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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
Member Is Offline
Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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Works out to be higher?
Damn! Now I have to run around to all the ATM's I've been using and return all that money! Swine-made-in-china-Hewlett Packard HP 20s scientific
calculator anyway!
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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rts551
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6700
Registered: 9-5-2003
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by LaPazGringo
Okay, today I pulled $500 off mine and my wife's BofA debit card at Santander and they gave me a 13.22:1 exchange rate! Makes no sense at all. That's
higher than the published rate! |
I usually use my debit card to get pesos....
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greta-inbaja
Nomad
Posts: 132
Registered: 7-19-2006
Location: Truckee, CA
Member Is Offline
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Hi,
I have an hsbc online account. I'm sure if I have a problem it will be a pain in the a. but no problems in about 5 yrs. I transfer $$ from one of my
regular checking accounts, take 3 days, when I w/draw pesos in mex the receipt shows all the generic charges, when i check my statement there are no
fees. The atm in san jose behind mega gives a choice of dollars or pesos. I always take pesos. It is all online. So as long as you are comfortable
with that it has been great.
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Iflyfish
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3747
Registered: 10-17-2006
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by greta-inbaja
Hi,
I have an hsbc online account. I'm sure if I have a problem it will be a pain in the a. but no problems in about 5 yrs. I transfer $$ from one of my
regular checking accounts, take 3 days, when I w/draw pesos in mex the receipt shows all the generic charges, when i check my statement there are no
fees. The atm in san jose behind mega gives a choice of dollars or pesos. I always take pesos. It is all online. So as long as you are comfortable
with that it has been great. |
Thank you for your thoughtful and helpful post. I was looking at their site today and it is great to hear from someone who is actually using their
service. I will explore further.
Iflyfish
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Iflyfish
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3747
Registered: 10-17-2006
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by LaPazGringo
| Quote: | Originally posted by msteve1014
My credit union charges nothing to use an atm card most anywhere in the word. I still pay the 15 or 17 peso fee to Bancomer or whoever, but not the 5
bucks that Wells Fargo was getting on top of that. |
Yeah, and it's the same with a PayPal debit card. You can use it at any ATM and only pay the ATM fee. Straight exchange rate and no international
fees. They have a $400 daily limit but it's super convenient and only costs 17-22 pesos. |
Thank you for this very helpful post. I have purchased with PayPal but have not considered them as a banking resource. Very interesting, very, very
interesting.
Iflyfish
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Iflyfish
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3747
Registered: 10-17-2006
Member Is Offline
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This from Sovereign/Santander:
Thank you for your recent email. Currently, Sovereign and Santander are functioning as separate banks and Sovereign accounts are not accessible in
Santander's branches. In addition, all of Sovereign’s branches are located in the following eight states:
Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
So, in order to withdraw funds from a Sovereign Bank account while in Mexico, you would need to use a non-Sovereign ATM. If you use your Sovereign
Debit Card to initiate an ATM withdrawal or purchase outside the United States you are subject to the following fees:
• A $6.00 International ATM transaction fee.
• Up to 4% as of March 1, 2012 of the amount in U.S. dollars of any transaction made in foreign currency using a Sovereign ATM or Sovereign Debit
Card.
The above fees apply to transactions conducted at an ATM, at a point-of-sale, or via telephone, fax or internet.
Iflyfish
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LaPazGringo
Nomad
Posts: 237
Registered: 2-28-2012
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by greta-inbaja
Hi,
I have an hsbc online account. I'm sure if I have a problem it will be a pain in the a. but no problems in about 5 yrs. I transfer $$ from one of my
regular checking accounts, take 3 days, when I w/draw pesos in mex the receipt shows all the generic charges, when i check my statement there are no
fees. The atm in san jose behind mega gives a choice of dollars or pesos. I always take pesos. It is all online. So as long as you are comfortable
with that it has been great. |
Yeah, HSBC claims to be the only bank that is able to "talk" to your American account with literally zero fees. But when I met with them in LA, they
told me I had to have $100k balance or pay $50 a month to get the fee-free ATM withdrawals. So it boils down to doing the math and I didn't want to be
caught down here for a year with an account accruing $50/month charges.
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9011
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
Member Is Offline
Mood: Inquisitive
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| Quote: | Originally posted by LaPazGringo
Okay, today I pulled $500 off mine and my wife's BofA debit card at Santander and they gave me a 13.22:1 exchange rate! Makes no sense at all. That's
higher than the published rate! |
What IS this published rate you keep referring to? What site are you using?
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LaPazGringo
Nomad
Posts: 237
Registered: 2-28-2012
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Hook
| Quote: | Originally posted by LaPazGringo
Okay, today I pulled $500 off mine and my wife's BofA debit card at Santander and they gave me a 13.22:1 exchange rate! Makes no sense at all. That's
higher than the published rate! |
What IS this published rate you keep referring to? What site are you using? |
I Google "usd to pesos exchange rate" which posts the current forex rate for the day.
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9011
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
Member Is Offline
Mood: Inquisitive
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OK. I'm pretty sure that's the rates quoted on xe.com.
I think maybe the reason you got a higher rate than the published rate is because B of A probably sets a rate for the entire DAY, while the FOREX
quote is real time (or pretty close). The B of A rate was set at the beginning of the day and the dollar lost value leading up to the quote you got.
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LaPazGringo
Nomad
Posts: 237
Registered: 2-28-2012
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Hook
OK. I'm pretty sure that's the rates quoted on xe.com.
I think maybe the reason you got a higher rate than the published rate is because B of A probably sets a rate for the entire DAY, while the FOREX
quote is real time (or pretty close). The B of A rate was set at the beginning of the day and the dollar lost value leading up to the quote you got.
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It pretty much has to be some fluctuation in the value of the dollar vs. peso to explain that. Which also may completely disprove my theory that BofA
was keeping .25 for themselves. I hope I was wrong about that and will report back with more findings.
I also spoke with a gringo whose been down here 7 yrs and he told me briefly that it's not a good idea to use a local bank account to pull pesos out
but didn't have time to explain more. Will let you know what he says.
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rts551
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6700
Registered: 9-5-2003
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by LaPazGringo
| Quote: | Originally posted by Hook
| Quote: | Originally posted by LaPazGringo
Okay, today I pulled $500 off mine and my wife's BofA debit card at Santander and they gave me a 13.22:1 exchange rate! Makes no sense at all. That's
higher than the published rate! |
What IS this published rate you keep referring to? What site are you using? |
I Google "usd to pesos exchange rate" which posts the current forex rate for the day. |
Did you use the ATM or the counter?
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LaPazGringo
Nomad
Posts: 237
Registered: 2-28-2012
Location: La Paz
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by rts551
| Quote: | Originally posted by LaPazGringo
| Quote: | Originally posted by Hook
| Quote: | Originally posted by LaPazGringo
Okay, today I pulled $500 off mine and my wife's BofA debit card at Santander and they gave me a 13.22:1 exchange rate! Makes no sense at all. That's
higher than the published rate! |
What IS this published rate you keep referring to? What site are you using? |
I Google "usd to pesos exchange rate" which posts the current forex rate for the day. |
Did you use the ATM or the counter? |
ATM. Tellers take forever, ask for a passport and act like you're trying to rob the national treasury.
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