nobaddays
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Mexican Bank preference
I have to switch my bank account in Cabo from HSBC to one of the others. What are your thoughts on the different banks?
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Udo
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Depends on which US bank you have your US funds in.
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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Hook
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We have a basic Banamex account, simply because it is the only branch in the town I live in. We keep above the 4000 peso minimum to avoid fees. No
complaints.
However, I do not fund the account electronically as it is too expensive. Instead, I withdraw pesos from a Santander Bank in a town about 20 minutes
away and do a cash deposit at the window at Banamex. This tends to save about a peso per dollar. We simply hit Santander on a day when we have other
errands in that town, so there is no added fuel expense.
Santander has an arrangement with B of A in the States that allows for no-fee ATM withdrawals and very good exchange rates. The exchange rate is only
about 0.1 peso less than what is quoted on xe.com at any given time.
We keep around the minimum in the B of A account to avoid charges. It is funded electronically via EFT from my credit union. That is free. There is a
per day limit but it is pretty high. I think it's 3k dollars.
So, EFT from credit union to B of A, as needed. Withdrawal from Santander ATM that debits the B of A account directly (we do not have a Santander
account). Bicycle the cash to the Banamex account, as needed. That's the Santander Shuffle, as we call it.
We really only keep the Banamex account because we can use their debit card/ATM to make purchases at retailers, the marina fuel pump and the marina
office. Those last two can sometimes be bills of a few thousand pesos; more than we want to jockey around with. It also gives us an ATM in town for
when we need cash, rather than driving 20 minutes into the heart of a city of about 100k.
If there was a Santander in town, we would switch, no question. We've heard nothing but good things from people who have accounts with them. They are
not as prevalent as Banamex over here; no bank is. But we do hear nagging service-related complaints about Banamex that we have not experienced.
Mostly teller related stuff that probably could occur anywhere.
I hear the most complaints about Bancomer. Banorte, not so much.
Scotia Bank is supposed to have the same arrangement with B of A that Santander has, with regards to no fee ATMs. But Scotia is not THAT prevalent in
Mexico, although there is probably one in any town over 100k population. No knowledge of their level of service.
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skipowell
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We have a Banamex account and have had no problems. Our US bank is Citibank so we can use Banamex with no fees. We have had good luck finding
Banamex ATMs everywhere in Mexico. We to like using the Banamex debit card rather than carrying large amounts of cash.
Previously we used Santamar as our US bank was B of A, but often could not find ATM's when traveling. Then one day when flying on American Airlines
we picked up a paper that gave us 50,000 miles to open an account with Citibank. That was enough miles to go to Hawaii. So we did it and no regrets,
even switched our credit card to them so we continue to accumulate miles. They wave all credit card fees if you keep a certain bank balance. Win win
situation for us.
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bajajudy
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We have been with Scotia for several years and have no complaints except they only allow 3000mn withdrawals.
Dont know anything about their affiliation with US banks.
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Udo
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Just as a point of reference...
Our US bank is Citibank, and therefore we reciprocate with Banamex.
This just works in our situation, and we like the lack of excessive fees in withdrawing money.
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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Hook
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Location: Sonora
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Udo
Just as a point of reference...
Our US bank is Citibank, and therefore we reciprocate with Banamex.
This just works in our situation, and we like the lack of excessive fees in withdrawing money. |
Fees are only one way "they" can get you. Have you compared their exchange rates with the prevailing rates?
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Leo
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Scotia is affiliated with B of A. no withdrawel fee. And has branches in Cabo,SJD, LAP and Ensenada. Maybe more, but I am not aware of. The hight of
withdrawal depends on your personal arrangement with the bank.
The grass is always greener....
and so, there is always a better spot in Baja
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