BajaNomad

Banking for Full Timers in Baja

healthdetective - 12-15-2018 at 05:22 AM

My question is...How does one handle their banking if they live in Baja full time?

This makes an assumption that many still keep an account in the US or Canada.

Specifically how do you get your updated atm/debit cards?

Do you tell the bank you are now living outside the country etc?.

Any help is appreciated

Thank you

gnukid - 12-15-2018 at 05:43 AM

US bank will ship your cards to you wherever you are, timeliness depending on the quality of the bank. Mexican banks are different than US banks, different fees, rates, etc your mileage may vary. At this time I use US banks only for accounts and use ATMs and on line transfer when needed.

rogbag - 12-15-2018 at 07:55 AM

I use Bancomer here is Los Barriles and it is very simple these days. I understand that they are making gringos jump through some hoops now to get an account, but I got one 5 years ago when you just had to have money in hand. I have a dollar and a peso account. I also have a Wells Fargo account in the US, and they will send money to Bancomer (pesos) online, which takes about an hour and the funds are available here in Mexico. I think there is a $1,500 USD limit per day, and WF converts it to pesos (and makes a little money) and sends it to my peso account. I use a mail forwarding service that comes down once a week and i get ATM and credit cards that way. Have not had any problem with the mail forwarding service. It takes about 3 or 4 weeks to get it here.

bajatrailrider - 12-15-2018 at 08:47 AM

I have chase bank in the states Santander in Mexico. On line I transfer 5 grand at a time.Chase sends pesos to my Mex bank no wire fee . At a very high rate more then any in Mexico

tbnoble - 12-15-2018 at 09:34 AM

We use Charles Schwab and US Bank in the US and use the HSBC atms here in Baja. Never have had any problems, pay Telnor with card online, almost all other transactions are cash. New cards go to our El Cajon box, pick up on a trip. Much less of a big deal than I thought it was going to be when we moved here two years ago. But then pretty much doing anything here has been less of a big deal than we had thought.

willyAirstream - 12-15-2018 at 10:33 AM

DHL for important papers and cards. 5 to 8 days to your door. The mulege bank changes the rules monthly. Easiest is USA banks and transfers via xoom and atm t cards.

[Edited on 12-15-2018 by willyAirstream]

gnukid - 12-15-2018 at 11:06 AM

Banks such as Schwab refund any atm or intl transfer fees. BOA does not, though may have special arrangements with a partner. I only use banks that provide 100% refund for any crazy fees in Mexico such as Schwab it can be as high as $5-20 per transaction, they also closely monitor charges and stay in contact with you to confirm charges or refund errors.

willardguy - 12-15-2018 at 11:16 AM

and carry two in case one is blocked, lost or stolen....I carry schwab and capitol one.

sancho - 12-15-2018 at 12:07 PM

Quote: Originally posted by willardguy  
and carry two in case one is blocked, lost or stolen....I carry schwab and capitol one.










Is it fairly easy to get Schawb to understand one is in
Mex on a permanent basis? Like not blocking a card due
to withdrawal in Mex? As opposed to notifying them of
a temp time one will be in Mex

willardguy - 12-15-2018 at 12:47 PM

Quote: Originally posted by sancho  
Quote: Originally posted by willardguy  
and carry two in case one is blocked, lost or stolen....I carry schwab and capitol one.












Is it fairly easy to get Schawb to understand one is in
Mex on a permanent basis? Like not blocking a card due
to withdrawal in Mex? As opposed to notifying them of
a temp time one will be in Mex


I don't know how that works? in seven years i've never notified either bank I am or will be in mexico, never had a card blocked although many here have......maybe because im in a border town:?:

Bob and Susan - 12-15-2018 at 01:23 PM

if you live FULL time in baja why do you need a bank in the usa or Canada???

just open an account in the city you live
at a local bank in mexico

they give you debit AND credit cards
they finance cars and do all the stuff other banks do


cut the tie

gnukid - 12-15-2018 at 03:01 PM

Quote: Originally posted by sancho  
Quote: Originally posted by willardguy  
and carry two in case one is blocked, lost or stolen....I carry schwab and capitol one.


Is it fairly easy to get Schawb to understand one is in
Mex on a permanent basis? Like not blocking a card due
to withdrawal in Mex? As opposed to notifying them of
a temp time one will be in Mex


Yes, Schwab, BOA, etc lets you set travel plans on mobile, or desktop online, or by phone, or in a branch office, though, if you travel somewhere often you can set it on permanently to allow transactions, unless they are suspect, such as repeated transactions, or odd transactions, then you will be notified. You can set how often to be notified and how to be notified. I find it helpful.


[Edited on 12-16-2018 by gnukid]

healthdetective - 12-16-2018 at 06:21 AM

Thank you all for taking the time to help clear this up for me!

weebray - 12-16-2018 at 09:39 AM

My 5 cents. Stay away from Mexican banks like the plague. Schawb is my preference. 8000 pesos + at ATM every day suits us. If you give up your US ties you may not be able to get a US account. Banking laws are getting tighter cada dia.

PaulW - 12-16-2018 at 10:02 AM

We use Bancomer with peso account and Wells Fargo. Funds from US sources arrive at Wells Fargo and are transferred to Bancomer or we use various ATMs to withdraw pesos from either Wells Fargo or Bancomer. We have Bancomer for auto payments for utilities in Baja. They also give us a credit card which works in the states and in Baja. Recently all the ATMs in Baja are working great and are always full of pesos. Both banks allow normal on line use. We use mostly for us for getting statements.

Lee - 12-16-2018 at 04:34 PM

when funds are transferred from the US, it’s between my bank and MX. Use CS and Chase. Don’t trust MX with my finances — think it might be superstitution. Little recourse IMO if funds are mismanaged.

JoeJustJoe - 12-16-2018 at 05:10 PM

Quote: Originally posted by weebray  
My 5 cents. Stay away from Mexican banks like the plague. Schawb is my preference. 8000 pesos + at ATM every day suits us. If you give up your US ties you may not be able to get a US account. Banking laws are getting tighter cada dia.


What's wrong with Mexican banks that you would have to stay away like the plague?

Why can't you have both a Mexican bank, and a Schwab account?

Schawb, is OK, except for their misleading advertising about their brokerage accounts.

willardguy - 12-16-2018 at 08:57 PM

shhhhh.....maybe he'll just go away;)

weebray - 12-17-2018 at 10:22 AM

Quote: Originally posted by willardguy  
shhhhh.....maybe he'll just go away;)


While I enjoy this desultory banter it always bores me how some simpletons can't keep from turning it into a personal attack. My viewpoints are mine and usually based on years of experience, Just try to keep your eye on the ball.

[Edited on 12-17-2018 by weebray]

JoeJustJoe - 12-17-2018 at 11:30 AM

Quote: Originally posted by lencho  
[Speaking for myself, I always appreciate others' direct real-world experience. Which Mexican banks do you currently have accounts with, and for how long?


Speaking for myself, I always appreciate when somebody knocks something about a Mexican institution, I expect them to give specific reasons.

Lets just say I have worked for an international bank before, and I'm very familiar with their banking laws, regulations, and procedures.

Hook - 12-17-2018 at 01:20 PM

Quote: Originally posted by weebray  
My 5 cents. Stay away from Mexican banks like the plague. Schawb is my preference. 8000 pesos + at ATM every day suits us. If you give up your US ties you may not be able to get a US account. Banking laws are getting tighter cada dia.


This is so true. When I sold my only US property and bought in Mexico in 2008 and began using a PO Box as my address, I was planning on putting the proceeds of the sale into some of the higher earning MM accounts like maybe Zions Bank or IndyBank, etc. But, since the passage of the Patriot Act after 9/11, the US financial institutions were forced to only open new accounts with legitimate, physical US addresses. We couldn't open new accounts with any US institution. I could only use institutions that I still had dealings with like my credit union, Vanguard and B of A (for the free ATM use, at the time, with Santander and others).

I would also never put any large amount of money into a Mexican bank. I know more than a few that got screwed in the last major devaluation of the peso. Yep, they supposedly had dollar accounts in Mexican banks. That didnt help them, nor did this supposed equivalent of FDIC that JJJ TALKS about.

But, then, he TALKS about a lot of things..................

I'm fine with 8k pesos every so often.

But that wasnt enough, when I was building out my lot. Fortunately, many of the builders over here keep US bank accounts, so we could write him checks from our US institution. I thanked him for this convenience once and he said that many of the builders keep most of their money in US banks. They dont trust the Mexican banking system, either. The accounts were typically opened in the name of a relative who had emigrated to the US.

Ya see, Joe, these are the kinds of things you learn while actually BEING in Mexico, instead of reading articles about it, written by others who never actually go to Mexico, either.

AKgringo - 12-17-2018 at 02:28 PM

My dad was one of those who lost a lot of money during the peso crash in the late 80's. He was happy for a while with the interest rate he was getting, until the principle started withering away!

He is not around anymore to ask if it was a dollar, or peso account, but he was not able to stop the bleeding until he had lost 80 or 90 percent of his investment.

Cancamo - 12-17-2018 at 02:46 PM

No problem with peso and dollar accounts at Banorte, (previously Bancrecer), over almost 20 years. Pretty sure the devaluation was limited to peso accounts. True, those that have the means, (contacts and funds), maintain stateside bank accounts. I think this is much as hiding income as much as anything.

Travelwise.com for debit or wire transfers, online, safe, and cheap. Schwab for ATM.

JoeJustJoe - 12-17-2018 at 04:19 PM

JJJ answers Hook:

Hook wrote: This is so true. When I sold my only US property and bought in Mexico in 2008 and began using a PO Box as my address, I was planning on putting the proceeds of the sale into some of the higher earning MM accounts like maybe Zions Bank or IndyBank, etc. But, since the passage of the Patriot Act after 9/11, the US financial institutions were forced to only open new accounts with legitimate, physical US addresses. We couldn't open new accounts with any US institution. I could only use institutions that I still had dealings with like my credit union, Vanguard and B of A (for the free ATM use, at the time, with Santander and others).
_______________
JJJ wrote:

The fact you don't have a physical US Address, and couldn't open a new account is not the fault of the Mexican banking system.

I would also never put any large amount of money into a Mexican bank. I know more than a few that got screwed in the last major devaluation of the peso. Yep, they supposedly had dollar accounts in Mexican banks. That didnt help them, nor did this supposed equivalent of FDIC that JJJ TALKS about.
_____________________
JJJ wrote: I would not put a large amount of money in a Mexican bank, either, but only because most banks US or Mexico, give low returns, and you have the currency risk in Mexico.

The key word here is "supposedly" had dollar account in Mexican banks. So what did the Mexican banks promise to take all the currency risk? I would have to see the agreement. The FDIC, or the Mexican equivalent, would not protect them from currency risks.

I'm fine with 8k pesos every so often.

JJJ wrote: I would be happy with 8 K in the bank too. I bet the majority of ex-pat living in Baja, are living on a fix income, and so I want to hear about problem with Mexican banks with people with relativity small account. I don't want to hear about the crash in 1994, or 1988, or 2008 in the USA, and the soon to be crash of 2018-2019 in the US.( damn market down again because of Trump)

But that wasnt enough, when I was building out my lot. Fortunately, many of the builders over here keep US bank accounts, so we could write him checks from our US institution. I thanked him for this convenience once and he said that many of the builders keep most of their money in US banks. They dont trust the Mexican banking system, either. The accounts were typically opened in the name of a relative who had emigrated to the US.

JJJ wrote: Again Hook your problems have nothing to do with the Mexican banking system, and there are banks in the US and Mexico, you could exchange your money freely between the accounts, and there are wire services, brokerage services, etc etc...

So the Mexican builders don't trust the Mexican banking system, but instead trust their relatives in the US with their money? I bet most people here wouldn't trust their family members with a substantial amount of money.And what happens when the banks sees those large checks or transactions for over $10,000. What's the family member going to say? Oh this money is not really my money, it belongs to my Mexican cousin in construction.

Ya see, Joe, these are the kinds of things you learn while actually BEING in Mexico, instead of reading articles about it, written by others who never actually go to Mexico, either.

JJJ wrote: Yeah right, Hook, whatever you say.

Hook - 12-18-2018 at 08:02 AM

So, how's that Mexican FDIC research coming? That was really the only issue I had with your previous posts. Lost money is lost money. How'd ya like to have three zeros chopped off your savings account, with no recourse? It happened. In Mexico. Most of us can remember it.

The rest of my post was directed at Bob, and his contention that if you live full time in Mexico, why have a US account.? So, I gave reasons why, from a practical, living in Mexico, standpoint.

Maybe you can't trust your relatives but many people can.

The rest of your post is just trying to extricate your foot from your mouth. No one bothers trying to correct it all, anymore. You never learn, anyway.

JoeJustJoe - 12-18-2018 at 10:02 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Hook  
So, how's that Mexican FDIC research coming? That was really the only issue I had with your previous posts. Lost money is lost money. How'd ya like to have three zeros chopped off your savings account, with no recourse? It happened. In Mexico. Most of us can remember it.

The rest of my post was directed at Bob, and his contention that if you live full time in Mexico, why have a US account.? So, I gave reasons why, from a practical, living in Mexico, standpoint.

Maybe you can't trust your relatives but many people can.

The rest of your post is just trying to extricate your foot from your mouth. No one bothers trying to correct it all, anymore. You never learn, anyway.


Mexican banks, FDIC insurance is called IPAB( Instituto para la Protección al Ahorro Bancario) and the IPAB guarantees you bank savings up 400 thousand UDIs and that the equivalent to 2,481,559 pesos.

That's a lot of money, but like FDIC insurance, don't keep more than that amount of any one bank, if you want the insurance, and it's not each separate account, but a combination of accounts you have insured at that one bank.

The IPAB like the FDIC, doesn't protect you against bad investments at the bank, or currency risks. However, since the peso is 20 to 1 dollars, and oil is trading around 50 dollars a barrel. I don't' see the exchange rate getting much worse. If it does get worse, and you get burned, it's your fault, for not spreading the risks among different accounts.

THE IPAB, will only protect you if the bank goes belly up, insolvent, and things of that nature. If the bank gets robbed, you won't lose or money. If a Mexican scams you outside at the ATM, it's not the banks fault, it's your fault, for giving your ATM to a scam artist.

This is not 1994, and the Tequila Mexican bank crisis, where all the banks of Mexico, was owned by the Mexican government before 1992 and Mexico, just went the privatizing route, to be like the USA, and failed miserly, because they had lax oversight, and really didn't know what they were doing under a new banking system.

In 2008 when some banks in the US were crashing, Mexican banks, did better, because they implanted "Basel III" global voluntarily regulatory standards on bank capital.

Now back to the Mexican construction workers, who doesn't trust Mexican banks, for some unknown reasons. They have to be some of the dumbest people alive, to trust their family members back in the USA, especially with banking laws against money laundering, that will draw suspicion from the banks, if a large of amount of money is being exchanged.

Now most people love their family dearly, but money is money. What about the spouses, and if the family in the US, should get a divorce, and the other spouse goes after that money in the bank account?

You have to be a real idiot, to put your money under your mattress or give to a family member in the USA, than a bank, even a Mexican bank, where your money will be well protected at least until the next major financial crisis, that happens every 20 years or so. A family divorce happens all the time.

On top of all this, most major banks in Mexico, is foreign owned. The banks own the world, and they take care of each other. They spread the risks, rewards, and misery.



[Edited on 12-18-2018 by JoeJustJoe]

Alm - 12-18-2018 at 12:53 PM

Quote: Originally posted by healthdetective  
How does one handle their banking if they live in Baja full time?

This makes an assumption that many still keep an account in the US or Canada.

Specifically how do you get your updated atm/debit cards?

Do you tell the bank you are now living outside the country etc?.

Depends on what needs you need to handle and what location. The biggest pain with using US/Can account is paying Mex electrical bill online. Other issues can be remedied.

Getting updated cards - again, depends on location. Keeping private mail box near the border and traveling there from time to time is the most reliable way. US/Can bank will send it anywhere but this doesn't mean you'll receive it in some obscure village.

Yes, you must notify Can/Us bank that you are traveling. Easy to do on most bank websites. Otherwise they could freeze your account, for suspicions that somebody has stolen your card in Mexico.

It doesn't sound like you are considering getting Mex bank account, but if you do, there are few things to be aware of. You need RT/RP status. People sometimes live in Baja with FMM only. Occasionally Mex bank would open an account to FMM holder, but normally they don't. And, if you do open Mex account, don't hold your breath - there are fewer perks than in the US/Can accounts, checking account fees with zero balance are rarely waved and credit cards have very low limits.

What Joe don't KNOW

MrBillM - 12-18-2018 at 02:15 PM

Does not include Scheisse !

In THAT, he is well-versed.

And spreads prodigiously .

Alm - 12-18-2018 at 02:25 PM

What does "most" of this thread to do with the OP question...

Though, I have to say that post #1 was begged to be hijacked. OP never specified whether it's US or Can account - Canadian market is very different, fewer choices. Neither they specified where in "Baja" they live, what services they are looking for and what their status is. Couple this with (usual) unfocused state of forum members and you have inevitable yet predicable result :)

Btw, there are ways around "giving up US (or Can) ties" and keeping your NOB account. NOB bank requires NOB mail address on file , not your year-round physical presence.

Mexicans, Banks and Taxes ?

MrBillM - 12-18-2018 at 05:45 PM

While cash (in dollars) was always preferred, during the 32+ years that I "resided" in Baja, I also wrote more than a few checks for hundreds (and sometimes thousands) which were cashed through various businesses or by people that I'd never heard of. NONE that I remember were deposited by the campo in a Mex bank. More than a few times, I was asked to actually make out the check to a different person. I never asked WHY.

Alm - 12-20-2018 at 03:39 PM

Quote: Originally posted by MrBillM  
... I also wrote more than a few checks for hundreds (and sometimes thousands) which were cashed through various businesses or by people that I'd never heard of. NONE that I remember were deposited by the campo in a Mex bank. More than a few times, I was asked to actually make out the check to a different person. I never asked WHY.

Tax evasion is a national sport in Mexico. Nothing new, and has little to do with the thread.
Roger and out.