BajaNomad - ¿opening a bank account?

¿opening a bank account?

bajalou - 3-12-2010 at 07:50 PM

Have to have a local address proven by a electric bill or a receipt from landlord.

Easier to talk to BofA and get your card working.

rts551 - 3-12-2010 at 07:53 PM

Chris

you don't say whether you reside in Mexico or not. You need to be a legal part time or full time resident

bajafam - 3-12-2010 at 07:57 PM

We've used our BofA card in Baja...but I guess not at an ATM, just at POS. Hmmm...I wonder why that is? When you cross the border, do you let your bank know? Maybe that's the reason, that they have put a fraud block on your card. We use our National Bank of Arizona card with no problems, just your usual out of network and change of currency fees, nothing significant, really ~ a buck or two. I can't imagine why a small, local bank card would work but a huge national conglomerate wouldn't. I would check with your bank and find out. It may just be a misunderstanding. We let all of our banks, credit cards, insurance, cell phone providers, etc know we are out of the country, just in case we need to use any or all of the above. FYI, I ran into an incident last trip with both Skype and Paypal...both of which flagged my accounts for fraud, so if you use those services, I would let them know as well.

As far as getting an account in Mexico, I know it can be done, but the only folks I know that have them are full or part time residents.

HTH! Michelle

Woooosh - 3-13-2010 at 12:16 AM

BofA and Santander Serfin are buds. Your BofA ATM card works at any Santanders machine in Baja without a transaction fee.

If you have a BofA checking account and open a Santanders account (your US passport and a Mexico phone bill will do) you can send money to anyone (including yourself I presume) in Mexico from your BofA account for free (SafeSend). That's what they told me anyway.

[Edited on 3-13-2010 by Woooosh]

BigWooo - 3-13-2010 at 06:30 AM

Opening a bank account in Mexico isn't necessary to be able to withdraw pesos easily. If I didn't have the need a Mexican bank account, I certainly wouldn't have gone through the hassle.

Like Wooosh said: B of A has no fees with Serfin, Santander OR Scotiabank. Citi has no fees with Banamex. You can use your corresponding atm at these banks without additional charges.

I think it would be easier to open an additional U.S. account, or change your U.S. bank account depending on which Mexican bank is more convenient for you to withdraw from. If you're traveling, from what I've seen in Baja, Banamex branches seem to be a little more prevalent than the other three.

[Edited on 3-13-2010 by BigWooo]

shari - 3-13-2010 at 08:32 AM

if you choose to, it is now possible to open a bank account at Bancomer (at least in Vizcaino) with just an fmt and you can get an electric bill from a pal and just tell them you are renting there...it doesnt have to be in your name(the bill).

David K - 3-13-2010 at 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by shari
if you choose to, it is now possible to open a bank account at Bancomer (at least in Vizcaino) with just an fmt and you can get an electric bill from a pal and just tell them you are renting there...it doesnt have to be in your name(the bill).

Great insider info Shari!

Make one more post and you will have 5,000!!! :bounce:

shari - 3-13-2010 at 08:40 AM

wooooo hooooo.....drum rolllllll por favor......and here it is....my 5,000 th post.....wow, who'da thought! what a blabber keyboard.

oh excuse me...where ARE my manners....welcome to nomadlandia amigo...wish you happiness on your trip here.

[Edited on 3-13-2010 by shari]

boe4fun - 3-13-2010 at 08:50 AM

Shari has a friend, "Dulce" who works for Bancomer in Vizcaino. My wife and I opened an account there a few weeks back. Not really too much of a hassle, but did take an hour or two.

Ditto: B of A ATM card is the way

Fred-o - 3-13-2010 at 06:44 PM

Been here 5 years using my B of A ATM card at Santander/Serfin banks. No fees, no hassel. I opened a bank account and it was the most difficult thing I have done in Mexico. The FM-3 was easier. They even made me draw a map to my house, it was ridiculous. Just use the ATM's here and follow the advice my predecessors on this thread have left for you.

Buena Suerte, and have fun in Mexico. Welcome to Nomads...

P.S. I opened a second B of A account just to have a second "back-up" card in case something unforseen happens the the original. Especially if I'm a long way from home down the peninsula.

bacquito - 3-14-2010 at 01:23 PM

Quote:

I tried to open an account with Bamomex in Ensenada and they told me I needed a fm3-I have an fmt. SOooo, I am working on getting an fm3

Bajahowodd - 3-14-2010 at 01:58 PM

I think Michelle (bajafam) is on to something. BofA tends to be more vigilant than some other banks when it comes to possible fraud issues. I learned many years ago that I had to call them before i left the country, or my card would be rejected. never happened with any other banks I've used.

And the Vizcaino Bancomer/ friend thing... I believe I saw another post awhile back by a nomad who opened an account somewhere with just an FM-T. So this kinda raises the question whether it involves specific banking law, or just individual business practices.

Living in a hotel down by the river

oladulce - 3-20-2010 at 11:29 AM

When we opened our Banamex checking account in Cd Constitucion last month they wanted proof of residency along with FM3, passports, etc. We live 2 hours away from Cd. Const. and a mile outside of the nearest pueblo and do not have any city services and always have this problem when they want to see utility bills for proof of residency.

I had brought a copy of our fideicomiso, a letter from the mayor stating we have a residence and pay taxes in the community, and tried to use our lot number "by the lighthouse" as our address but they wouldn't accept it.

Luckily, one of our neighbors was in the bank at the time. She does alot of business at this branch and is familiar to the bank staff. She asked if she could help us, and after some rapid-fire Spanish between she and the clerk, she said "I'll be right back".

She returned a few minutes later with a bill from the hotel where they stay on their trips to town, and the bill had our name and the address of the hotel.

The clerk entered the address on to our application and we are now proud residents of a hotel in Ciudad Constitucion.

We stayed at this hotel a few days ago and when we checked in, I was surprised that they had received mail there for us- our first bank statement.

I recently went through all the hoops required to sign up for Banamex online banking and hopefully can figure out if they have an electronic, paperless statement option before the poor hotel "evicts" us permanently for cluttering up their mail box with our bank statements.

I haven't had any problems using a Citibank ATM at Banamex's, or a Bank of America ATM at Scotiabanks for cash without fees (I haven't used the BofA at Santander yet). After we're finished with home construction and won't need to write paychecks and pay big materials bills in pesos, I'll probably close the Banamex checking account and return to using ATM's.

BAJA.DESERT.RAT - 3-20-2010 at 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajafam
We let all of our banks, credit cards, insurance, cell phone providers, etc know we are out of the country, just in case we need to use any or all of the above.

Hola, regarding notifying insurance, i went to member services with kaiser and was told if i am out of the country for more than three months, which i am, my insuranse would be invalidated.

better check with your insurer first.

so far, i don't know if medicare is effective in mexico ? anyone, or should i start a new thread ?

BIEN SALUD, DA RAT

monoloco - 3-20-2010 at 05:52 PM

We had the same problem of no utility bills, we obtained a costancia from the local government vouching for us.

shari - 3-21-2010 at 08:34 AM

friends of ours who opened accounts at Bancomer in Vizcaino...with only a FMT used our utility bill...it doesnt seem to matter who's it is as long as someone the banker knows will vouch for you.
It makes it so easy with online banking to pay for stuff....we pay the hardware store that way too so we dont have to carry cash around. Yes, there is an option to eliminate the paper mail and just get your statements on line.

MitchMan - 3-21-2010 at 10:15 AM

Advice:

Don't open a Mexican bank account just to be able to buy pesos with USD. Not nearly worth the grief for a bunch of reasons.

Open a checking account at Bank of America in the USA and get the B of A debit card that corresponds to the bank account. Put into the checking account only the amount of money that you intend to use in Baja plus a small cushion. Then, when you are in Baja, use the darn B of A debit card at a Santander bank ATM to withdraw your pesos. You will get the best exchange rate with no fees. That's it. Simple.

The only caveat that I can think of is if you are going to places in Baja that do not have a Santander bank.

shari - 3-21-2010 at 11:06 AM

one reason people open a mexican account here is that the telegraph offices in the small villages with no banks...have a little swipe card reader so you can get cash out with either banamex, bancomer or banorte cards...which is really convenient.

Woooosh - 3-21-2010 at 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by shari
one reason people open a mexican account here is that the telegraph offices in the small villages with no banks...have a little swipe card reader so you can get cash out with either banamex, bancomer or banorte cards...which is really convenient.

You can work around that for free. If you have a checking account the BofA "SafeSend" let's you send money to anyone in Mexico for free. They don't need to have a bank account to get the money. When you initiate the "SafeSend" it is converted into pesos by BofA. You get two security codes to phone to your Mexican recipient. They give those two codes to the teller with an ID to pick their money. You can also just SafeSend it to their account if they have one. Same day.

shari - 3-22-2010 at 08:18 AM

woosh...with safesend...does it go to the telegraph office as a western union type wire??...when you say anyone in mexico...but ya still need to go to a bank right? This is the idea of having a mexican bank account here...so you can access money without driving through the land mines of potholes to get to vizcaino to go to a bank for dough.

Timo1 - 3-22-2010 at 08:22 AM

Is there an ATM in BA yet Shari ??

shari - 3-22-2010 at 09:09 AM

nope...which is why its nice to have a mexican bank account so you can withdraw $$$ from the telegraph office card swipe apparatus....same for other small villages that dont have banks but have telegraph offices...comes in handy.

Woooosh - 3-22-2010 at 11:16 AM

Shari- The paying agents for a BofA SafeSend transfer are: Santander, Banorte, Telecomm-Telegrafos and Bansefi/L@Red de la Gente.

Hope that helps.