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ScotiaBank Branch Recommendation?


Ezzie

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Finally it is time to open a Mexican bank account. Interested in ScotiaBank as a provider due to it's ties with the former "homeland". There are no branches in the Lakeside area I know however I don't mind going to Guadalajara to set up an account and go there for the rare occasions I would ever need to actually visit a branch. Has anyone ever found a branch of ScotiaBank in Guadalajara that might have some Customer Service capability in English?

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There are two options without going all the way into Guadalajara: One is on the main plaza in Tlaquepaque and the other is on the ground floor of the Mega Comercial, opposite Costco, on Lopez Mateo Sur, just before entering Guadalajara from Tlajomulco. I have no idea if they could serve you in English, so I would not expect that to be the case.

Why not just bank online from your home bank and use ATMs for cash. We have done that for over a decade and have not found a need for the inconvenience, expense and frustration of a Mexican bank.

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Sad to report, the banks have nothing in common except their corporate owners, and the use of their ATM machines. That is, you can't do any banking using your Canadian account at a Scotia branch in Mexico. But you can get money out of the ATMs without paying a fee.

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They are totally seperate. Open a scotiabank account in Canada and write cheques at Intercam if necessary. You don't need a Mexican bank. Scotia has ATM's all over Mexico. We closed all our other Canadian bank accounts and moved them to Scotia 9 years ago. We talk to our branch in Canada via Vonage when necessary,but can do most things on line.

Just got some more loot out of the ATM in San Antonio at no charge today.

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So from what I am hearing, best to stick with what I currently do and just use the ScotiaBank ATM beside Wally Mart for the "day-to-day" needs and look into registering with Intercam to have them act as a local clearing house for large money transfers (if buying a car or house here, medical emergencies, etc.). So no benefit at all to having a Mexican bank account?

I currently do not have a Scotia account in Canada (with a different Canadian bank) so the only benefit of switching to Scotia Canada would be saving the 34 peso per transaction fee for use of their ATMs here. To do this I would have to travel back to Canada and set up an account in a branch there and then switch all of the direct deposit info with my benefactors there.

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so to clarify there is a Scotia bank branch on bottom floor of Mega that is next Costco, the back way Lopez Mateos..per say...thanks.

I do most of my banking with them online, but depositing wold be convenient at that branch as opposed to Tlaquepaque..

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Perhaps you misread earlier: the two banks are not connected in terms of your money. You cannot bank here or in Canada using the same account. They are owned by the same conglomerate; that is all. They are not the same bank.

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OK, I get it. I was not asking about whether there is any connection between ScotiaBank Canada's retail banking system and ScotiaBank Mexico (Inverlat). I already know that there is not and that it is not possible to move money any easier between these two banks than any other method. All I am asking about is if anyone has found a Scotia branch in Guadalajara that has anyone that can speak some English that could explain to me the various accounts and help me determine what might be the best solution for my requirements.

BTW, I have used the Scotia ATM at the Mega Superstore on Lopez Mateos Sur (beside the Costco) and the fee charged by ScotiaBank at that ATM is around $28 pesos unlike the one in San Antonio (beside Wally Mart) that charges $34.80 pesos. Now isn't that interesting!

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The ScotiBank that is on the ground floor of the Mega store on Lopez Mateos Sur is a full branch. It has one ATM machine. The fee for dispensing cash at that machine is lower than the ATM machine in Chapala/Ajijic (beside Wal-Mart).

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There are definitely advantages to having a Mexican bank account if you live in Mexico. When I built my house, I was able to pay my accounts at the local building supply and the also the guy who delivered sand and gravel, weekly by cheque on my Bancomer account, cutting down on the amount of cash I had to have on hand- only my construction crew had to be paid cash. I also use my bank card as a debit card when shopping at Mega, Home Deot, etc. and I don't know for sure, but I imagine having a Mexican bank acct, with a record of local withdrawals and debits also helps toward establishing residency should you decide to sell your home here.

As far as moving large quanities of cash down at once, there are a number of online currency exchange houses which make this quite easy, but you need a Mex. bank acct. to wire into.

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There are two options without going all the way into Guadalajara: One is on the main plaza in Tlaquepaque and the other is on the ground floor of the Mega Comercial, opposite Costco, on Lopez Mateo Sur, just before entering Guadalajara from Tlajomulco. I have no idea if they could serve you in English, so I would not expect that to be the case.

Why not just bank online from your home bank and use ATMs for cash. We have done that for over a decade and have not found a need for the inconvenience, expense and frustration of a Mexican bank.

i find having mx acct conviente, no expense at alll - free atm withdrawals, and no frustration...

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There are definitely advantages to having a Mexican bank account if you live in Mexico. When I built my house, I was able to pay my accounts at the local building supply and the also the guy who delivered sand and gravel, weekly by cheque on my Bancomer account, cutting down on the amount of cash I had to have on hand- only my construction crew had to be paid cash. I also use my bank card as a debit card when shopping at Mega, Home Deot, etc. and I don't know for sure, but I imagine having a Mexican bank acct, with a record of local withdrawals and debits also helps toward establishing residency should you decide to sell your home here.

As far as moving large quanities of cash down at once, there are a number of online currency exchange houses which make this quite easy, but you need a Mex. bank acct. to wire into.

I AGREE: If you are going to live in this country - why would you NOT HAVE A MEXICAN BANK ACCOUNT- a poster who lives here for 12 years and still goes to an ATM every week !! ridiculous-When I lived at Lakeside often found that ATM's were out of money by Friday am- what PITA to drive around looking for one with money Nothing is free- even banking in the US-

I have accounts in B of A and Bancomer- and use my Mexican credit and debit cards to develop a credit history in Mexico and don't carry a wad of cash in my wallet.

I live in the Zapopan- There is a Scotia Bank Branch right next to Andares Mall - In my experience English speakers are usually located in the largest Bank Branches with the biggest depositors- A good friend (Mexican) who's husband is a Director with Scotia has her personal account in this branch, you can shop at Superama and Andares and have a wonderful lunch in one of the many restaurants. Drive to Tlaquepaque just to do banking- gotta be kidding

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I see nothing wrong with using an ATM forever. My Mother was here for 15 years almost and she used it when she needed it. She didn't carry big wads of cash around, just what she needed. She did all her banking via Scotia Online for everything else. Why is that ridiculous? And the ATMS used to run out of money, but then buying a phone used to cost $1,500 U.S.... Why stand in line at a bank when you don't have to?

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I don't see anything wrong with using an ATM forever. That is what I did in Canada. But I do have a HSBC account here for ease of paying bills.

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Just be aware and prepared for an occasional problem while using Mexican ATM machines. I have a TD Canada Trust debit card I use here to obtain cash from ATM machines. In the past 30 days, I have on two occasions had an ATM machine not dispense any cash but yet my TD account was debited for the requested amounts. Both times it was at a ScotiaBank ATM machine - once the one beside Wal-Mart and the other at a machine in Guadalajara. Each time I reported the incident to TD back in Canada and they are still attempting to get my money back from ScotiaBank Mexico. I have been told by them that it can take up to 60 days to get these debits reversed. I don't think it would take near that long to resolve a similar problem if using a Mexican debit card issued from a Mexican bank.

This is one reason I am now considering opening up a bank account at a Mexican bank here in Mexico and then transfer funds from my Canadian account to the Mexican account through a service such as xe.com. It is very much a hassle to have to cover the loss of these funds in the interim when you are on a fixed income.

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