I have had my US bank debit card frozen twice in 16 years. Both time it was on a major purchase from a local store, e.g., kitchen furniture and a refrigerator. One phone call and the card was unfrozen. I believe that the large amount from a store rose a warning flag. You have to let the bank know that you are in Mexico. Never has a ATM withdrawal been denied, of course, I have never withdrew more than 4,000 pesos. Normally, I transfer enough funds to my Mexican bank via XOOM to last a month. I never had problems with that transfer.

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Never heard anything like this..guessing joker is pulling your leg..Thousands of ex-pats in MX. We use Charles Schwab Bank, all foreign transaction fees refunded end of each month..We do not have a MX bank acct, nor do we know very few people who do.

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Never heard anything like this..guessing joker is pulling your leg..Thousands of ex-pats in MX. We use Charles Schwab Bank, all foreign transaction fees refunded end of each month..We do not have a MX bank acct, nor do we know very few people who do.

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U.S. and Canadian banks will often block wire transfers to Mexico. For debit card transactions, they may be blocked if this is a new pattern...i.e.....you don't usually use your debit card in Mexico. Simply advise your bank that you are travelling and there shouldn't be a problem. The other situation that can result in problems for those living in Mexico is the new Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FACTA) treaty between Mexico, the USA and Canada. This will be a ticking time bomb for many Americans and Canadians living in Mexico or with bank accounts in Mexico. Read all about it at http://www.tiocorpinsurance.com/index.cfm/mexicotoday/facta-foreign-account-tax-compliance-act/
MT

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I've never had a bank wire transfer blocked, but I have never transfered more than 2,000 usd. If you're buying or building a house and need to transfer a large amount, it would be best to contact your bank before the transfer. FATCA is not a treaty, but NAFTA is. FATCA is a US law permitting the IRS to require foreign banks to report on income of those subject to US taxation. When you open a Mexican bank account, they will require you to fill out an IRS form W-9. This form has your name, address, SSAN and an oath that you are an US citizen. If and when your balance exceeds 10,000 usd, the bank must report this to the IRS. There are other tax laws that might affect you if your foreign bank or brokerage account exceeds, I believe, 100,000 usd.

Living here, the cheapest way to get money is via ATM and there are a number of cards that don't have fees. XOOM.com will transfer money from your US bank to your Mexican bank in two hours or less and is cheaper than bank wire transfer.

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joaquinx is correct. FACTA is not a "treaty"....However, the point being made by MexicoToday was that the USA, Canada and Mexico have entered into international formal Agreements to share the financial information of Americans and Canadians as outlined in the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). There are dozens of other countries that have similar Agreements with the USA to share such information. For readers who do not understand the implications of these Agreements, they should take a look at the TioCorp Insurance website which contains a lot of good information. For convenience, here is the link again....http://www.tiocorpinsurance.com/index.cfm/mexicotoday/facta-foreign-account-tax-compliance-act/
MT

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As a Canadian, I'd have to have my head read to maintain personal accounts in a U.S. bank and allow the . IRS to rip me off. I transfer funds from my Canadian bank to my Mexican bank, either directly or via a transfer agent. If I want to spend a bit more I can have my Mexican bank do the transaction. This is a major reason I stopped vacationing in SoCal.
That is fact.

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Dung, how is all that is good with Poutine, can the IRS rip you off?

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Re: FACTA. As a Canadian FACTA does not affect me, one iota. If I maintain my Canadian residency I pay my taxes and The Canadian Revenue Agency does not care how I spend it. If I become a non resident, then I will pay a flat tax @15% on Canadian income and again the CRA will allow me to do what ever. That MexicoToday is fact and not from some quoted article. Suggest you get your facts from a reliable source before you quote.

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What is FACTA? and you mentioned IRS. What facts did I miss on your reply?

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If I bank personally in the U.S. as a non resident & if the amount exceeds $9,999, or in that range, I'll be inundated from an IRS office in Atlanta who can and do freeze your account until you prove there is no U.S. income. This is a nauseating way the U.S. government tries to ripe people off. This is the IRS. They practice Napolionic Law . You are guilty unless proven innocent.

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dungeondevil MAY BE correct. In earlier posts he advises that he does not have a USA bank account. So he may be correct, FACTA does not affect him. FACTA affects (a) Americans who have bank accounts in other countries such as Mexico or the USA (b) Canadian residents who have bank accounts in the USA or Mexico. The FACTA impact is not just on Americans. The international Agreements that spilled out of the FACTA initiative has resulted in financial information being shared by many, many countries. Please take the time to slowly read and digest the information on the TioCorp website. http://www.tiocorpinsurance.com/index.cfm/mexicotoday/facta-foreign-account-tax-compliance-act/
It may be a cause for many snowbirds in Mexico.

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I agree with that. If a non-resident has that amount of money in the account in the US, the IRA, paranoid as they are, believes that you laundering money.

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There is no agreement. It's the IRS says to foreign banks that if you don't report on US citizens who have lots of money in your bank, the bank can be subject to the withholding of, up to, 30% to transfers from the US to that bank.

This site explains it a bit better https://apps.irs.gov/app/fatcaFfiList/flu.jsf

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dungeondevil. Your answer is not correct and the issue you refer to is not related to FACTA.
Please...please... Anyone who is reading this blog. If you want to understand FACTA, you also need to understand the international agreements. Check out the TioCorp link for a starter.

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FACTA (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act)

Get it right for Google it.

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joaquinx - you are correct and it could well be that dungeondevil is also thinking of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.
However, the FACTA (Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act) is not the topic of discussion. The FACTA introduced by MexicoToday earlier in this blog was the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act....and that is a FACTA (sorry....couldn't resist). The USA, Canada and Mexico have entered into international formal Agreements to share the financial information of Americans and Canadians as outlined in THAT particular FACTA. There are dozens of other countries that have similar Agreements with the USA to share such information. For readers who do not understand the implications of these Agreements, they should take a look at the TioCorp Insurance website which contains a lot of good information. For convenience, here is the link again....
http://www.tiocorpinsurance.com/index.cfm/mexicotoday/facta-foreign-account-tax-compliance-act/
MT

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From my point of view as a Canadian FACTA , is a method to control international drug money laundering, the mafia or equal & as well terrorism. No more, no less. I don't give a "rats ass" for FACTA as I'm a legitimate person who moves funds internationally for business and personal needs. If your banking is legitimate don't concern yourself about FACTA. If the IRS is out to cook your lower extremities, then you've got other problems. I suggest you read everything that can affect you and separate the wheat from the chaff. If you cannot understand the terminology, then spend the bucks and have a professional advise you. Newspaper articles are generally misquotes by authors who may or may not have the credentials to understand what they've been told and must work within deadlines. My accountant and banker and not insurance broker can and have offered me correct information for international dealings. After all, that is their business.

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We are Lakeside also and use Charles Schwab and a U.S. Santander account we opened online six months or so before we left.
We have withdrawn 10,000 pesos at a time from different banks using the Schwab debit card on our High Yield Checking Account. We did this three days on week after just moving here without any problem. Of course, we had notified them we were traveling in Mexico. The only problem we have had with them is that we used the card at an ATM that VISA had flagged as "High Fraud Activity Location" and they froze my card so I couldn't use it anywhere. A quick phone call to very helpful and apologetic people solved the issue. I've used the card in Europe, Canada, and Mexico and have always been reimbursed for ATM charges. I don't even notice how much they want to try and charge me now as it doesn't matter to me.
The Santander account (as I said) is a U.S. account but we can use it at the Mexican Santander ATM to withdraw up to 6000 pesos a day with no transaction fee.
So we've not had any problem at all getting money from the U.S.
When we bought our house, we transferred the money from our U.S. account to a U.S. account associated with the Mexican bank, so the wire transfer was U.S. domestic but ended up in the Mexican bank account.
To buy the car, we did a wire transfer to our Mexican investment account at Antiver and then transferred it to the Mexican bank account of the car dealer.
Hope this helps.

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At last, a sane message and reply to all this FACTA non=sense. Much of FACTA does not take effect until 2017, AND most all honest Americans will not be impacted. Much ado about nothing!

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USING XOOM.com, I CAN HAVE MY MONEY TRANSFER TO "WALMART" IN CHAPALA. HOW DO YOU GET PICKUP YOUR MONEY ET THAT PLACE? MUST YOU FIRST SETUP A KIND OF PREARRANGMENT WITH THEM? hOW DOES IT WORK?

RICHARD

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USING XOOM.com, I CAN HAVE MY MONEY TRANSFER TO "WALMART" IN CHAPALA. HOW DO YOU PICKUP YOUR MONEY AT THAT PLACE? MUST YOU FIRST SETUP A KIND OF PREARRANGEMENT WITH THEM? HOW DOES IT WORK?

RICHARD

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Thanks Chucklesg. As I said to MexicoToday, read between the lines. I can read what he's copied and pasted to his web page as a filler. If you are legitimate, don't worry.

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Good on you for this info to U.S. Expats, .tomwins. My only beef with Santander is, during the winter season the place is like a Costco just before a long week-end. It's mobbed all of the time. 2nd beef. To impersonal, Way to many employees who run you from desk to desk like a chicken with its head cut off. The Chapla branch is no different. I prefer CiBanko.. A smaller bank with employees who are a bit more considerate. Just my 2 pesos worth. On an occasion when in Cabo and needed cash, their ATM gave me the funds in seconds. Earlier I went to my ScotiaBank branch, but their ATM was down.

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We use CI Banco. Very personal service, for we are newbies to Mexico, and needed it.

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Best little bank in that country. I agree.

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I had neo problem neither with Xoom, I am also using The blockchain network through Moneytis and do not had any poblem.

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I'm confused about these repeated mentions of FACTA, which is the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act. It sounds like you might mean FATCA - Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. Can someone explain the correlation to FACTA and Credit Transactions?

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There is no direct correlation between the two. However, for Americans (and snowbird Canadians) living in Mexico, they both are important. The TioCorp Insurance (Ajijic Mexico) website explains and summarizes the FOREIGN version, written by a financial advisor in everyday language. It has significant implications for a lot of folks.

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I use my Wells Fargo debit card twice a week at an ATM in Chalco (a suburb of D.F.) with no problem. Six years and never a block.

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You shouldn't be blocked by using the ATM, but using the card to buy some high priced merchandise worth 5,000 pesos or so and the chances of being blocked are high. I was blocked by BofA trying to buy this type of item three times. Kitchen furniture, a bed, and a refrigerator. Never using the ATM.

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Hi, Just joined the forum. Wells Fargo just told me that since I live in Mexico(been here for 20 years) I have to liquidate my account with them because Mexico is not on their list of risk assessment countries. Are you still with them?

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I just went to Les Schwab they will give you total access will have to make it a international account if you live there. No fee for ATM and they repaid fees once a month. I have to thank the forum group they were the ones who told me about this. If you have trouble Bank America now has agreement with scotiabank in Mexico

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I have experienced the same in Brazil. Before I make a large purchase I us wifi calling on my phone to the Bank. I have T mobile and gives me unlimited data and free calling to US when in Mexico or not sure even in Mexico to anorher person in Mexico

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I have experienced the same in Brazil. Before I make a large purchase I us wifi calling on my phone to the Bank. I have T mobile and gives me unlimited data and free calling to US when in Mexico or not sure even in Mexico to anorher person in Mexico

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Correction Charles Schwab Bank

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Sorry for my repeat of message

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We are planning to move to Lake Chapala this next year. Any information about establishing a Mexican Bank account would help. We bank with Chase. I am wondering if they have a bank in the Mexican system that they work with.

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Banks in Mexico are generally not affiliated with any US banks. I suggest that you simply keep your established US accounts in your US bank; hopefully a major one with international capabilities, online services, etc., and use ATMs in Mexico for cash via your debit card(s). For occasional large purchases (car, home, etc) you can arrange for an increased daily limit for one day, wire transfer, etc. We never wanted or needed a Mexican bank (ugh!) in 13+ years.

Note: older posts on this thread are very old and out of date, as well as being inaccurate and confused by rare bank closings & subsequent effect on account holders. That is history.

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It's true you should keep your US account and just use an ATM whenever you want to withdraw money. In terms of which US bank is best to do this, in my experience and to the best of my knowledge it is Citibank. Citibank is the same organization as Banamex. No withdrawal fees (even if the screen says there's a fee, we've found that we are not actually charged one) and I think they may have the most ATM machines available. We have a Banamex account (necessitated by the fact that when you have Mexico medical insurance, your reimbursement checks have to go to a Mexican account). Having a US Citibank account works well with our Mexican Banamex account.

(I Googled to see if Chase had any relationship with a Mexican bank, and didn't find any.)

Good luck!

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That is very helpful!!

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Agree with RV on this. We bought in 2001, our MX lawyer never to open a MX bank acct. May consider a Charles Schwab acct, their bank refunds your foreign transactions fees end of each month. Might also consider maintaing a US address, relative or mail forwarding service..Chase has the highest fees of all the banks, I have an acct there too, but never withdraw from Chase. Good Luck on your move.

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Hi giershift43. I'm also looking to move. I also bank with Chase. No, no affiliates. Plus, unless you have their preferred checking, the ATM fees are outrageous. I noticed others mentioning Citibank. I checked with them. So, I don't know. I did an online chat and asked if I opened an account while a US resident if I could continue to use it if no longer a US resident. They said no. I checked with ALLY.com, e banking only. I asked and they said yes, as long as the account is open at least 30 days in the US. Then, they will let you take the account with you. However, their ATMs are not associated with banks. Instead, they're in the Mexican equivalents of 7 Eleven, some hotels as I recall, and other places. They charge a 1% transaction fee which covers the exchange rate conversion. If you use their ATM network, there is no additional charge. Also, no minimum balance for the account.

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Regarding Citibank. Maybe someone who uses this can answer. When I checked, the only account with Citibank you could maintain without a US residence was their CitiGold account which requires a very large balance. Other than that account, as I mentioned in my earlier comment, they won't keep the account open if you move, i.e., have no US address or they discover a US mailing address is not a residence. Also, I'm not sure the refund of ATM fees applies to their lower level accounts. They also have a disclaimer that foreign transaction fees may also apply for all accounts other than the CitiGold.

Again, I'm not a Citibank customer. I checked, and that's the info available on their website.

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Here's the thing: You don't have to be consistent with all your accounts as to what your address is, and you don't have to tell any of them that you live in Mexico. Our credit cards and bank have our address as being with a relative in the same state where we lived. (We virtually never get physical mail from the bank. Everything is done online, so our relative's don't have the nuisance of forwarding mail to us.) My husband's medicare address is in a different state. (It's where one of our children lives, and where it would be most convenient for us to go for medical treatment if we needed to use Medicare.) Our taxes are filed with our foreign (Mexican) home address, where we actually live.

Just as wealthy folks who might hop around the world can use multiple addresses, we have every right to use multiple addresses too. (Of course we have our relatives' permission to use them.)

What we can't do is use multiple addresses in an attempt to cheat anyone or break the law. But if you pay your bills, file your taxes, and keep your nose clean: you should have no problem.

Alex

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MsAlex, which level Citibank checking account do you have? Some do/do not cover foreign transaction fees [not an ATM fee.] If you get a foreign transaction fee, what is it?

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I would think the US Consulate would provide advice on this (at least, what the laws are and how they should apply to US citizens living abroad, and what provisions were made for us). After all there are many US citizens living abroad for many reasons.
Post 9/11, there have been many changes to try to verify that people are what they say they are. In Georgia, you can't even get a library card without a utility bill. As someone has mentioned, that means that a person who lives with someone else who pays all the bills can't even get a library card. As a librarian, this enrages me.

And as a future resident of Mexico, I am as baffled as everyone else. My IRA is with Schwab. Does this mean I could never trade the mutual funds I hold when I m0ve?

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This is as topic which I would like to know more about.

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Thank you

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No you will still be able to trade, we do..Also you should open Schwab Checking with the Schwab Bank, refunded all fees

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No you will still be able to trade, we do..Also you should open Schwab Checking with the Schwab Bank, refunded all fees monthly on ATM.

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No you will still be able to trade, we do..Also you should open Schwab Checking with the Schwab Bank, refunded all fees monthly on ATM.

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Never happened to us, since 2001.

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Have you considered using aUS address for the account? We've always used a relative's address and had an account there in a bank with an alliance with a Mexican bank which allows free ATM use on both ends and have never had a question or problem. You might consider BBVA Compass in the US and their Mexican "sister" bank of Bancomer.

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Many preople will slip past their bank's prying eyes, by using someone else's U.S. address. However, if and when they catch on, you'll have to make some other banking arrangements. A big senseless hassle, for which the reasons have never been explained to my satisfaction.

Also, you may be violating the terms of the bank's customer agreement. This might limit your rights in the event of any dispute with the bank - perhaps if someone were to steal funds from your account, maybe. , I'm just speculating, but it may strain your relationship with the bank if discovered at that point.

It seems that if you've had the account for many years before leaving the U.S., they aren't as likely to take issue. I had opened a Schwab account shortly before moving to Mexico. That's the one I had to switch over. I have not had any issues with two bank accounts in California and an etrade account, all of which I've had for many years before moving out of the country.

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Bancomer has stopped accepting ATM withdrawals but all the other banks seems to be O.K. Have not had any problems with others while traveling 2 months around Baja.

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Regarding the advice to check out BBVA Compass in the US and BBVA Bancomer in Mexico... don't. Just, don't. I did this exact thing thinking (silly me) that because they are both part of BBVA, it would be easy to transfer money between accounts, use ATMs in both countries, etc. I even asked before I opened my BBVA Compass account, "Can I transfer money between my BBVA Compass account in the U.S. and my BBVA Bancomer account in Mexico." I was assured that I could, no problem.

Well, technically, I guess that was true. I could transfer money between those accounts. All I had to do was to physically walk into a BBVA Compass branch to initiate the transfer. WHAT?!?!? I actually have to physically go to the bank branch to do this? Yes. Well, since I am in Mexico, which is, after all, the reason I want to move money to Mexico, can I go to the BBVA Bancomer branch to make the transfer? No, I can only do this by physically walking into a BBVA Compass branch in the U.S.

Not only that, but when I used my BBVA Compass debit card to withdraw cash from a BBVA Bancomer ATM, I was charged a fee; actually TWO FEES. A fee by BBVA Bancomer for using a non-BBVA Bancomer card in their ATM and a fee by BBVA Compass for using a non-BBVA Compass ATM to get cash. Seriously, this actually happened.

There is actually no relationship between BBVA Compass and BBVA Bancomer. They both have the same parent but otherwise are completely and totally separate entities.

A lot of people here use Charles Schwab and they are apparently very good. Personally, I have my US bank account at Ally bank (part of GMAC Financial). They have been really good. I can use my Ally debit card at any ATM in Mexico and Ally never charges a fee on their end for using someone else's ATM. AND they reimburse me at the end of the month of any fees that the ATM charged. I regularly get anywhere from $7 to $12 dollars added to my account at month's end to cover the charges incurred using ATMs in Mexico. So, if you're looking for an alternative to Schwab, you might consider Ally.

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I echo dwwhiteside's comment about Ally. I'm not in Mexico yet, but am planning a move. Many US banks will not allow a person with a Mexican residence to maintain their account. Some people use a friend's/relative's US address for a physical address to circumvent this. Mail forwarding service US addresses can and do get caught by US banks, per my understanding, and accounts get closed.

I checked with the major banks and they confirmed the US address requirement. However, I asked Ally if I opened an account while a US resident and subsequently moved to Mexico, would I be able to maintain the account with a Mexican address. They said yes. As long as I had the account for at least 30 days. After that I could change it to a Mexican residence address or if I preferred use a US mail forwarding service address.

They don't use the regular bank ATMs. They use the Allpoint network. From the Allpoint website, it appears they have many locations in stores which appear to be along the lines of a 7-Eleven as well as in hotels [I'm speaking from non-personal experience.] Using those ATMs incurs no ATM charge. A non Allpoint ATM may incur an ATM charge from that system's carrier. Whether Allpoint or non-Allpoint, Ally charges up to 1% of the transaction as a foreign transaction processing fee. From what I've seen, this is a fair charge.

Also, they don't require a minimum balance to open. Schwab did - $25K I believe CitiBank had an international option as well, but it too had a high minimum opening balance - I think it also was $25K. Their minimums knocked them out of my consideration.

I recently opened an Ally account to be ready should I be able to make my desired move to Mexico.

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Thanks, very helpful. I don't want to maintain a sham address with my bank or to rely on friends and relatives. I will add Ally to our list in case Schwab or USAA does t work out. For some reason it's just now registering that we will pay a 1% premium on all $ we use to live outside the US - in addition to keeping Medicare and paying for health insurance for catastrophic events. I am ready to live outside the US anyway but since we are already in a low cost housing market, I am beginning to wonder how much cheaper it would be. Good thing I don't judge the International Living hype!

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I am not sure if this would work but is it possible to have your US Social Security deposited directly into a Mexican Banking account if you will be living there full time. And could you leave the remainder of your funds in your US banking account and only draw on it when you return home for visits???

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