Best Place To Get $400 Us Converted To Pesos?

[mmmbelows]

Thanks again. I think I got all the bases covered. A Schwab debit card on the way as my main funding and a bank account with limited access as backup. Yep. Paranoid.

You're state of the art now.

 

[mobeachlovers]

The machines in the grocery stores are all bank affiliated. Real - legit banks in Mexico who have branches in Cozumel are:

• Banamex
• Bancomer
• HSBC
• Santander
• Scotia Bank
• Banorte

Watch out for the machines that say "Cashola" - or "USD CASH" very large - or any free standing machines on the street. Bank owned machines will be obvious as their name will be on them as well as on the display screen.

The bank owned ATM's are either in a closed in kiosk attached to the bank (exception s Banorte machine at corner of 11th and Av 30), in the grocery stores, or at the government building, or in the airport.

Remember the $ is also the symbol for the MX Peso - so use logic to determine if the prices shown is dollars or pesos - for example:

• $30 for a withdrawal fee at a MX ATM is not going to be $30 dollars, it's $30 pesos
• At a restaurant, tacos that are $60 are not going to be $60 dollars, they are $60 pesos

Are the withdrawal fees at the bank owned ATM's generally about the same?

 

[mediumone]

Are the withdrawal fees at the bank owned ATM's generally about the same?

Not enough difference to bother with, except for the most OCD'd folks among us.

 

[kss1dvr]

Get a checking account that refunds ATM fees and you don't even have to worry about that

(Schwab for one)

 

[ccannon707]

I was dubious of Schwab and checked them out thoroughly. Had my questions ready and then had an online chat with a rep. Fees are charged but then refunded. There is no minimum balance. There is no fee to have the account. I'm convinced it is their way to introduce you to their investing/brokerage business and hope you expand your money business with them. But it is not mandatory. You open your account online.

I have used my Schwab ATM card in the UK, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Mexico & California and haven't had a problem or a fee. They don't seem to care that I don't have vast financial holdings. One other thing that tipped me towards them was there is a Schwab Brokerage office in the town near my home. They are not a bank, but you can drop off a check to fund your ATM account (vs mail or wiring) and they take care of it. Formerly I had a BofA account just for trips to Mexico to get pesos out of Santander. Then that fell thru. Subsequently BofA wanted to charge me $12/mo or maintain a $1500 balance (w/no interest) for the privilege of being a customer. Eff that. I left and went to Schwab. I'm happy and will sing their praises any day.

And since the Santander thing died, I avoid ATM cards altogether. I have though about the Schwab thing though.

 

[mmmbelows]

I'm convinced it is their way to introduce you to their investing/brokerage business and hope you expand your money business with them.

This is exactly their plan.

Read any full time world traveller's blog and if they have a section on banking the Schwab ATM card is always the subject.

 

[ccannon707]

Yes mmmbelows... it was ex-pats & snowbirds talking about Schwab that got me interested enough to check further. Being charged ATM fees for the occasional trip is not going to break me. Living out of the US and getting charged every time one uses the ATM would hurt. However, I try to minimize fees as much as possible. I also have a Capital One Credit Card that has no foreign transaction fees or currency conversion fees. Yay!

 

[Lorenzoid]

This is exactly their plan. . . .

I already had a Schwab brokerage account at Schwab when I applied for a checking account and attendant ATM card. In fact, I already had not one account but a rollover IRA account, a Roth IRA account, and regular brokerage account. I was hoping to open a checking account on their web site with a few clicks of the mouse, but it was not that easy. The system is set up for new customers and doesn't have an easy option for existing customers to apply. I had to fill out the same application as everyone else--as though I were a new customer interested in brokerage services--and then call them and explain. They were glad to oblige. However, it seems I had no choice but to be given a fourth brokerage account. Apparently, their "plan" is a package deal: you get both a brokerage account and a checking account, whether you want a brokerage account with them or not, and whether you already have a brokerage account with them or not!

 

[mmmbelows]

That's a weird deal, but at least in the end you got the ATM card that you wanted so that's a good thing.

 

[gopbroek]

Yes mmmbelows... it was ex-pats & snowbirds talking about Schwab that got me interested enough to check further. Being charged ATM fees for the occasional trip is not going to break me. Living out of the US and getting charged every time one uses the ATM would hurt. However, I try to minimize fees as much as possible. I also have a Capital One Credit Card that has no foreign transaction fees or currency conversion fees. Yay!

My primary purpose for using a Schwab checking account / ATM is security. I pre-fund it from my regular bank so that if it gets hacked my life's savings is not associated with the hacked account, only the funds in that account. The rest is a very pleasant bonus.