Exchange Charge USD to Pesos at Banks

[cobra269]

Spending May in Cozumel and wanted to get some Pesos here in the states. My local bank wants to charge me $147.45 to change $2000 USD into Pesos at todays rate. What do the local banks charge and daily limit? Do you still need to provide a photo copy of your passport?

Thanks and counting down the days.

 

[ggunn]

Spending May in Cozumel and wanted to get some Pesos here in the states. My local bank wants to charge me $147.45 to change $2000 USD into Pesos at todays rate. What do the local banks charge and daily limit? Do you still need to provide a photo copy of your passport?

Thanks and counting down the days.

If you have a debit/cash card you can use it on Cozumel to get pesos. You'll get the current exchange rate and the service charge is just a few bucks. Use ONLY the ATM's that are bank owned (there are plenty of them), and especially not the standalone ones out on the sidewalk. There is no reason to get pesos before you get down there. When you get there you can pay in US$ until you get pesos.

 

[Asteve]

I have found ATM in Mexico to limit at 4000 to 7000 Pesos a day. Most seem to be 5000.

 

[ggunn]

I have found ATM in Mexico to limit at 4000 to 7000 Pesos a day. Most seem to be 5000.

That's correct, but that has never been a problem for me. YMMV.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I flew via Cancun, and the airport ATM I used (Santander) limited withdrawals to 7000 pesos. In Cozumel I used both Santander and Scotia Bank ATMs, and I believe the limit was similar. Both charged a fee of 3% by the way.

I don't think there is any easy way around the moneychanging headache. The bank-owned ATMs give you an extremely good exchange rate (15:1 or so as of last week) but slap you with the 3% fee, while the exchange booths make up for the absence of a separate fee by giving you a poorer exchange rate. Hotels and businesses that accepted US dollars seemed to advertise rates broadly ranging from 12:1 to 13.5:1 from what I observed.

I did not attempt to change money inside a bank in Coz--at a teller, that is--but from my experiences in other countries, it's common nowadays for banks to refuse to change money unless you have an account there. Yeah, it used to be that they would do this so long as you had your passport or a copy. That's becoming rare.

 

[gopbroek]

This thread has come up in the past. Personnely I always keep a couple days worth of Pesos with my passport but you really do so not need them prior to getting into downtown San Miguel. Arriving in CUN, the ADO bus and the Playa ferry will take USD (or EUR or CAD) at close to market rate. Arriving in CZM the airport the 'Collectivo Mafia' booth also uses an honest exchange rate, so really paying a premium for Pesos in advance is kinda silly.
Once in San Miguel the Bank lobby ATM's or the ATM's in Mega or Chedrui seem to be straight up. At the Mega Bamex (Citi) ATM the fee is about $2 USD.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . . At the Mga Bamex (Citi) ATM the fee is about $2 USD.

A flat fee no matter how much you withdraw?--that's useful to know. As I mentioned above, two different banks' ATMs charged me 3% of the amount I withdrew, not a flat fee. If there's an ATM with a 2 USD flat fee, then at present exchange rates any withdrawal greater than the equivalent of around 65 USD would be a good deal.

In another thread, cvchief mentioned an app called Xoom that enables you to pick up money for a flat fee of 4.99 USD: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cozumel/502324-ado-bus-ticket-advance-post7357577.html#post7357577

 

[gopbroek]

A flat fee no matter how much you withdraw?--that's useful to know. As I mentioned above, two different banks' ATMs charged me 3% of the amount I withdrew, not a flat fee. If there's an ATM with a 2 USD flat fee, then at present exchange rates any withdrawal greater than the equivalent of around 65 USD would be a good deal.

In another thread, cvchief mentioned an app called Xoom that enables you to pick up money for a flat fee of 4.99 USD: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/cozumel/502324-ado-bus-ticket-advance-post7357577.html#post7357577

Your bank may charge a foreign transaction fee on top, my credit union gets 1%, but others go from 0 to 3 + %, check with your bank.I believe BAMEX has 6K MEX withdraw limit, but it may be more.

 

[BrewingDiver]

Anyone know how the ATMs at the airport (CZM) compare to the ones at the banks, Mega or Chedraui? I've used all of those, sometimes on the same trip, but cannot recall how they stack up. I like the convenience of the airport ATMs because I am all set right from landing, but it's not a big deal either, and I've heard they are a little less generous.

 

[DjDiverDan]

If you exchange cash at a Cozumel bank, there is no fee; the Bank's profit is built into the spread between its Buy/Sell rate. When I was there in December, the Dollar was going up against the Peso, and when the exchange rate published in the Wall Street Journal was about 14.40 Pesos to the Dollar, I bought Pesos for cash at Scotia Bank, north end of the pedestrian walkway that goes north from the Plaza (just a few steps from Wet Wendy's) and got 14.05 Pesos to the Dollar. The only downsides to using cash to buy Pesos at a Bank in Cozumel are: (1) you must have your Passport with you; and (2) I believe that the limit on exchange is $500.00 US at a time. If you are thinking about getting Pesos from a US Bank before you leave, check what exchange rate they are giving you. I've checked a few times and Bank of America was offering an exhange rate which was worse than any of the Mexican Banks in Cozumel were offeing AND charging a fee for the exchange - not a good deal at all. The only real benefit to having Pesos before you get to Cozumel is that you save a few bucks on the Hotel Shuttle tickets - If I recall, the Shuttle was 96 Pesos (Airport to Casa Del Mar) or $10 US, meaning I saved about $2.50 by having the Pesos. Not worth it to go through the hassle of exchanging in the States, but I usually take 200-300 Pesos home with me and just stuff them in my Passport case for my next trip.