orders.

I have told all of my family in The US to never send us anything by mail here. One of our daughters mailed us a box of mostly small kitchen stuff anyway. She thought it would be safe because she sent it via a US Post office in California. Needless to say that was the last time that box was ever seen. When questioned, the local post office knew nothing about it. The box was most likely stolen in the México City central post office.

One of my wife's uncles used to work at the México City central post office. He told us that the supervisors there used to spend all day every day opening mail to steal any cash in the letters and opening boxes and stealing any of them that had anything of value in them.

All of my replacement credit or ATM/debit cards are sent to my daughter in Fairbanks, Alaska. She FedEx's them to me. She has an account at the same credit union I use and I simply transfer the amount of the FedEx charges into her account. In my wildest dreams I would never expect to get a credit or ATM/debit card via the Mexican postal system where we live.

Years ago I used to need to make a phone call to activate a new card, but for the past few years I can do that online, quickly and easily. I get an instant confirmation that the card has been activated. For the past couple of years, I can also change my PIN number too. That is handy for me. Whenever we get a replacement ATM/debit card for one that has been swallowed by an ATM machine here, a new PIN is always mailed to me a week later and my daughter always emails it to me. Instead of needing to memorize a new PIN, I just change it back to the one I have been using and again, I get an instant confirmation for the change.

After losing 6 or 7 ATM cards and only being able to recover one of them after an 8 day hassle in the last 8 or 10 years, it is like a religion with us now to only use the ATMs that you slide the card through a slot, or the ones where you push and pull to remove the card and it never leaves your hand. Fortunately, there are several of that type of ATM here, we know where several of them are located and it is no trouble to find one.

This is a long winded way to say trust the Mexican post office if you want to, but I wouldn't trust them with a month old bag of dog crap.

Rex

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

Judy in Ags

Jun 24, 2009, 5:51 PM

Post #13 of 22 (5606 views)

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Re: [mcm] Receiving debit or credit cards by mail in Mexico

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We've had no trouble receiving credit cards and even ATM cards, but one bank refused to send a debit card through the mail to us.

Hound Dog

Jun 25, 2009, 7:37 AM

Post #14 of 22 (5546 views)

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Re: [Papirex] Receiving debit or credit cards by mail in Mexico

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This is a long winded way to say trust the Mexican post office if you want to, but I wouldn't trust them with a month old bag of dog crap.

Well put, Rex.

We have both a Mexican bank and a U.S. bank debit card. Our U.S. bank, which is affiliated with Schwab, always sends our debit cards by international courier such as FedEX or UPS at their expense. We pick up our Mexican bank debit card at the branch upon expiry date. We would not dream of allowing our debit cards to be delivered through the Mexican postal system - ever. We have several offers of crefit cards from our Mexican bank and would also never dream of accepting one of those offers. To each is own.

Marlene

Jun 25, 2009, 8:27 AM

Post #15 of 22 (5534 views)

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Re: [Judy in Ags] Receiving debit or credit cards by mail in Mexico

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I´ve had no trouble either in nearly 10 years. In fact, I can't complain about my experience with the Mexican postal service. My Canadian banks send renewal cards through regular mail and my Dad insists on mailing cash (in a greeting card) at birthday and Christmas time. Needless to say it's not much money, but the point is the envelope has never been opened or gone missing. The way the post office in Mazatlan handled it the one time a package from a friend in Canada had been opened, is they sent a notice with the postman saying I had something to pick up. When I arrived they called me into the back room and showed me a package that had arrived opened. She said they handle it this way so that our postman does not get blamed.

mazatlanlee

Jun 25, 2009, 9:50 AM

Post #16 of 22 (5512 views)

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Re: [Marlene] Receiving debit or credit cards by mail in Mexico

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Must be our Mazatlán post office management, Marlene. I've also never had any trouble with mail arriving from the US. I did have replacement cards sent one time, but from my son's US address rather than directly from my bank, so have no opinion one way or the other about the safety of sending debit or credit cards via the mail.

On a lighter note, I did have one piece of mail that was held at the post office here in Maz, and we received a 'green slip' with instructions to go pick it up. It was during our first year living in Maz, so we both went to the post office in Centro, stood in line waiting our turn, and when we got to the counter, the man said, very loudly, "OH, NO! What have you two done NOW?!!" We were still (in those early days) a bit nervous about dealing with 'government folks', so that just about sent both of us scurrying for safety. Then, he smiled, and reached out for the green slip, and after glancing at it, he got pen and paper and drew up a rough map, with directions to the post office in La Juarez (colonia) where our mail is sorted and the piece of mail was being held. Off we went on an adventure, with me navigating and Ken driving. In those days, the La Juarez satellite office had two employees, both of whom were sitting at desks when we arrived. They decided by hand signals and eye jerks which of them was going to try communicating with 'those foreigners' ... and finally, the man who 'lost' got up and reached across the counter to take the green slip from me. He went into a back room, and came out with an envelope. After conferring with the other employee, he brought it to us, and as he handed it to me, he said, "We not open it. We not never open mail of you". The envelope had been torn and taped, but nothing was disturbed inside. My friend, knowing I would be missing our chats over a favorite flavor of tea, had included a tea bag in my Christmas card, and the extra bulk had probably caused a problem with the automatic cancelling machine in the US Postal System. Ken and I had learned just enough Spanish by that time that we were able to thank the gentlemen for taking good care of our mail, and to have a nice day.

I've never had a piece of mail not show up. In the early days, 14 to 21 days seemed to be the average time in transit; now, I usually get mail within 8 to 10 days from the US. I have no gripes about the Mexican postal system, but also have no doubt that there are dishonest employees in the system. That can happen anywhere, and in any system.

Lee
Lee's Photos: Beyond the Guardrails

Papirex

Jun 25, 2009, 11:58 AM

Post #17 of 22 (5488 views)

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Re: [mazatlanlee] Receiving debit or credit cards by mail in Mexico

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Stories like yours always make me a little envious of people that live in areas with a reasonably functional postal system down here. I occasionally receive commercial mail here, and before we nationalized our cars, we used to get our original insurance policies in the mail from the US broker.

It takes an average of 4 to 5 weeks for a letter to reach Cuernavaca from the US. When it reaches the Cuernavaca post office, a date and time stamp is put on the back of the envelope. It then takes an average of 7 or 8 days for it to travel across town to our house. The total average time for any mail to reach us from the US is 5 to 6 weeks.

There have been some surprising exceptions though. A brother-in-law in California mailed me a couple of CD s with photos on them. The first one reached me 3 days after he mailed it and the second one only took 5 days to get here. They weren't stolen and the packages had not been opened. I'm still amazed about it.

When we first moved in to this house it was new, we are the first occupants. We hadn't gotten any mail at all for the first 2 or 3 months. One day my wife was in front of the house when a mailman was making his deliveries. She asked him if we had ever gotten any mail? After he asked her our name, he said “Oh, this is where you live, yes, I have some mail for you and I was going to ask the neighbors if any of them knew where you lived.”

One of the first things I did when we moved in here was to put a large house number on the outside of the perimeter wall. The houses here are not numbered sequentially, and there are odd and even numbered houses on both sides of the street. It is hard to imagine why the mailmen didn't simply look at the large number on the wall.

About once per year we will get bank statements, etc. intended for someone else. They always have a different name and address on the envelope, usually just a few houses from us, so we can carry them over to the intended recipient. Sometimes they will have an address in a different colonia on a different street though. We don't trust the mailman to handle it properly, so we take those letters to the post office and turn them in there. I often wonder what they do with them, but my conscience is clear afterwards.

If you have reasonably good mail service where you live, count your blessings. About the only mail we can depend on getting regularly is our Telmex bill. Just about everyone else uses private couriers to deliver their bills, even Luz Y Fuerza, the Federal Government owned electric company. Any bill you get without an envelope was delivered by a private courier. That is a tacit admission by most businesses here that the Mexican postal system is unreliable.

Rex

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

esperanza

Jun 25, 2009, 1:05 PM

Post #18 of 22 (5476 views)

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Re: [Papirex] Receiving debit or credit cards by mail in Mexico

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Yesterday Judy and I were on our way to the tianguis when we saw a CFE (electric company) employee out delivering bills.

On a Segway.

Of course they would use something powered by being plugged into the wall...

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

Papirex

Jun 25, 2009, 2:07 PM

Post #19 of 22 (5462 views)

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Re: [esperanza] Receiving debit or credit cards by mail in Mexico

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I think the only difference between CFE and L Y F is that L Y F will not cut your electricity off if you are a week or two late paying their bill, and there will be no late charge. We used to have CFE electric service in the southern part of Cuernavaca. One time the CFE-o-matic machine was out of order and it did not credit our payment until the next day. Too late, they had already disconnected our electric service.

Our neighbor had a gardener that knew how to climb the pole and reconnect our power wire. CFE was supposed to come out and reconnect the wire the next day. They didn't show up for two weeks. I was all prepared to play dumb and claim that I didn't know how our wire was reconnected.

The guy from CFE seemed to be happy that he didn't need to get out a ladder and mess with the high voltage wires. He just rang the bell and asked me if everything was OK.

Rex

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

mcm

Jun 29, 2009, 5:09 PM

Post #20 of 22 (5309 views)

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Re: [mcm] Receiving debit or credit cards by mail in Mexico

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Regarding my original question, about whether there was a regulation prohibiting delivery of credit/debit cards via Mexpost...
I finally stopped in at the post office and asked. They were surprised. They did say that Banamex does not, or is not allowed to (I was a bit confused about this) send cards through the mail, but does/can send account statements. I do know that most banks here in Merida use private messenger services for all bank transactions, and so there might in fact be some regulation regarding sending cards for national banks. Anyway, as far as the clerks in the main Merida post office know, there is no problem with receiving cards from foreign banks via Mexpost.
I guess I'll just wait and see -- I did receive the last debit card mailing (though not the one before), so when that expires in a few years, I'll see if another one shows up....

Axixic

Jul 7, 2009, 3:14 PM

Post #21 of 22 (5163 views)

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Re: [kimpatsu_hekigan] Activating debit or credit cards received by mail in Mexico

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The bank wants you to call to activate the card. When you call you are asked additional information to make sure the right person has the card. The bank doesn't check to see whether you are calling from your house, office or daycare center.

RickS

Jul 7, 2009, 3:37 PM

Post #22 of 22 (5154 views)

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Re: [PamelaDelafield] Activating debit or credit cards received by mail in Mexico

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I think what kimpatsu-hekigan was stating is spot-on.... the card will/does have instructions to call from your HOME phone number. Thus his question as to what to do to get around this 'requirement' is appropriate. As you have stated, one can actually call from where-ever one wishes 'tho.

I suspect that the real reason that they want you to call from your home phone is that, through caller-ID, their computer can pull up your account automatically if you call from the phone that is associated with the account.... saving them the time that their customer rep must spend asking you some corroborting questions [and thus saving that time so that they can try to 'sell' you something else that you probably don't want, but which might enhance their profits :>) ].