Possible problems using ATM's in Mexico

The only ATM machine I trust is one is one in an actual bank lobby,
do not trust Atm's on the streets, they have gotten me a couple of times.

The best thing is open an account here in the U.S. @ HNBC Bank, or CITI Bank

and then you are guaranteed safe. and the best thin is no ATM fees.

Hope this might Help Someone.

I did research this with my bank and although they say they have strategic partners there I wonder just how that works.

I would be interested to hear if anyone using their Schwab debit card is experiencing any difficulties?

It's been such a great option for ATM withdrawals (with fees rebated) around the world.

I have had a minor problem using my BoA card at their affiliate Scotia atm in MX. I have received the same message as you, travellight. But, I have been persistent and inserted the card, sometimes up to 5x before it is accepted. I attributed the.problem to system overload and being unable to transmit /verify chip data.

BoA has an affiliate in MX, Scotia bank. HSBC gives awful exchange rates. BoA /Scotia has no fees other than BoA 3% Int'l foreign transaction fee. Their exchange rate always matches the Forex realtime rate within a few centavos

First Last wrote:

I have had a minor problem using my BoA card at their affiliate Scotia atm in MX. I have received the same message as you, travellight. But, I have been persistent and inserted the card, sometimes up to 5x before it is accepted. I attributed the.problem to system overload and being unable to transmit /verify chip data.

I talked with my bank and the issue is sort of selective blackouts. They can read your card just fine it's that they don't have the bandwidth to complete the transaction. My bank suggested that I get out of that quad and try a different ATM.
That is working so far, but as some of us know there is a "great reset" agenda which involves eliminating cash. That is probably difficult in Mexico, but Sweden and or Switzerland  has switched successfully to only cards for all transactions.

Cashless in MX. Not in our life time. The MX economy, infra structure and banking system is not capable of going to a cashless society.

OceanBeach92107 wrote:

I would be interested to hear if anyone using their Schwab debit card is experiencing any difficulties?

It's been such a great option for ATM withdrawals (with fees rebated) around the world.

My friend who was here for nearly 3 months and used her Schwab card successfully. April through mid June this year.

What about using an ATM in major hotels?  Would you feel that those are safe to use?

This may be a clueless questions but, when you refer to withdrawing from your US bank accounts are you meaning you are withdrawing USD and then exchanging to Pesos?  Or, are you using USD for general living expenses in Mexico?  Where do you feel the best exchange rates from either USD or Canadian to pesos?

heather38 wrote:

This may be a clueless questions but, when you refer to withdrawing from your US bank accounts are you meaning you are withdrawing USD and then exchanging to Pesos?  Or, are you using USD for general living expenses in Mexico?  Where do you feel the best exchange rates from either USD or Canadian to pesos?

withdrawing US converted to pesos.
As first last says Mexico is very unlikely to be pushed into card use. But there have been transaction issues where sections of some cities can't complete the transaction in  ATMs in that section.so you have to look for another. Even he said his card was rejected in an account he has and he just kept trying. That shouldn't happen. So far if you have a US affiliated bank in Mexico your card will probably work there for the most part.   It seems one good bet might be Swab for the time being. But given their ties to the stock market I wouldn't put all my eggs in that basket long term. Its time to carefully hedge our bets.

heather38 wrote:

What about using an ATM in major hotels?  Would you feel that those are safe to use?

Its more of an issue about not getting the transaction than safety, and hotels are usually ok if the ATM in a publicly visible site like the front desk area. a local bank ATM would be even safer.

I have been using my Schwab debit card here in San Cristobol de las Casas, Chiapas without problems since January, and before that in San Miguel de Allende.

heather38 wrote:

Where do you feel the best exchange rates from either USD or Canadian to pesos?

Different people will tell you where they have the best exchange rate for cash in their local neighborhood.

When I'm going from San Diego to Rosarito, there is one cambio exchange kiosk at the border where they actually consistently give you a centavo or two more than the current exchange rate.

Usually an expat will be withdrawing pesos from an ATM and the exchange rate fee will be included in that transaction, and is usually set by your foreign bank from which you are withdrawing the funds in Mexico, and any intermediary involved (such as Visa®).

Or the expat will have a bank account in Mexico and the exchange rate for any funds that they transfer in from outside Mexico will be handled at the time of that wire transfer, as the funds are converted to pesos.

(Someone else can comment on their experience with direct deposit of a pension, etc from a foreign bank to a Mexican Bank)

I admit I don't know if there are US dollar accounts in Mexico, but in other countries if you wire in your foreign currency into a matching foreign currency account, then you usually pay the exchange rate when you withdraw in local currency from your foreign currency account

In that case you would maybe also pay a small additional transaction fee for depositing the money into the foreign currency account.

It will always be easy for you to pull up the current exchange rate on a smartphone.

Just Google:

1 CAD to MEX

or

1 USD to MEX

You will get results that allow you to see the current rate as well as daily, 5-day, 1 month, 1 year, 5 year and max timeline trends, such as this:



and this...



Having said all this, in my world travels I have found that Charles Schwab Bank is the best option for me, especially since they rebate all ATM fees worldwide at the end of the month and their exchange rate is consistently almost exactly the current market exchange rate.

So no wire transfer fees and no local exchange fees at a local bank in a foreign country.

In some countries the ATM fee is not a set fee but actually a percentage fee of what you withdraw, similar to what you would pay if you walked into the bank with a credit card and needed a cash advance.

With Schwab I can simply ignore whatever fee they are charging me for the withdrawal because that will be rebated.

That does not apply to fees for balance inquiries or even a special fee to print a receipt, so I do have to be careful not to accept either one of those options.

Finally, most of the long-term expats I know have at least two foreign currency accounts.

In my case I have one with Schwab and one with US Bank.

Nobody wants to be in the position where they have lost their card, or the card malfunctions, and they have no access to any other cash funds, no matter how quickly financial institutions such as Schwab are able to get a new card to you.

Hope this helps.

Victor Munoz50 wrote:

I have been using my Schwab debit card here in San Cristobol de las Casas, Chiapas without problems since January, and before that in San Miguel de Allende.

This is a very recent development Victor I didn't have any problems at all for 10 years. So be watchful.

Just a quick addendum:

Here in Rosarito, I've discovered that the Santander ATM in one store*** not only allows me to withdraw the largest sum at one time (9000 pesos) but it also allows repeat withdrawals up to the limit set by my bank, with an ATM fee of less than 21 pesos per withdrawal.

Also there's usually no line waiting at that ATM, while their kiosk down the street often has six or seven people waiting to use the ATM

So I was recently able to withdraw three times 9000 pesos during one visit to the ATM for a total of 27,000 pesos.

As I mentioned before, using my Schwab ATM card, those ATM fees are rebated to me at the end of the month.

Caution though: Prior to dispensing your money the machine will offer you their own conversion rate.

In order to get the conversion rate your own bank uses you must reject their conversion rate.

I have heard some stories of people rejecting the conversion rate offered by an ATM and having the ATM stop the transaction and return their card to them.

I have a sense that this may have to do with the type of card used and not because that machine automatically doesn't allow anyone to reject the conversion rate.

I think it's more likely to happen on credit card advances.

But that part is just a SWAG...

***If you want to know the name of the store, please send me a private message

Hi Heather,

In my experience, strategic bank partners could mean lower ATM transaction or bank wire fees. It doesn't mean that the accounts can be linked.