ATM vagaries

[ggunn]

Do you use a card or withdraw enough from ATMs? I know you like to deal with the Coin of the Realm, but I agree with Chuck. If it's sold in USDs, pay with USDs.

I pay my Op with Zelle now. So easy.

I pull pesos from ATM. I get a better deal if I pay in cash but I don't want to carry it down and I don't want to deal with ATMs that spit out US$. When I pay my dive bill I sit with whomever I am giving the money to with my pesos and a calculator.

 

[Kimela]

@ChuckP and anyone else who knows the island well - I posted this in the Cozumel my Cozumel FB page too - we usually stay closer to town and I get pesos out of an HSBC ATM at Mega or Chedraui. This trip we'll be at Casa Del Mar without transportation, arriving on Monday - and our Charles Schwab money won't be available until Wednesday or Thursday (don't forget to do the transfer well in advance!). Do you know if there are any HSBC ATMs down by Casa Del Mar or, if not, any ATMs that are trustworthy (inside a store/bank etc)? Thanks!

 

[ChuckP]

@ChuckP and anyone else who knows the island well - I posted this in the Cozumel my Cozumel FB page too - we usually stay closer to town and I get pesos out of an HSBC ATM at Mega or Chedraui. This trip we'll be at Casa Del Mar without transportation, arriving on Monday - and our Charles Schwab money won't be available until Wednesday or Thursday (don't forget to do the transfer well in advance!). Do you know if there are any HSBC ATMs down by Casa Del Mar or, if not, any ATMs that are trustworthy (inside a store/bank etc)? Thanks!

I haven't been in and around all those stores down in that area so I really don't know but, if you are taking a private shuttle to the hotel, ask the driver to detour past the bank in town.

As much as you live here - you should have a stash of pesos somewhere jajajaja

 

[Kimela]

I haven't been in and around all those stores down in that area so I really don't know but, if you are taking a private shuttle to the hotel, ask the driver to detour past the bank in town.

As much as you live here - you should have a stash of pesos somewhere jajajaja

I should!!! We have about $75 worth of pesos but we wanted to have money for meals and tips and that won't cut it for a week. I transferred money from my regular account to the Schwab account yesterday, but it takes FOUR business days to settle. So it might not be available until Wednesday or Thursday. I called and they said once the money has arrived on their end they can get a supervisor to push it through - but I'll be lucky if it arrives tomorrow or Monday (we fly out on Monday). Crossing my fingers. We always count on getting pesos, and the Schwab account is great for that. Just didn't transfer the money early enough. Lesson learned.

 

[DandyDon]

@ChuckP and anyone else who knows the island well - I posted this in the Cozumel my Cozumel FB page too - we usually stay closer to town and I get pesos out of an HSBC ATM at Mega or Chedraui. This trip we'll be at Casa Del Mar without transportation, arriving on Monday - and our Charles Schwab money won't be available until Wednesday or Thursday (don't forget to do the transfer well in advance!). Do you know if there are any HSBC ATMs down by Casa Del Mar or, if not, any ATMs that are trustworthy (inside a store/bank etc)? Thanks!

ATM locations on google maps are not dependable as they're all from unverified user input, but if it's correct, the only one close is the ATM MULTIVA 280 meters away, the free-standing Cash Machines infamous for skimmers.

We have about $75 worth of pesos but we wanted to have money for meals and tips and that won't cut it for a week.

Not even close. Go into town, hit the HCSB machine at the southeast corner of the plaza, then maybe walk around the corner to dine at Casa Dennis. I ignore the aggressive waiters at the place right on the corner. Be sure to decline the 18.5 conversion rate offered.

 

[ChuckP]

It's crazy how the banks hold onto your money and how they get paid in both directions with the conversion rate..... I should have opened a cash exchange place instead of buying a boat jajajaj - but no where near the fun...

 

[gopbroek]

Intialy had to wait a period to do my first few xfers. After I established my account I would write myself a check and deposit electronically and the funds were available a few hours later. For the last year or so I have some funds in a Schwab brokerage account and I now xfer funds very quickly.
Monday Oanda published a forex rate of 21.82 when I pulled funds from an ATM Schwab gave me an exchange rate of 20.70 : 1 MXN to the USA Dollar.

 

[mediumone]

Not even close. Go into town, hit the HCSB machine at the southeast corner of the plaza, then maybe walk around the corner to dine at Casa Dennis. I ignore the aggressive waiters at the place right on the corner. Be sure to decline the 18.5 conversion rate offered.

If I remember correctly, the commission is pretty steep at HSBC, although not as bad as Bancomer. Much better at Santander just down the street, but they only dispense $500's, which can be a pain.
My # 1 choice is Citibanamex where the fee and tax is about $30 - $31, and they dispense an assortment of denominations.
Scotia used to have reasonable commissions - up until 2016. By 2017, they'd become one of the most expensive.

Edit to add: Citibanamex ATM's are in Chedraui, Mega, the airport, and a big branch on 30th and a block or so south of Juarez.

 

[DandyDon]

If I remember correctly, the commission is pretty steep at HSBC

I guess it was $63.80MXN when I took photos for this thread, unless I misunderstood. More photos of the bank ATM scam

I looked at my withdrawal of $15,000MXN from last August and my bank charged me $748.99USD, so that's 20.027 Pesos to the Dollar after all fees, which sounded ok at the time.

My # 1 choice is Citibanamex where the fee and tax is about $30 - $31

I guess you mean $30-31MXN. That's about $33.3MXN cheaper than my HCSB experience I guess, $1.62USD cheaper which is nice if convenient.

and they dispense an assortment of denominations.

That is indeed nice, altho I find breaking the 500 Peso notes only a minor inconvenience.

Citibanamex ATM's are in Chedraui, Mega, the airport, and a big branch on 30th and a block or so south of Juarez.

Fine if you're at one of those. Not worth $1.62USD for me to travel from downtown. I do like to hit Mega on arrival day to pick up Kahlua, so maybe I'll try it then. If it charges me much more, I'll try to remember to come back and scream at you.

 

[ggunn]

I looked at my withdrawal of $1500MXN from last August and my bank charged me $748.99USD, so that's 20.027 Pesos to the Dollar after all fees, which sounded ok at the time.

I guess you meant $15000MXN or you really got screwed.