BajaNomad

Using you credit card online with a Mexican business.

SFandH - 8-27-2017 at 12:00 PM

Just curious. Does anybody use their credit card online to pay Mexican utility bills or any other type of payment to a Mexican company?

tiotomasbcs - 8-27-2017 at 12:50 PM

I pay TellCell Banda Ancha with one. Posts within an hour and they send notice to me on Hotmail. Online they also show activity thru Historial. Neighbors here pay both CFE and Agua Potable advances for months they are up north. Not sure if they use CCs.

SFandH - 8-27-2017 at 01:06 PM

I'm wondering about the security. I don't know how widespread online credit card use is.

Udo - 8-27-2017 at 01:13 PM

Quite a few of us have it set up with auto pay, once we got to trust the site (a few months later).

willardguy - 8-27-2017 at 01:24 PM

I once or twice paid a CFE bill on line with CC but prefer the oxxo method....the less I use it the better ;)

aguachico - 8-27-2017 at 07:23 PM

Of course you can use a credit card in mexican online sites. Mexico, thought 3rd world, has a huge economy and online processing has made huge steps over the past 5 years.

Get a CC that is low balanced $1000-$5000 just for online services, mexican hotel reservations or anything that you want to protect you high end balance accounts.

Never use an ATM or checking/saving linked CC.

Setup alerts on the account, especially changes to the account information. One way to hack the account is to make it your own. Setting up an alerts for address, phone and email changes will protect you.

Finally don't be surprised when the first time you use it it is rejected. Call the bank and alert them that you will be making monthly payment to cablemas and it's all good.

SFandH - 8-27-2017 at 08:18 PM

aguachico thanks but I didn't ask "can you" I asked if anybody did.

I've had problems with hackers getting my credit card info from online systems in the states so I'm gun shy, especially with Mex systems, because, like you said, it's a relatively new thing in Mex. I know that it is easier to build a nonsecure system than it is a secure one.

[Edited on 8-28-2017 by SFandH]

aguachico - 8-28-2017 at 08:14 AM

Claro, I use my CC to buy fishing permits, fishing visas, pay bills and purchase movie tickets. The CC I use has a $2000 limit with very good security, alerts setup like I noted above.

One thing about Mexico is their SSL transactions are normally popups, so turn off popup blocker, only click once and enjoy.

I have been a victim a few times, but all transactions were shutdown, CC's reissued. The root cause were US based online services and not things I did in Mex.

SFandH - 8-28-2017 at 08:24 AM

I've had credit cards canceled twice because of hackers getting my data. Last year and the year before. New cards were sent to me in San Diego. The only problem was both times I was in Mulege for the winter.

I guess the correct thing to do is use them online as little as possible.

MitchMan - 8-28-2017 at 09:46 AM

RE: paying CFE

I pay in cash at the CFE office in El Centro, La Paz. In the past 7 years they have made mistakes in their favor. I discovered that because I have kept at running balance and all the billing documents since inception. The big problem is that their billing statement does not show either a beginning balance or ending balance of the account. It was like pulling teeth to get it corrected as none of the personnel at the office has the accounting skills to reconcile accounts.

A billing from a utility that does not provide either a beginning account balance and/or an ending account balance is incomplete and, in my view, inappropriate, inadequate and absolutely inexcusable. The amount of work to provide that is a very small amount of programming time.

However, the lack of a beg/end balance makes it easier for CFE to make mistakes and go undiscovered and when a complaint comes to them, it makes it difficult for the customer to prove their legitimate complaint and easier for CFE personnel to discredit (albeit falsely) the customers' discrepancy.

The water billing has an ending account balance, no problems their.

I make it a religious policy to never use a credit card for anything in Mexico. I only use a bank debit card to withdraw pesos at Banamex as their ATM machines do not suck the card in but leave the card physically retrievable at any time during the withdrawal.

When I was a CFO at a Property Management company, we had an executive retreat in Puerto Vallarta at which I used the company BofA credit card to pay for everything. 6 months later there was a fraudulent $7,500 USD purchase at a furniture store on the credit card transacting in Mexico that we obviously did not make. Learned my lesson.

[Edited on 8-28-2017 by MitchMan]

Beachinmoney06 - 9-29-2020 at 06:15 AM

I'm just curious if this has changed. I can't imagine not paying all of my bills thru bill pay. I bank with Chase. I will be living full time in Mexico Baja de California in about 3 months. I don't want to have to drive somewhere to pay a bill. Is online bill pay going to work for me? Or will I need an AMX for CFE?

defrag4 - 9-30-2020 at 02:38 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Beachinmoney06  
I'm just curious if this has changed. I can't imagine not paying all of my bills thru bill pay. I bank with Chase. I will be living full time in Mexico Baja de California in about 3 months. I don't want to have to drive somewhere to pay a bill. Is online bill pay going to work for me? Or will I need an AMX for CFE?


sorta kinda can sometimes pay CFE/water bill via xoom with a US CC/bank account

MX credit card still your best bet

Howard - 9-30-2020 at 02:54 PM

You can always pay by credit card except sometimes.

In other words, be prepared for more than one way to get things done, it is Mexico after all. :biggrin:

[Edited on 9-30-2020 by Howard]