BajaNomad - Citibank ATM Charges

Citibank ATM Charges

capitolkat - 10-29-2007 at 09:39 AM

Citibank and Banamex are affiliated banks and using the Banamex ATM for withdrawals did not cause a transaaction fee. So to prepare for our relocation to La Paz we transferred our direct deposit accounts to Citibank, set up direct pay transactions through those accounts, and used the ATM on our trip earlier this month without a hitch. Great you say. Not so fast.

Last week I got a statement from Citibank that says they will now be charging a 2% transaction fee for all ATM usage for banks not in the US or Puerto Rico. Anybody else notice this? What are my alternatives? I suppose I could open a small account at BAnamex and transfer funds from Citibank and withdrawn them as needed. Any other ideas?

Norm

bajabound2005 - 10-29-2007 at 11:23 AM

We use Bank of America and the Santander ATM; no fees. We also use Citibank and Banamex, but our Citibank account is really a Smith Barney account. They WERE charging us and when we complained, the fees suddenly stopped. You might want to inquire at Citibank. They OWN Banamex so it's illogical for them to charge fees at what is basically their own ATM.

Dave - 10-29-2007 at 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by capitolkat
What are my alternatives?

Banamex USA. Used to be California Commerce. They have special accounts for retirees living in Mexico. It's called the Amistad program.

Phone: 1-800-222-1234

comitan - 10-29-2007 at 02:16 PM

I have had the Amistad acct. for years, and just checked they are not chargeing me for ATM withdrawals from Banamex.

bajagrouper - 10-29-2007 at 04:40 PM

I have a Citi bank accounts with the ATM card that I use at Banamex all the time and am not charged any fees and get the official exchange rate for that day, I did use my Citi bank Master card in Mexico for the vehicle fee at Nogales and was charged a 3% fee that came to 89 cents...You should talk to your banker and get these charges reversed...suerte

vandenberg - 10-29-2007 at 05:39 PM

Just got a credit card at Capital One. According to them the only card with no charges in a foreign country, as a result, lots of people from out of the country transferring to them.. Just quoting them.

sylens - 10-29-2007 at 05:47 PM

we just switched to capital one too. exchange rate is better also, compared to the first usa visa card we used to use.

Thanks for the information

capitolkat - 10-30-2007 at 06:00 AM

The new ATM charges for Citibank are to begin on January 23,2008 and they say its for all foreign Citibank ATM transactions--Like Grouper I've used Banamex with no charge but that is scheduled to change-----and I'll check out the Amistad account-- Thanks again

Hook - 10-30-2007 at 11:03 AM

After seeing this post, I decided to contact my credit union to see what's up with ATM withdrawals in foreign countries. I'm with OCTFCU, which is within the top 20 in assets in the US, probably the world. Mastercard International is who they issue ATM cards through.

Here is their reply:

As of April 1, 2007, A Cross-Border Assessment Fee of 0.80% of the
transaction amount will apply to all cross-border (processed outside of
the United States) transactions.

A Currency Conversion Assessment Fee of 0.20% will
apply if a merchant that processed the charge in a foreign
currency, and MasterCard converted the sale into U.S. dollars.

In addition, any fees charged by the ATM owner (the institution in Mexico, in this case) will also be the responsibility of the account holder.

So, the "free lunch" is coming to an end for many entities. 1% plus the ATM fee.

Yes, Cap One may be absorbing these fees. But I bet a for-profit institution like them is making it up somewhere else in your dealings with them. Maybe the exchange rate? Maybe the minimum balance you must have and how little they pay on that?

So, assuming a maximum withdrawal of 500.00 at an ATM, it appears it's now costing me 5.00 US plus about 7.5 pesos to the ATM machine itself. That's starting to get significant and may be a good reason to look into an Amistad or Amigo type account.

bajagrouper - 11-2-2007 at 05:39 PM

I called Banamex USA this morning to ask about the Amigo/Friendship account, the requirements: you must have an address in Mexico ( I needed to have a water or electirc bill) you have to be over 55 years old. you can open a checking acc. or money market acc., you get an ATM card with either, and no fee if using a Banamex ATM...if you have a Mexican Banamex acc. you will be able to link and transfer money from a Banamex USA acc. hope this helps...........