Another Currency Exchange Question

[BrewingDiver]

Going to Coz in mid-April. I am trying to decide how much local currency (pesos) to bring along and how much to get from the ATM there. I am looking for the best deal, based on this specific information:

Went to my bank today to inquire about buying some pesos. Today the cost was $7.73 per 100 pesos, or roughly 12.936p per USD. Yahoo Finance is showing $7.05, or 14.1785. So you see that the bank is doing pretty well for themselves if these are selling.

Obviously the rate will change before I go, but I am wondering what the ATMs or exchanges in Coz are giving today, as to how they compare to my banks, and the Yahoo page. Maybe a false assumption, but I am hoping that the relativity holds. BTW this assumes no other commission cost.

I expect that in Coz the rate is somewhere between the two I show above, but if anyone is there now and can confirm, that would be very much appreciated.

Bob

 

[ggunn]

Going to Coz in mid-April. I am trying to decide how much local currency (pesos) to bring along and how much to get from the ATM there. I am looking for the best deal, based on this specific information:

Went to my bank today to inquire about buying some pesos. Today the cost was $7.73 per 100 pesos, or roughly 12.936p per USD. Yahoo Finance is showing $7.05, or 14.1785. So you see that the bank is doing pretty well for themselves if these are selling.

Obviously the rate will change before I go, but I am wondering what the ATMs or exchanges in Coz are giving today, as to how they compare to my banks, and the Yahoo page. Maybe a false assumption, but I am hoping that the relativity holds. BTW this assumes no other commission cost.

I expect that in Coz the rate is somewhere between the two I show above, but if anyone is there now and can confirm, that would be very much appreciated.

Bob

FWIW, I see no reason to buy pesos in the States.

 

[Christi]

There is no reason at all to buy pesos in the states before you come down...especially in advance.

1. The exchange rate is fluctuating every single day. It's gone from 14.6 on the street here to 13.3 in less than a week...and then went back up again.
2. You can use USD or pesos anywhere in Cozumel.
3. There are ATM machines in the airport, so if you need pesos immediately, get them in the airport from the ATM...you won't get a better rate than that.
4. There are ATM machines all over the island, so you can get cash as you need it so you don't end up with a bunch of pesos you can't use.
   
   
   Hope this helps
   

Going to Coz in mid-April. I am trying to decide how much local currency (pesos) to bring along and how much to get from the ATM there. I am looking for the best deal, based on this specific information:

Went to my bank today to inquire about buying some pesos. Today the cost was $7.73 per 100 pesos, or roughly 12.936p per USD. Yahoo Finance is showing $7.05, or 14.1785. So you see that the bank is doing pretty well for themselves if these are selling.

Obviously the rate will change before I go, but I am wondering what the ATMs or exchanges in Coz are giving today, as to how they compare to my banks, and the Yahoo page. Maybe a false assumption, but I am hoping that the relativity holds. BTW this assumes no other commission cost.

I expect that in Coz the rate is somewhere between the two I show above, but if anyone is there now and can confirm, that would be very much appreciated.

Bob

 

[Wiilldd1]

I am not sure on your bank, but when I do the ATM i get the current published Peso rate. This seems to be better for me than trying to exchange. My bank does charge 5.00 US for the service though, but I get up to the max that I can withdrawl so it does not seem to bad.
Some places still try to convert 10 pesos to 1 dollar when trying to buy something, this is why I like to use pesos.

Just my 2 pesos worth!

 

[stortecky]

if you are using debit card that has a visa or MasterCard logo on it the rate will be that days spot rate, or the rate that you are seeing on yahoo. Your bank might charge you a transaction rate. My bank charges 1% but I only took out my spending money so you do not need that much. But the ATM charges a fee like most if it is not your bank. But regardless I think you are better off using Pesos then dollars if you are planning to eat out every night. AS mentioned above you can get exchange rates as low as 10:1.

 

[MMM]

Get enough to pay you ferry or taxi charges (depending on where you are arriving), tips etc. Then you can withdraw from ATMs at will as necessary. I usually arrive with about $1000 pesos or so.

 

[Sue Sue]

And..just an extra tip....DH and I take a small amount of US cash , small bills, to COZ to basically have on hand upon returning home for misc. spending enroute back to the house. When in COZ, we then just use ATM for peso as needed. We also keep around 500 peso seed money from one trip to the next just to get us through the airport for shuttle fare and misc. expenses. It is not necessary however as USD is also taken, we just like to use peso.

 

[BrewingDiver]

Get enough to pay you ferry or taxi charges (depending on where you are arriving), tips etc. Then you can withdraw from ATMs at will as necessary. I usually arrive with about $1000 pesos or so.

I should have mentioned, that was my intent, just enough for the first day or two. Maybe the airport shuttle to Blue Angel, cab to the grocery store for beer and snacks, dinner, and tips as applicable. Savings vs. USD in that case would be pretty small since we are not talking big money. After that, all ATMs either way.


The other times we've been to Coz the rate was about 11:1, so pretty much 10:1 everywhere was what I was given, so I didn't bother to exchange.

Interesting, Christi, that the airport ATM is as good as anywhere. That is unusual unless they have a commission charge. Maybe I will just use that one.

 

[Christi]

I should have mentioned, that was my intent, just enough for the first day or two. Maybe the airport shuttle to Blue Angel, cab to the grocery store for beer and snacks, dinner, and tips as applicable. Savings vs. USD in that case would be pretty small since we are not talking big money. After that, all ATMs either way.


The other times we've been to Coz the rate was about 11:1, so pretty much 10:1 everywhere was what I was given, so I didn't bother to exchange.

Interesting, Christi, that the airport ATM is as good as anywhere. That is unusual unless they have a commission charge. Maybe I will just use that one.

ATM's are ATM's...your bank is always the one doing the conversion.

The only fees to worry about are the same as with any ATM....the transaction fees imposed by the MX banks are 7 to 15 pesos per transaction....your bank may however charge you a transaction fee up to $5 - but they'll do that regardless of the ATM machine unless it's their machine - so airport or not, they're all the same really.

 

[RonFrank]

When I went, I took cash. I took travelers checks to pay the hotel and dive OP, I think. Maybe I paid one or the other with Visa in advanced. Regardless, I just brought what I thought I would need in USD cash.

Most businesses in Coz take US currency. Make sure the bills are NOT RIPPED. They will not take ripped bills.

Many businesses in Coz also take credit cards, however I've read some funky things about exchange rates and fees on credit cards, so I stayed away from using them.

Some places in Coz will take USD currency, but give return change in pesos. This makes things difficult because one has to wonder if you are getting ripped off! But most places give change from USD in USD.

I tipped in US currency as well on the dive boat. The captain and guides did not have any issue with that whatsoever. Why would they as most of the island accepts that currency.

Exchange rates change constantly, so why deal with them. Just take US, and it works. Most in town restaurants list pricing in USD, so it's almost like being in the US.