Review ATM report

[horn34]

I believe when I take $6000 MXN out of the Banamex ATM my bank, Schwab checking not VISA, is on the hook to replace that $6000 MXN to Banamex. Banamex also gets a service fee for their service. How much Schwab charges my account in $USD for the 6000 MXN is set by Schwab. I have compared what Schwab charges me with others (Wells Fargo comes to mind) and there are differences. I am not charging anything to VISA but withdrawing my money from my bank account.

Your Schwab Bank debit card is a Visa card. I've had one for 20 years. Schwab uses the Visa exchange rate and has for many years. You should call a Schwab Bank rep and ask if you want a ruling. I called when I got a crappy rate for an ATM transaction in Baja and a Schwab Bank manager assured me I was getting the daily Visa rate, and sure enough, Visa had a really crappy rate for the day in question, and that's what I got.

Wells Fargo may use a different rate calculation; my comment was about how Schwab Bank handles debit card transactions.

 

[DandyDon]

Not sure why anyone uses HSBC

As I said, convenience. It's a half block from my hotel.

 

[horn34]

Example: last month on 7/13, I took out $15,000 pesos from a Banorte ATM in Puebla. The Visa exchange rate for the day was 20.67. Banorte charges 46.20 pesos for withdrawals.

-15,000 pesos @ 20.67 = $725.39 USD
- 46.20 pesos @ 20.67 = $2.23 USD
-------------------------- $727.62 USD

from my Schwab account (they rounded up 1 cent) = $727.63

 

[gopbroek]

OK, when I compared the current MXN to USD Visa conversion rate with Oanda's converter they were virtually the same with 20.1957:1 for Visa (-0.11% off the European Central bank) rate verses 20.1788:1 for Oando.
But to the point of your friendly neighborhood bankers transaction fees, which I suspect vary depending on the type of account you have with a given bank. This accounts for the variance in net 'real' exchange rates between banks.

Foreign ATM Fee Comparison at Top U.S. Banks | MyBankTracker

Need to get cash at an foreign ATM while being abroad? Compare the foreign ATM fee and foreign transaction fees at the top 10 banks in America.

www.mybanktracker.com

 

[ccannon707]

Capital One does not charge a fee for using your credit card for foreign currency transactions. Foreign purchases will be converted at the foreign exchange rate in effect at the time of processing the charge. Pulling $$ out of an ATM with the Cap1 credit card may be different. I use my Cap1 for credit card puchases in MX (Dive shop, Chedraui/Mega, Isis car rental), but Schwab for my ATM $$. I detest fees! Also, Santander ATM has always been reliable in my experience. I think its Bancomer on 30th that has an ATM where you slide vs insert the card. Has anyone had the contact-less experience in CZM? i.e...Tapping the card or your iPhone.

 

[DandyDon]

This morning I got $4.04 reimbursed from WF. I'm not sure why, perhaps I should ask sometime, but I'll take it. So that reduces my WF cost to $353.41 = 19.80 MXN to USD, so hardly any cost.

Today, the google quoted rate is 20.20MXN to USD, but for that day when that rate was 19.97, 19.80 is about 0.15% cost, so negligible or approximately zero. I do need to talk to CB about why they charged me so much.

 

[GameChanger]

Does Banorte have ATM machines in Maga or Chedraui?

 

[kss1dvr]

Does Banorte have ATM machines in Maga or Chedraui?

There is one in Chedraui, I don't remember one in the Mega.

 

[DandyDon]

I spoke with the two banks...

Wells Fargo allows me one foreign withdrawal per month with the foreign bank fees refunded, so that's how I got the $4.04 reimbursed. They actually refunded a little more than charged based on that day's conversion rates, but I guess their figures worked somehow. They are paying such a pathetically low interest rate that I may well be leaving them, but that's how that worked. I underlined me only because I did not research the requirements for that benefit, so other customers would need to ask about their benefits.

Citibank charged me a Foreign Transaction Fee of $10.72, but advised that they could change account types that allow free withdrawals, and I said "Please do so," so we'll see how well that works next time.

 

[dflaher]

Somewhat off topic, but if I chose to arrive in Cozumel with enough USD for all meals, taxis, etc. would I be able to exchange USD for pesos at a fair rate (like a credit card rate)? I fully understand that getting the tab in pesos and paying in pesos is the way to go.