ATM Exchange Rate

[deepsea21]

I have been using the ATM's in the Palacio Municipale across the street from the Palace for many years, as recently as this past May, and I have never seen what you guys are talking about.

Apparently this is something new that started showing up in April and is spreading through the various banks.

 

[ScubaBird]

I can confirm that this is the case for HSBC at Mega. I won’t repost a screenshot since it basically matches the one already posted. I selected “decline” the conversion expecting the card to be spit out so I could move on to another machine. The ATM instead gave me my pesos. When I checked the bank this morning, it had used the correct currency conversion instead of the “offered” conversion. I figure my decline saved me just under $50. Beware.

 

[gopbroek]

Used the ATM at Santander on 3rd and 10th it offered a very bad rate @ $18.3MXN / 1 USD which matches the cambio rates. The current Oanda exchange rate is 19.5 so they were charging an extra 6.5% in addition to the ATM charge. This is a garbage rate and I declined. It spit out my card, so much for Santander. Is anyone aware of a bank that is not forcing this BS?

 

[DandyDon]

Used the ATM at Santander on 3rd and 10th it offered a very bad rate @ $18.3MXN / 1 USD which matches the cambio rates. The current Oanda exchange rate is 19.5 so they were charging an extra 6.5% in addition to the ATM charge. This is a garbage rate and I declined. It spit out my card, so much for Santander. Is anyone aware of a bank that is not forcing this BS?

Did the screen look like this?

 

[WetInPortland]

Used the ATM at Santander on 3rd and 10th it offered a very bad rate @ $18.3MXN / 1 USD which matches the cambio rates. The current Oanda exchange rate is 19.5 so they were charging an extra 6.5% in addition to the ATM charge. This is a garbage rate and I declined. It spit out my card, so much for Santander. Is anyone aware of a bank that is not forcing this BS?

Damn!! I use that one frequently, in fact, maybe a little over a week ago, and I could decline the "conversion convenience" screen, and it processed my transaction the old way (Schwab debit card). You might try another card, but I think all the bank ATMs are going this route. I wonder if something changed at the first of the month?

The easiest way to test would be at Mega or Chedraui - all the major banks have ATMs there, and I trust that they are well used and well monitored enough that there's very little chance of encountering a skimmer. It also gives you a chance to compare fees, if that's a concern. You could try CIBanco, which actually has lower fees, but the locations aren't as convenient. There's one on the east side of 30th around 7th, I think. There's also RED (Azteca) at Electra.

 

[gopbroek]

Did the screen look like this?

View attachment 532896

Yes

 

[DandyDon]

Yes

Then you should have been able to Decline that rate, then proceed with the right rate. But it kicked your card back when you Declined, or did you bail?

 

[gopbroek]

Declined and it spitted out the card. This morning I walked up to the HSBC bank bank off the square. Again it offered the Cambio rate of 18.3 / dollar and I declined it but it did spit out the 6K MXN. The ATM charge at HSBC is 63.80 MXN but Schwab refunds that. Checked my Schwab account and they exchanged it @ 19.27 MXN to the dollar.

Downside was it was all 500's but I can live with that.

Please update the status of other Banks in anyone has recent knowledge.

 

[Christi]

I usually withdraw from Santander ATMs, as their fees are relatively low and they give a good variety of denominations. Recently an extra screen appeared asking if I wanted to do a currency conversion to dollars. As far as I'm concerned, this is a scam. They convert the pesos requested to a USD amount at a less favorable exchange rate. The screen doesn't make it clear, but you can (and should!) decline the option and the transaction will be processed the old way at the inter-bank exchange rate.

THIS - the new screen has been popping up at many banks. Banamex has started limiting withdrawals. I have for as long as I can remember, withdrawn money almost daily from my PayPal account to deposit into my Banamex account to cover operating expenses. As of a few months ago, I can withdraw $7000 pesos a week.

At Santander, we just decline the exchange rate screen as WIP said above. I have noticed though that the rate is not favorable.

 

[DFDubb]

This is actually not a new scam, it's been going on in Europe for quite some time. It would appear the island has just gotten hip to it. The "upcharge" is usually about 6-9% and simply hitting decline will result in you getting your cash at the normal exchange rate set by your bank. Saw it for the first time on the island in June and thought to myself, great, one more scam to keep track of while down here.

Oddly enough, I didn't see it on the mainland the couple of times I used an ATM there.

ETA: It's sucks that the banking industry is allowed to partake in this kind of unethical and predatory nonsense, no matter the country and without conscious.