BajaNomad

WHICH U.S. BANKS ARE AFFILIATED WITH MEXICAN BANKS?

Udo - 2-28-2012 at 06:41 PM

For ease of ATM usage and ease of other money transfers, I am considering opening an account with a new U.S. bank that is affiliated with Mexican banks.
I am sure most expats have asked the same question, however, a 10 minute search on Nomads turned up nothing.

Any help, amigos?

cervezafrio - 2-28-2012 at 06:49 PM

Wells Fargo .. has a relationship with seveal mexiacn banks ...but i have a link to bancomer for easy wire transfers ... small transaction fee and a limit of about $950. per day ..once you are set up every thing can be done on your lap top etc..... it is worth a inquiry ...any body have any other options i also would like to know ....cheap and easy is the requirement ....

Bancomer ?

djh - 2-28-2012 at 06:54 PM

I remember a discussion about this a year or two back....
But I don't remember a US partner bank that would make my BANCOMER banking any easier from NOB.
Any new suggestions on that as well?
Thx., djh

desertcpl - 2-28-2012 at 06:59 PM

I really don't know what you are really asking, but most US banks ( the big ones ) will have relations with Mexican banks

SFandH - 2-28-2012 at 07:07 PM

Bank of America and Banco Santander.

There are no fees when using a BofA ATM card at a Santander bank.

[Edited on 2-29-2012 by SFandH]

gnukid - 2-28-2012 at 07:08 PM

HSBC = Queen of England house of Windsor

castaway$ - 2-28-2012 at 07:12 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SFandH
Bank of America and Santander.

BofA account, then no ATM fees at Santander.

I've used Santander ATMs in baja and on the mainland.
So is there a Santander in Todos Santos?

CortezBlue - 2-28-2012 at 07:14 PM

VVBA is VVBA compass in AZ

Hook - 2-28-2012 at 07:18 PM

As I recall, Citibank and Banamex had some kind of relationship.

I have heard so many horror stories about Bancomer, with respect to bank trusts, insurance and simple bank accounts that you couldnt PAY me to go near one.

Bob and Susan - 2-28-2012 at 07:19 PM

no... all banks in the USA follow the laws of the USA

they ARE NOT the same

don't be fooled that they "have a relationship" with a mexican bank
they dont

bancomer usa is way different from bancomer mexico

transfers cost money... period

desertcpl - 2-28-2012 at 07:28 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Bob and Susan
no... all banks in the USA follow the laws of the USA

they ARE NOT the same

don't be fooled that they "have a relationship" with a mexican bank
they dont

bancomer usa is way different from bancomer mexico

transfers cost money... period




Bob if anybody would know it would be you,, so what would your answer be for the question about the banks

BajaRat - 2-28-2012 at 08:09 PM

Check with Bank of America and their Safe Send product. You can have money wired to locations without opening a Mexican account. I believe it is limited to three transactions and 3000 usd a month.

Credit Union

bajaguy - 2-28-2012 at 08:14 PM

Udo

Find out which Mexican banks are located in your Baja location, then go to a couple of your local (CA) credit unions. Also have your better half check with her employer if they have a preferred credit union or bank NOB.

Check to see if the US banks or credit unions have an electronic funds transfer between themselves and a Mexican bank, or what their ATM fees/limits are when dealing with the Mexican banks.

I prefer to keep my money in my US credit union and just use ATM's when in Baja.

Bajablonde and I both use the same credit union, but have seperate accounts........that way if one account or ATM card screws up, we have the other. And we can transfer funds between each account by our on-line banking.

Also, if you have ever been in the military, check out the full range of services offered by USAA. I have been with them for 34 years.......great service and great products:

https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/our-products-main?wa_ref=pub...



[Edited on 2-29-2012 by bajaguy]

willardguy - 2-28-2012 at 08:15 PM

B of A = santander. zero fees.

Hook - 2-28-2012 at 08:24 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaRat
Check with Bank of America and their Safe Send product. You can have money wired to locations without opening a Mexican account. I believe it is limited to three transactions and 3000 usd a month.


Sounds like an interesting program. I have a B of A account and there is a Santander within about 20 minutes of my house. It would be very convenient to be able to send up to 3k/month to a Mexican bank account, in addition to my max ATM amount per day.

The key will be what kind of exchange rate occurs as the money goes from dollars to pesos. I have been very happy with the exchange rate when using my B of A ATM card at Santanders.

BajaRat - 2-28-2012 at 08:38 PM

Hook I believe the rate is at the time of transfer. You set up an account with Safe Send ( I did mine in a B of A branch) and you can make the transfer dates and amounts from Mexico. Again it is limited to three transactions in a thirty day period and not to exceed 3000 usd total.

Hook - 2-28-2012 at 08:40 PM

We also keep the bulk of our cash in a credit union. But they have no affiliation like the B of A/Santander connection. Fee free and very good exchange rates.

An ATM withdrawal with our credit union card ends up costing us about 9.00 once you figure in the Mexican banks charge and the hideous "international transaction fee" that Visa or MasterCard stick you with. This assumes a maximum withdrawal amount on the ATM.

Yes, some banks like Capital One will absorb this. But they usually get you on the exchange rate.

Neither our credit union nor B of A will do an EFT across national borders. That's why I am curious about this Safe Send program.

Hook - 2-28-2012 at 08:52 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BajaRat
Hook I believe the rate is at the time of transfer. You set up an account with Safe Send ( I did mine in a B of A branch) and you can make the transfer dates and amounts from Mexico. Again it is limited to three transactions in a thirty day period and not to exceed 3000 usd total.


Yeah, but the "official" rates that banks charge can vary dramatically.

Case in point. We have a Banamex account down here that we keep some pesos in so that we can use a Banamex ATM/debit card at business establishments, rather than carrying around lots of cash all the time. To fund it, all we have to do is write a US check and give it to the bank manager in town.

But we noticed that the time interval with respect to when it actually hit our US bank varied tremendously. We also noticed that we were getting an exchange rate about 1.3 pesos below the going rate on XE.com and other online sources. I dont expect to get the XE.com rate but I do expect to get within 0.3 pesos or so. Anyway, we began to get suspicious of this time lag and wondered if somewhere in the equation, someone was delaying our check for a favorable exchange rate. Favorable to THEM, that is.

So, we began to withdraw from Santander ATMs and simply deposit the pesos into the Banamex account as the whole B of A/Santander shuffle was netting us about a peso more per dollar.

But if this Safe Send thing nets us a comparable exchange rate, we'll probably close our Banamex account and open a Santander account, even though it's 20 minutes away and the Banamex is right in our little, uh, pueblo.

[Edited on 2-29-2012 by Hook]

Banamex USA

EnsenadaDr - 2-29-2012 at 07:27 AM

There is a Banamex USA across the border in San Ysidro from Tijuana, my cheap friend told me I believe there isn't any or very little ATM fees in Mex...let me find out and get back to you all.
Quote:
Originally posted by soulpatch
I believe CitiBank bought Bancomer....or is it Banamex... one of the two.
Anyway, Citibank has told me they will transfer money into, if you open an account with them, a account there without a fee.
I've been wrong before, though.

Fernweh - 2-29-2012 at 07:44 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by soulpatch
I believe CitiBank bought Bancomer....or is it Banamex... one of the two.
Anyway, Citibank has told me they will transfer money into, if you open an account with them, a account there without a fee.
I've been wrong before, though.


I opened a Citibank account because of the link with Banamex.
No transfer or ATM fees, you can easily do the transactions online if needed.

Karl

Russ - 2-29-2012 at 07:52 AM

I'm going up next month and will look into BofA's relationship with Bancomer. If I can get some simple facts I'll post them. But simple is not a word that I can relate with banking.

LaPazGringo - 2-29-2012 at 08:13 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Fernweh
I opened a Citibank account because of the link with Banamex.
No transfer or ATM fees, you can easily do the transactions online if needed.

Karl



Sounds just like BofA/Santander. So you just get straight cash withdrawal at Banamex ATM with no cost whatsoever?

El Jefe - 2-29-2012 at 08:18 AM

We've been living for almost 7 years on US credit cards and cash out of the Banamex ATM via our Citibank account. No charges. Pay our bills on line.

Every once in a blue moon we have had a need for a Mexican bank account, but have always been able to work around that.

larryC - 2-29-2012 at 08:29 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by soulpatch
I believe CitiBank bought Bancomer....or is it Banamex... one of the two.
Anyway, Citibank has told me they will transfer money into, if you open an account with them, a account there without a fee.
I've been wrong before, though.


Frank
Lois and I have a citibank account, we also looked into getting pesos from them which they assured us was easy and we would get that days exchange rate. So just out of curiosity I asked what their exchange rate was for that day and they quoted me 13.07p to the dollar, I went home and checked on line and it was 13.95 (this was in late December) Then I check the exchange place at costco chula vista and their rate was 13.30 p to the dollar, so citi's rate was not all that good and it seems their fees were built into the poor rate they give. Anyway check them out before you deal with them
HTH
Larry

SFandH - 2-29-2012 at 08:41 AM

I'm interested in this thread so I did some keyboard work:

Santander Banks in Baja:

BC: http://santander.mapasactivos.com/state_search.asp?suc=1&...

BCS: http://santander.mapasactivos.com/state_search.asp?suc=1&...

You can also use the yellow pages to find banks. For example:

http://www.seccionamarilla.com.mx/Resultados/banco-santander...

Udo - 2-29-2012 at 08:47 AM

This is the type of answer I was looking for:bounce::biggrin:
Quote:
Originally posted by SFandH
Bank of America and Banco Santander.

There are no fees when using a BofA ATM card at a Santander bank.

[Edited on 2-29-2012 by SFandH]


[Edited on 2-29-2012 by Udo]

Udo - 2-29-2012 at 08:51 AM

Thanks Terry...I have a USAA account and loan, and will look for additional options.
I'll have Jana check with her employer's credit union.

Great info...as always.
Quote:
Originally posted by bajaguy
Udo

Find out which Mexican banks are located in your Baja location, then go to a couple of your local (CA) credit unions. Also have your better half check with her employer if they have a preferred credit union or bank NOB.

Check to see if the US banks or credit unions have an electronic funds transfer between themselves and a Mexican bank, or what their ATM fees/limits are when dealing with the Mexican banks.

I prefer to keep my money in my US credit union and just use ATM's when in Baja.

Bajablonde and I both use the same credit union, but have seperate accounts........that way if one account or ATM card screws up, we have the other. And we can transfer funds between each account by our on-line banking.

Also, if you have ever been in the military, check out the full range of services offered by USAA. I have been with them for 34 years.......great service and great products:

https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/our-products-main?wa_ref=pub...



[Edited on 2-29-2012 by bajaguy]

rob - 2-29-2012 at 09:05 AM

I thought Gnukid had finally flipped with his "HSBC = Queen of England house of Windsor", but I must apologize. I am not really into Masonic conspiracies, but it certainly will provide your daily dose of sinister reading.

As a Canadian - I have sworn allegiance to the House of Windsor . . . yikes!

A very shallow Google revealed

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/biggestsecret/biggestsecre...

and

http://republicbroadcasting.org/?p=16396

Hook - 2-29-2012 at 09:15 AM

RFICs, EMEs, RF emissions from cell phones,CIA "rays"...........

This will be the fashion for the latter half of the 21st Century.


capitolkat - 2-29-2012 at 10:38 AM

For about 6 years we have used our Citibank ATM card at Banamex. Banamex is owned by Citibank and we have not been charged any fees for cash withdrawals from our citibank account. We now have been living in La paz for 15 months and have no Mex bank account, and only use our Citibank card.

We find the exhange rates to be comparable to the going rate and without any fees for the transactions we come our ahead.

when I knew we would be living in Mex for most of the year I researched the various options and have all my funds deposited in Citi by direct deposit, I can check Banamex on line for the daily rate before I withdraw funds and it's been painless and and effecient way to manage my money without having to disclose Mexican bank info to the IRS as we have no funds on deposit in Mexico.

when we built our house we used Citibank for fund transfer to our contractor and once it was set up the process was also painless and the funds usually arrived in two business days to my contractor's account.

Norm

Fernweh - 2-29-2012 at 11:05 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by capitolkat
For about 6 years we have used our Citibank ATM card at Banamex. Banamex is owned by Citibank and we have not been charged any fees for cash withdrawals from our citibank account. We now have been living in La paz for 15 months and have no Mex bank account, and only use our Citibank card.

We find the exhange rates to be comparable to the going rate and without any fees for the transactions we come our ahead.

when I knew we would be living in Mex for most of the year I researched the various options and have all my funds deposited in Citi by direct deposit, I can check Banamex on line for the daily rate before I withdraw funds and it's been painless and and effecient way to manage my money without having to disclose Mexican bank info to the IRS as we have no funds on deposit in Mexico.

when we built our house we used Citibank for fund transfer to our contractor and once it was set up the process was also painless and the funds usually arrived in two business days to my contractor's account.

Norm


Thank you Norm for that verification.

I'm planing to move into your neighborhood soon, might be better not to have a separate Banamex account.

Karl

Hook - 2-29-2012 at 12:16 PM

Norm, I take it your contractor had a US account? Or did you just bite the bullet and pay for a wire transfer into his Mexican account?

Other options..

EnsenadaDr - 2-29-2012 at 03:18 PM

This is the answer I got from my friend who has a Banamex USA account: I’m in a special plan for Americans who have retired in Mexico so my account may be different than others. That said, I have a checking account, pay no fees, no minimum balance and no ATM fees at their branches in the U.S. or Banamex ATMs here. If you use another ATM, Bancomer for example, you would pay Bancomer’s fees but no fees on your Banamex card. They have a toll free # in Mexico 01-800-111-1234 so you don’t have to call into the states. Their staff is bilingual. I’ve had this account since 1994 and never a single problem with them. You might want to call and find out more. If you do, as soon as they answer, say ‘representative’ and they’ll connect you with a live person!
Quote:
Originally posted by capitolkat
For about 6 years we have used our Citibank ATM card at Banamex. Banamex is owned by Citibank and we have not been charged any fees for cash withdrawals from our citibank account. We now have been living in La paz for 15 months and have no Mex bank account, and only use our Citibank card.

We find the exhange rates to be comparable to the going rate and without any fees for the transactions we come our ahead.

when I knew we would be living in Mex for most of the year I researched the various options and have all my funds deposited in Citi by direct deposit, I can check Banamex on line for the daily rate before I withdraw funds and it's been painless and and effecient way to manage my money without having to disclose Mexican bank info to the IRS as we have no funds on deposit in Mexico.

when we built our house we used Citibank for fund transfer to our contractor and once it was set up the process was also painless and the funds usually arrived in two business days to my contractor's account.

Norm

Hook - 2-29-2012 at 06:53 PM

There is a Banamex branch in Nogales, Arizona. Someone from San Carlos went in there and asked if they opened an account there, could they then access pesos from their account at Banamex branches in Mexico. Outside of using an ATM, the answer was NO.

In fact, they dont even exchange dollars for pesos or vice versa at that Banamex USA branch that is maybe 1.5 miles from the border.

Bob and Susan - 2-29-2012 at 07:23 PM

i have citibank...they suck

i tried banamex because they were "afiliated" to citibank
lots of fees

bancomer is in mulege...no "real" ties
they are spanish...or something else

i went to bancomer at the border
they have the same name BUT are a different company
lots of fees

did you guys know there are taxesif you deposit too much in a mexican bank

my advice if building...bring a BIG suitcase...and exchange dollars for pesos at the border...its the mexican way

[Edited on 3-1-2012 by Bob and Susan]

MitchMan - 2-29-2012 at 07:58 PM

Banks of foreign countries are not 'affiliated' in an integral way. They can't because different countries have separate sovereignty over their own financial sector, institutions, and banks and accordingly must be maintained separately. They can be 'associated' by allowing small conveniences like ATM withdrawals with or without fees (which is nothing more than a transfer of funds). But, the banking systems must be maintained separately, separate economic entity and separate accounting and subject to separate regulation bytheir respective governments.

An American parent company can own a foreign affiliate, but that foreign affiliate operates in that foreign jurisdiction and location in that foreign country's separate banking system. Things are better that way and more controllable and more accountable.

What's the problem??

EnsenadaDr - 2-29-2012 at 09:44 PM

How else do you want to take money out of a bank in Mexico? Write checks? What's wrong with an ATM that doesn't charge?
Quote:
Originally posted by Hook
There is a Banamex branch in Nogales, Arizona. Someone from San Carlos went in there and asked if they opened an account there, could they then access pesos from their account at Banamex branches in Mexico. Outside of using an ATM, the answer was NO.

In fact, they dont even exchange dollars for pesos or vice versa at that Banamex USA branch that is maybe 1.5 miles from the border.

Bank of America..

EnsenadaDr - 2-29-2012 at 10:03 PM

Bank of America charges through the roof at any other ATM in Mexico...they charged me almost $10 American to take out $5000 pesos...I will have to double check with Santander...I find it hard to believe Bank of A does anything for free...
Quote:
Originally posted by Udo
This is the type of answer I was looking for:bounce::biggrin:


Quote:
Originally posted by SFandH
Bank of America and Banco Santander.

There are no fees when using a BofA ATM card at a Santander bank.

[Edited on 2-29-2012 by SFandH]


[Edited on 2-29-2012 by Udo]

LisaR. - 2-29-2012 at 10:42 PM

I was looking for the same information to avoid ATM fees for an upcoming trip, and here is what I got off the BofA website:

Important Information
ATM fees do not apply at some ATMs located outside the United States. You will not pay a fee when you use ATMs of our Global ATM Alliance partner banks in the following countries:
Barclays (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands)
BNL D'Italia (Italy)
BNP Paribas (France)
Deutsche Bank (Germany)
Scotiabank (Canada and the Caribbean. Caribbean countries include: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles (St Maarten), St Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands)
Westpac (Australia and New Zealand)
Non-participating banks may charge additional fees.
In addition, Bank of America has arranged for you to use your debit or ATM cards in China at China Construction Bank ATMs (China Construction Bank ATMs in Hong Kong are not included) and in Mexico at Banco Santander with no ATM Fee.

SFandH - 3-1-2012 at 07:47 AM

Another good aspect of the B of A and Santander method is that the "eBanking" account type at B of A does not have any monthly fees if you stay within the restrictions. If you use a banking service that is outside the restrictions they charge the full service checking account monthly fee for the month you used the additional service.

I hesitate to promote "too big to fail" B of A, but it's a good deal.


[Edited on 3-1-2012 by SFandH]

schwlind - 3-1-2012 at 10:28 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SFandH
Another good aspect of the B of A and Santander method is that the "eBanking" account type at B of A does not have any monthly fees if you stay within the restrictions. If you use a banking service that is outside the restrictions they charge the full service checking account monthly fee for the month you used the additional service.

I hesitate to promote "too big to fail" B of A, but it's a good deal.


[Edited on 3-1-2012 by SFandH]


Unless anyone has experienced anything different, BofA also has an agreement with ScotiaBank... I upped my daily withdrawal limit and have never been charged any fees for withdrawals at a Scotiabank ATM using my BofA debit card. I usually use the ScotiaBank ATM at the Home Depot shopping center in Ensenada... plenty of parking and easy.

Hook

capitolkat - 3-1-2012 at 04:09 PM

We did pay the transfer fees as our Contractor has an account at Bancomer. Overall it was 10 transfers at $25 each which considering the total cost of construction was minimal and was hassle free, verificable and I could talk to the Citibank rep any time a question arose about the transfer and the curren exchange rate to be applied to the transfer. Unfortuantely most of the money was transferred in 2011 and the rates languished in the 11's and I would have saved $1000's at todays rates.

Banco Santander y B of A

CJ - 3-3-2012 at 08:09 AM

FYI
I've been using my B of A debit card for withdrawals over the last few years with no charge on either end. But a couple of weeks ago when I was making a withdrawal in La Paz at a Santander atm I was notified that I would be charged $22.00 + IVA $3.52 pesos for the transaction. The maximum withdrawal you are allowed from a Santander atm in BCS is $6,000.00 pesos. So I did two transactions to withdraw $12,000.00 pesos; with a charge from Banco Santander of $51.04 pesos. There was NO charge for those transactions from B of A..........CJ :cool:

Hook - 3-3-2012 at 08:34 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by CJ
FYI
I've been using my B of A debit card for withdrawals over the last few years with no charge on either end. But a couple of weeks ago when I was making a withdrawal in La Paz at a Santander atm I was notified that I would be charged $22.00 + IVA $3.52 pesos for the transaction. The maximum withdrawal you are allowed from a Santander atm in BCS is $6,000.00 pesos. So I did two transactions to withdraw $12,000.00 pesos; with a charge from Banco Santander of $51.04 pesos. There was NO charge for those transactions from B of A..........CJ :cool:


Thats very strange. We have done withdrawals since that time using the same card in Guaymas with no charges from Santander.

Was this ATM in La Paz at a Santander branch or was it a Santander machine that was at a business?

cabobaja - 3-3-2012 at 08:57 AM

Just returned from Baja. I have an account with BofA. If I withdrew $$
from Santander ATM, which I did several times, there were no fees from either bank.

Safe Send. I set-up an account with Safe Send. I can authorize Safe Send to wire $$ to Baja via telephone. Up to $3000US per month. There is no charge on either end. Can wire thru Safe send only twice per month.

Sweetwater - 3-3-2012 at 09:41 AM

Just finished a moto trip through Baja norte and sur last week. My USBank ATM Visa gave me a 12.4 exchange rate on two withdrawals from both Bancomer and Banamex including any fees. My VISA charges through USBank gave me a rate of 12.37 including the fees.

I'm not sure how I could have done better and I'm quite satisfied with both methods of currency conversion. BTW, the "official" exchange rate averaged between 12.3 and 12.8 for the two weeks of this trip.

CJ - 3-4-2012 at 08:32 AM

Hook
I was charged a commission for using the atm at the machine in the Santander branch in Ciudad Constitucion and the same commission at an atm inside the Chedraui [old CCC store] ion La Paz. When you insert your card it tells you that you will be charged a commission. If you don't ok it you can't make the transaction. Until a month or so ago this was never an issue.

Hook - 3-4-2012 at 08:38 AM

Yeah, I see that screen. It has always indicated 0.00 as the charge.

Going in this week. I will try it out at the Santander branch. If the fees apply, it would seem to indicate that B of A or Santander has exited the Global ATM Alliance.