BajaNomad

Bank Preference

aburruss - 11-11-2020 at 04:36 PM

Hey all.. Looking to see people's thoughts for the best bank to get an ATM/credit card from. I'm trying to help my uncle who has a mexican corporation. This is a business account.

Most important items:

  1. Highly functional & easy to use app
  2. Ease of transferring funds in/out.
  3. Debit/Credit card accepted most places (obviously I know that you're going to have places that don't accept ANY cards).
  4. ATM availability


Is there anything else important I need to be looking at? His account is currently with BBVA, but is being advised (by someone??) to switch to Banamex. Thoughts? Opinions?

bajafreaks - 11-11-2020 at 05:16 PM

Have you looked into Intercam ?

bajatrailrider - 11-11-2020 at 06:11 PM

I can only say this in ensenada the lines so long. I switched to Santander never been more happy. They don't give good rate on dollar exchange. Moving money from my american bank . The pesos are exchanged in USA. Then sent at hi exchanged rate to my mex bank . Over 5 grand no wire fee.

JZ - 11-11-2020 at 07:31 PM

What city(s) will he be in the most?





[Edited on 11-12-2020 by JZ]

aburruss - 11-11-2020 at 07:44 PM

Quote: Originally posted by JZ  
What city(s) will he be in the most?

[Edited on 11-12-2020 by JZ]


Baja Sur, primarily. Loreto, Constitución, La Paz.

bajalinda - 11-11-2020 at 07:55 PM

When we ask Mexican friends this question, they say "oh, they are all the same".

We went through this exercise a couple of years ago in La Paz because we were not happy with Bancomer. We compared 3 or 4 different banks and as it turned out, we are still at Bancomer (and Intercam) because we decided to stay with the devil we know rather than one we don't know. Santander was strongly recommended by an acquaintance, but their minimum balance and other charges/fees were quite a bit higher than Bancomer for a business account - so your uncle might want to check that out too. .

We have not switched over to Intercam completely because there is just one office in La Paz and no ATMs around town. But we like them because they are small and personal and we can contact "our gal" there by phone or email and she responds promptly (good luck with that at Bancomer).
Hope that helps.

pacificobob - 11-13-2020 at 08:16 AM

as baja linda stated...they all are about the same. in my experience none of them seem to be better than the rest.

twogringos - 11-13-2020 at 09:23 AM

Switched from Banamex to Santander and couldn't be happier.

gnukid - 11-13-2020 at 09:39 AM

Combine USA Schwab with a USA Visa that refunds intl charges to reduce fees and maximize exchange. Alaska Airlines Visa has been good and includes some reward benefits for travel.

JZ - 11-14-2020 at 08:35 AM

Quote: Originally posted by aburruss  
Quote: Originally posted by JZ  
What city(s) will he be in the most?

[Edited on 11-12-2020 by JZ]


Baja Sur, primarily. Loreto, Constitución, La Paz.


Loreto and Constitucion are pretty limited on banks. Both have BBVA Bancomer and Azteca. Constitucion has Santander, but Loreto does not.

BBVA has a bunch of ATMs at the Loreto branch and will have a lot more locations overall. There are 5 BBVA locations in La Paz.



[Edited on 11-14-2020 by JZ]

BajaTed - 11-14-2020 at 09:34 AM

Two trusts since 1974 with Santader
They are also a Ferrari F1 sponsor :biggrin: Scudderia Ferrari

aburruss - 11-14-2020 at 01:13 PM

I've heard a rumor that BBVA requires you to have some sort of 2-factor "card" that generates numbers for you for a PIN, etc. is this correct? If you don't have this card, you can't get $$?

Also, in the US, you can pretty much use any ATM, but you might get charged a fee if it's not from your own bank. Is this the case in Baja too? or would an ATM that's not from your bank simply not work for you?

I'm pretty spoiled (as a tech-type) on mobile APP functionality for my bank. Does anyone have any comments about BBVA/Banamex/Intercam /Santander from that perspective?

Don Pisto - 11-14-2020 at 01:30 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaTed  
Two trusts since 1974 with Santader
They are also a Ferrari F1 sponsor :biggrin: Scudderia Ferrari


Santander pulled the plug on Ferrari (and F1) a couple years ago....maybe Gene should do the same!:rolleyes:

surabi - 11-14-2020 at 05:10 PM

Quote: Originally posted by aburruss  
I've heard a rumor that BBVA requires you to have some sort of 2-factor "card" that generates numbers for you for a PIN, etc. is this correct? If you don't have this card, you can't get $$?

Also, in the US, you can pretty much use any ATM, but you might get charged a fee if it's not from your own bank. Is this the case in Baja too? or would an ATM that's not from your bank simply not work for you?

I'm pretty spoiled (as a tech-type) on mobile APP functionality for my bank. Does anyone have any comments about BBVA/Banamex/Intercam /Santander from that perspective?


The regular debit card is all that's needed for withdrawing funds from the ATMs, the tellers, or in-store purchases. To use their online banking they give you what they call a "token" -a little device which generates a code you have to enter after you enter your card number and password. If you are doing a bank transfer through online banking, to another account, it will ask you to input a code from that token again at some point in that process.

It isn't at all difficult, but I know a couple people who got caught out by not having that token, therefore couldn't access their online banking. One brought it with him on his trip back to Canada, and managed to lose it on the trip, the other had the token cease to work while she was in the US- they have a battery in them which isn't replaceable-it's a sealed unit- you have to go into a BBVA bank branch to get a new one when they finally die.

If you want to pay for merchandise online, you have to use their mobile "wallet" app, which I really don't have info about, as I don't use it. The fact that they use facial recognition is too big-brother privacy-invasive for me.

[Edited on 11-15-2020 by surabi]

[Edited on 11-15-2020 by surabi]

bajalinda - 11-14-2020 at 08:33 PM

Ditto what surabi says about the BBVA "token". Intercam also has one that you must have and use in order to access online banking. It's just an extra security step and pretty easy to use.

You can use the BBVA debit card at other bank ATMs but you will be charged a fee - much as in the US.

BajaBlanca - 11-16-2020 at 08:07 PM

OMGosh, I hated that token when I had to use it!