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robert kimball123

Feb 3, 2003, 8:46 AM

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using Mexican ATMs

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I've just retired and want to move to Guadalajara. I want to do my banking in Miami at an American bank, but I want to be able to regularly withdraw money (dollars if possible) from Mexican ATM machines (at the lowest possible fee, of course). Are there any American banks that have ATM agreements with any Mexican banks? Any advice? Thanks for your time.

scott

Feb 3, 2003, 10:12 AM

Post #2 of 13 (2889 views)

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Re: [robert kimball123] using Mexican ATMs

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I don't think you can withdraw US $ from an ATM in Mexico. The only bank I have seen that does that is BA Norte , but I think you have to have a US dollar account with them.

But otherwise, you will have zero problems withdrawing pesos from your accounts at home, at a rate that is set by the government each day, based on the previous days exchange rate. If I understand correctly. What do you think everyone else is doing??? Western Union?

DavidG

Feb 3, 2003, 10:18 AM

Post #3 of 13 (2865 views)

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Re: [robert kimball123] using Mexican ATMs

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Several of the ATM's here in Cozumel will allow you to choose between dollars or pesos. I can't speak for anywhere else.
DavidG
Villa Dos, Cozumel
"I still believe in ignorance as my best defense"

Jeannie

Feb 3, 2003, 1:58 PM

Post #4 of 13 (2842 views)

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Re: [robert kimball123] using Mexican ATMs

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Make sure you have two bank machine cards for when the machine eats your first card. :)

Tomás

Feb 3, 2003, 4:44 PM

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Re: [robert kimball123] using Mexican ATMs

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good question?

PeggyS

Feb 4, 2003, 12:32 AM

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Re: [Jeannie] using Mexican ATMs

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Use the ATM where you swipe your card, not let it disappear into the machine or you may never see it again - this is the voice of experience - yes, Jeannie, I wish I had had two cards, but unfortunately, no. For dollars, no problem, have a Lloyds account as well, and get dollars instantly as I did today. Just write a check on your U.S. bank, depositing to your Lloyds account, and you'll also earn a lot more interest on your money. On the bank ATMs here, pesos only.

raferguson

Feb 4, 2003, 7:44 AM

Post #7 of 13 (2731 views)

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Re: [robert kimball123] using Mexican ATMs

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The peso exchange rate may vary depending on your bank. You could call them and ask what their policy is.

For example, AT&T Universal Card applies a 1 percent surcharge on international withdrawals. My credit union debit card has a better rate of exchange. Mastercard applies an automatic 1 percent surcharge on any foreign exchange, but then AT&T adds an extra 1%.

Even if all the banks use the same exchange rate, the surcharges may change the net rate that you receive.

Richard

http://www.fergusonsculpture.com

robert kimball123

Feb 4, 2003, 7:46 AM

Post #8 of 13 (2741 views)

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Re: [PeggyS] using Mexican ATMs

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Citibankhasnumerous branches with ATM machines all over Mexico. Any reason not to open an account with Citibank here? They tell me there will be no problems withdrawing money. One of their branches in Guadalajara offer "24 hour ATM Service" AND "24 hour International ATM service." Since they tell me that I can get money anytime from the "24 hour ATM Service locations," does anyone know what the other might be for? They don't know.

The Old Gringo

Feb 4, 2003, 8:16 AM

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Re: [robert kimball123] using Mexican ATMs

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Over the span of years, I have used ATMs all over Mexico for cash with no problems. I have used cards from both credit unions and banks in the US. One nice thing is that I always get a favorable exchange rate, that is to say, better than a Casa de Cambio. One of the banks I have used used to rebate ATM fees from banks not on their system, so long as you kept a certain minimum in your account, so that was nice.

I am not aware of a mechanism to withdraw dollars from Mexican ATMs.

I believe if you live near an American Express office and are an AmEx card holder you can cash a check in dollars, occasionally. I haven't done it but I believe I read that somewhere, so I could be wrong about that. Maybe somebody else here knows the story on AmEx.

TOG

Feb 4, 2003, 11:45 PM

Post #10 of 13 (2676 views)

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Re: [robert kimball123] using Mexican ATMs

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In Reply To

robert kimball writes:
I've just retired and want to move to Guadalajara. I want to do my banking in Miami at an American bank, but I want to be able to regularly withdraw money (dollars if possible) from Mexican ATM machines (at the lowest possible fee, of course).

If you're planning to use the US dollars you're hoping to withdraw from a Mexican ATM for routine expenses, you're really wasting your worrying about the transaction fees. The fee (if any) levied by the US source bank will remain constant regardless as to whether you make your withdrawal in $USD or $MXP, and at present the worst-case Mexican bank associated ATM fee will be on the order of $20 MXP/withdrawal (note that non-bank affiliated ATMs can charge considerably greater fees, depending on their location).

Where you should be spending your time worrying about is on the downstream exchange of those US Dollars into the actual currency of the land, the Mexican Peso. If you make the withdrawal from your American bank in $MXP, the currency conversion will be made at a highly favorable rate, typically within 1% of the published interbank rate (the interbank rate is the day's negotiated rate that a pair or group of financial institutions use for >$100K USD equivalent transfers; the published interbank rate is actually an average of a number of financial institutions individual rates, which will be similar, but not identical). If you find an ATM which dispenses $USD instead, step out of the ATM enclosure and into the adjoining bank to make your exchange into $MXP, the bank will typically discount your exchange rate somewhere on the order of 2-4%. This means that for every $100 USD you exchange, the bank will be keeping $2-4 USD, which equals or exceeds your worst-case Mexican bank ATM fee.

Far worse than the bank will be if you use those $USD to make payments or purchases to local merchants (stores, utilities, etc.). First, you'll be restricted to shopping in more tourist-oriented stores, where you can expect to pay higher prices for goods. You'll also be entering into the world of the "casual" or "ad-hoc" exchange rate, where the discount can be anywhere from 2-10% ($2-10 USD/$100 USD) from interbank, depending on how recently the merchant has checked the going exchange rate, how aggressive of a business person they are, and whether or not they use a calculator to do the math (and if not how good their math skills are).

At least from the information you provided, something just doesn't make sense. Maybe you need to explain more just what you're trying to accomplish.

In Reply To

Are there any American banks that have ATM agreements with any Mexican banks?

All of the major Mexican banks (Banamex, BBVA/Bancomer, Bital, Banorte, etc.) belong to the two big US-based international ATM networks, Mastercard/Cirrus and Visa/Plus.

(This post was edited by ET on Feb 5, 2003, 12:02 AM)

Feb 4, 2003, 11:47 PM

Post #11 of 13 (2674 views)

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Re: [raferguson] using Mexican ATMs

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In Reply To

Richard Ferguson writes:
....For example, AT&T Universal Card applies a 1 percent surcharge on international withdrawals. My credit union debit card has a better rate of exchange. Mastercard applies an automatic 1 percent surcharge on any foreign exchange, but then AT&T adds an extra 1%.....

This sounds suspiciously like you're intermixing ATM/debit card and credit exchange rates. Although things may change in the near future, to my knowledge neither of the two major US-based worldwide ATM networks (the Mastercard International Cirrus network, and the Visa International Visa/Plus network) is currently charging a set percentage-based "surcharge" on foreign currency withdrawals from a bank account using an ATM or ATM/debit card. Instead currency conversions are made at roughly the published interbank rate, plus a bit of slop originating from individual financial institution variations in the exchange rate, plus differences in the exchange rate between the transaction date and the transaction processing date.

Straight credit card charge transactions, on the other hand do charge a set percentage-based surcharge for foreign currency transactions, which is made up of two components. Both Mastercard and Visa International levy a 1% network fee to handle foreign currency charge conversions. Additionally, in the past 3-5 years, some, but not all banks issuing credit cards have started to tack on an additional 1-3% "foreign currency exchange fee", which represents pure profit to the bank, as the actual currency exchange is handled by the servicing network (Mastercard or Visa).

Cash withdrawals ("advances") against a credit card add yet another fee, that of finance charges. When you insert your credit card into a bank ATM and punch for cash, in addition to the foreign-exchange fees outlined in the previous paragraph, you'll typically be charged anywhere from 1.5-3% of the transaction amount (sometimes capped at $10, sometimes not, depending on the individual card) as a cash advance fee. Additionally you start accruing finance charges on the amount advanced at the credit card's normal rate, which is currently running somewhere in the range of 11-14% per annum, assessed from the date of the transaction to the date the credit card issuer receives your payment. Combined, all of the fees can add up to a cost of $15-30 for a $300 withdrawal.

Feb 4, 2003, 11:58 PM

Post #12 of 13 (2679 views)

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Re: [robert kimball123] using Mexican ATMs

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In Reply To

Robert Kimball writes:
Citibankhasnumerous branches with ATM machines all over Mexico. Any reason not to open an account with Citibank here?....

Sure, how about Citibank doesn't exist in Mexico any more? On or about October 1, 2001 Citigroup, Citibank's parent corporation, finalized the acquisition of Grupo Financiero Banamex Accival ("Banacci"), the Mexican financial services corporation which owns Banamex. Upon doing so, Citibank phased out their Mexican subsidiary, Citibank Mexico, closing or rebannering branches under the better recognized (and less scandal-tainted) Banamex name and merging Citibank Mexico back/central office functions into Banamex's operating structure. Citigroup continues to operate Banamex and Citibank as separate and independent subsidiaries. From the consumer end of things, there's no difference between banking at Banamex in Mexico and Citibank in the US and banking at Banamex in Mexico and Wells Fargo, Bank of America (well, except in the case of Esperanza and her napalm fetish), or CalFed (another Citigroup owned bank) in the US.

ChrisB

Feb 5, 2003, 6:30 PM

Post #13 of 13 (2632 views)

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Re: [ET] using Mexican ATMs

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Commerce bank on the East coast, California Commerce on the west have reciprocal agreements with Banamex. We have a banamex account here and CComerce in the states. Gives me a place for direct deposit of pension checks and two different ATM cards.