B of A

[phxfunguy]

I too have had good luck with my B/A debit card at the same Scotia Bank near Dominoes. The exchange rate was good and I was not charged an additional foreign use fee, when I made the last withdrawal 5 days ago

I've got to take out another $4,000 pesos before the weekend at the above mentioned Scotia Bank money machine. (I don't pay attention to the $3K limit) and I will watch closely to see if I am charged an extra fee. I shall report my results by this weekend.

And no, after reading what was said on the ATM screen, I did not choose to pay the additional $9.50 peso fee for insurance, as some of you have chosen to do.

Check out their fee schedule online as of Oct. 2013. There are several changes listed slated to start Nov. 8 so none of what is currently happening has anything to do with prior withdrawals. One of the fees is a blanket $5 charge or 1% of the total, whichever is greater, for using any non-B of A ATM; there are no 3% fees listed. It appears that the new fees were instituted after the close of business that day as people have only reported the 3% charge since then. Because of the US bank holiday on the 11th, the first day after the 8th for any transaction to post to your account would have been the 12th.

Pete, if the exchange rate stays around 13.15 this week, I'll predict you'll see a $9.13 fee for your withdrawal. And as some others have correctly pointed out, whether you choose the button for the 9.5 peso Scotia Bank anti-robbery fee or not, you'll get the 3% charge. They are totally unrelated. As long as the B of A website still shows that there are to be NO fees for Banco Santander in Mexico, fees charged there have a basis for reversal. Since the list of Scotia Bank countries does not include Mexico, one can only argue that it has always worked the same as for Santander. Possibly someone forgot to include Mexico in the Scotia Bank list on the website? I'd try that argument at least.

[phxfunguy]

I used the Scotia ATM by Dominoes on Nov. 12 and there was no fee to my B of A debit card. Exchange rate on the transaction 13.1 pesos to the USD.

Check your account again a couple of times. My friend's fees appeared the day after the two withdrawals posted on the 12th, the fee for the one actually done on the 11th posted later than the one for the 12th.

[phxfunguy]

My last BofA debit card withdrawal from Santander was on Nov. 8. No fees.

It appears they started the fee after the close of business on the 8th.

[phxfunguy]

Hubby made a withdrawal this morning from the Scotia by Dominos. No extra fees.

He was using a debit card.

This is only happening for B of A debit cards, the charge is not from Scotia Bank. Did he use a B of A card?

[More Liana]

It appears they started the fee after the close of business on the 8th.

On the BofA website, the Global Alliance page is still the same. Shows Santander at no fees. <waiting for the other shoe to drop>

[Travis]

I withdrew 3000 pesos yesterday from my BoA account at a Santander atm in Guadalajara,just checked today and there was $6.83 fee charged,"international transaction fee"that's the first time I've ever been charged this fee,I'll be calling BoA about it.

Sounds like shoe-dropping to me. But yeah, I'm holding out hope and waiting to hear from other Santander users.

[ScottH]

I had a long conversation with B of A reps tonight. As previously stated, the fee went into effect on the 8th. They say 3% fee will be charged on all withdrawals from Scotia and Santander and that account holders were notified of the change in August. Using an ATM within the network will only save you the flat $5 fee that they charge for using an ATM that is not within their network. I personally don't see any reason to use B of A any longer...

[JayBearII]

I got hit with the 3% withdrawal fee on both my BofA bank cards when I used them to make withdrawals yesterday. The fees just showed up on screen this morning when the processing of the withdrawals was finalized. I agree this is going to be very expensive, but I do want to keep my money in a US bank so that in the event of an emergency or my death my son can make withdrawals from the accounts. And since I am not intending to be in the US soon, I am stuck with BofA for a while regardless. Later today I will call my branch manager in the US and see if she can somehow intervene and waive the fees on the basis that I am a preferred customer because I keep a savings account with them. I doubt that will work but it doesn't hurt to try. If anyone has a better idea, please post.

[lcscats]

I got it this morning. Fee listed as separate line item. Below is BOA policy from there website.

Traveling Internationally?
Use your ATM card or debit card within the Global ATM Alliance.

• BNP Paribas (France)
• BNL Banca Nazionale Del Lavoro (Italy)
• Barclays United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands)
• Deutsche Bank (Germany)
• Scotiabank (Canada and the Caribbean, Caribbean countries include: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles (St. Maarten), St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands)
• Westpac Bank (Australia and New Zealand)

In addition, Bank of America has arranged for you to use your debit or ATM cards in China at China Construction Bank
ATMs (China Construction Bank ATMs in Hong Kong are not included) and in Mexico at Banco Santander with no ATM
Operator Fees or Non-Bank of America International ATM fees. International Transaction Fees of 1% for converting your
currency may apply.

Your foreign currency and travelers cheques are ready when you are.

Bank of America helps you with your foreign currency and travelers cheques needs. Use our secure, convenient, online service to:

• Sign in and purchase up to $10,000 of foreign currency a month. For customers not signing in, orders are limited to $500 in foreign currency a year.
• Check daily foreign currency banknote exchange rates.
• Calculate the value of your currency before you exchange money.

Cancel

[lcscats]

It appears they started the fee after the close of business on the 8th.

Yes I did NOT get charge for a withdrawal on the 8th but did get charged this morning for one yesterday. It makes sense now.

[solajijic]

Since 2006 we have used the ATM to access our BofA account only about 4 times a year and those were a forgotten long weekend or back in the days here when the banks and finance houses often didn't have enough money during festivals etc...and of course once a year to make sure it works.

Instead we use our BofA checks. Just like Mom did I go to the bank, or in this instance Intercam, once or twice a week. We are anticipating some changes to the way Intercam has handled accounts because they recently made the move from finance house to full-on bank.

I checked it out, used the card and the 3% hit this AM.

Get some checks from BofA. Do not put your Mexico address on the checks, use a US mail address. We found the local address made all kinds of problems. We last got 400 checks and using them at a rate of 2 or 3 a month those will last a long while or until banks stop processing paper checks.

I never felt comfortable taking the risk of ATM crime. If only they would put in a drive thru and a pnuematic tube...

[elehne1]

Per Bank of America web ATM fees questions

What are the fees for using a ATM or debit card at an ATM in a foreign country?

The Non-Bank of America ATM usage fee is $5. This fee is assessed for each withdrawal, transfer or balance inquiry performed at a Non-Bank of America ATM in a foreign country. In addition, the ATM operator may charge an access fee for cash withdrawals.

Your deposit account statement will reflect the U.S. dollar equivalent of your foreign ATM withdrawal. Bank of America will assess an international transaction fee of 1% (Effective November 8, 2013, the fee will change to 3%) of the US dollar amount for all ATM withdrawals processed in foreign currency. Foreign ATM operators may offer to do your currency conversion for you, but they may charge a higher fee for conversion. To insure that your currency conversion does not incur a fee higher than the one stated above, you may refuse the ATM operator's offer to convert the amount of the transaction. The fee is assessed as a separate transaction fee on the posting date of the withdrawal.

You can avoid the Non-Bank of America ATM usage fee and ATM operator access fee by using one of our international partner ATMs in the corresponding countries listed below:

Barclays (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Jersey, Guernsey and the Channel Islands)

BNP Paribas (France)

BNL D’Italia (Italy)

UkrSibbank (Ukraine)

Deutsche Bank (Germany)

Scotia Bank (Canada, Peru, Chile and the Caribbean including: Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Maarten, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands)

Westpac Bank (Australia and New Zealand)

China Construction Bank (Mainland China)

Santander (Mexico)

[bostonfrog2012]

Yes, I, too, just noticed a $US 2.28 fee for a 1000 peso withdrawal from ScotiaBank when checking my balance now! I made that withdrawal on the 12th of November. I had up to now had no fees using them. Not only are they now charging this +/- 3% fee per transaction, but I also get wire transfers from abroad sent to them. It has gone up from $12 to $15 this month. So much for the 3% annual inflation claim in the US!! That's a 25% increase in one shot. Someone has mentioned that Santander is still without a fee. Is this true? I want to send them a secure message from within my account, but I don't know exactly where to find this on the page.

Unless Santander doesn't offer fee-free withdrawals, I won't use B of A for anything anymore, except to receive money transfers and transfer that money to other linked accounts in the US that only charge me the transaction fee in Mexico, which at Santander I think is 24 pesos. I have 2 other accounts stateside that don't charge me any fee except for the 24 to 30 peso fee imposed by the bank here. In the past I stopped using B of A because they charge 3% here to use it as a debit card in stores!

Do you remember the scandal a while back about the new charges B of A was going to impose on account holders in the States? They revoked them, but their stock is still up! Definitely this is a bank to avoid at all costs. Had I known!

[Mainecoons]

Since 2006 we have used the ATM to access our BofA account only about 4 times a year and those were a forgotten long weekend or back in the days here when the banks and finance houses often didn't have enough money during festivals etc...and of course once a year to make sure it works.

Instead we use our BofA checks. Just like Mom did I go to the bank, or in this instance Intercam, once or twice a week. We are anticipating some changes to the way Intercam has handled accounts because they recently made the move from finance house to full-on bank.

I checked it out, used the card and the 3% hit this AM.

Get some checks from BofA. Do not put your Mexico address on the checks, use a US mail address. We found the local address made all kinds of problems. We last got 400 checks and using them at a rate of 2 or 3 a month those will last a long while or until banks stop processing paper checks.

I never felt comfortable taking the risk of ATM crime. If only they would put in a drive thru and a pnuematic tube...

Yes but don't you get hit on the exchange rate as well when you use checks?

[lcscats]

Yes but don't you get hit on the exchange rate as well when you use checks?

Exchange rate is better at Bancomer with checks over $5000 dollars. Guess I will build up money in my BOA account and write a $5001 dollar check and put it in Bancomer to get money down here. Below $5000 dollars not as good. Ask questions as they won't volunteer this info.

[d-d]

I withdrew 6000 pesos from the Scotia ATM yesterday. Including the fee that was charged my exchange rate would be 12.76 pesos to the U.S. dollar. Is intercam giving a better exchange rate?

[solajijic]

If you are getting $5000 US in pesos you should be negotiating your exchange rate face-to-face with the financial institution manager.

For smaller amounts who knows. We have a better than standard exchange rate which was decided when we opened the account the first week they were in town. I also make sure over the years to take new customers in and introduce them so that my value to the business is obvious. However, and it is a big however, they are now a bank and I am going to bet that changes are coming and the advantage will disappear.

The rate yesterday was better than 12.8 that was on the board but not as high as 13.1 at an ATM mentioned earlier. I have the XE on my desktop so I generally know daily what the rate should be skirting. Mainecoons, I don't really keep close track of it because after all my options are limited since I need pesos and I prefer the personal relationship and face time to using a machine.

[justdoit]

My resonse from BOA this morning.

Thank you for your inquiry dated 11/14/2013 regarding the international transaction fee. We will be happy to assist you.We understand your concern regarding the unexpected fee assessed on your account.The International ATM usage fee is $5. This fee is assessed for each withdrawal, transfer or balance inquiry performed at a non-Bank of America ATM or non-Global ATM Alliance bank located in a foreign country. In addition to the ATM usage fee, Bank of America assesses an international transaction fee for debit card transactions in foreign currency or in U.S. dollars with foreign merchants in the amount of 3% of the U.S. dollar amount of the transaction and 3% (Effective November 8, 2013) for all ATM transactions processed in foreign currency. The fee is assessed as a separate transaction fee on the posting date of the purchase or withdrawal. The ATM operator may charge an additional fee for cash withdrawals. Please be informed that using a Banco Santander ATM in Mexico will waive the ATM operator fees or Non-Bank of America International ATM Fee of $5. An international transaction fee of 3% may apply when converting your currency.. Kindly note, using a Scotia Bank ATM in Mexico will not waive the ATM operator fees or Non-Bank of America International ATM Fee.

[RVGRINGO]

Informative, but certainly not helpful. I suspect many will be looking for a bank with lower fees, or no fees.

[johanson]

Well, I just took out $2,000 pesos from a Scotia Bank ATM, using a B of A debit card this Thursday morning.. The $2,000 pesos cost me $153.43 US which gave me an exchange rate of 13.035+ to 1. That was about the spot rate this morning. So far so good, no added fee, (I just checked my on-line account) but as I have learned here, soon my bank account tied to this Debit card will show an additional charge,

I shall keep on checking hoping that somehow there will be no new 3% fee; and shall post my experiences.

[phxfunguy]

Exchange rate is better at Bancomer with checks over $5000 dollars. Guess I will build up money in my BOA account and write a $5001 dollar check and put it in Bancomer to get money down here. Below $5000 dollars not as good. Ask questions as they won't volunteer this info.

They will give you the better rate for exactly $5000 as well.

[phxfunguy]

My resonse from BOA this morning.

Thank you for your inquiry dated 11/14/2013 regarding the international transaction fee. We will be happy to assist you.

We understand your concern regarding the unexpected fee assessed on your account.

The International ATM usage fee is $5. This fee is assessed for each withdrawal, transfer or balance inquiry performed at a non-Bank of America ATM or non-Global ATM Alliance bank located in a foreign country.

In addition to the ATM usage fee, Bank of America assesses an international transaction fee for debit card transactions in foreign currency or in U.S. dollars with foreign merchants in the amount of 3% of the U.S. dollar amount of the transaction and 3% (Effective November 8, 2013) for all ATM transactions processed in foreign currency. The fee is assessed as a separate transaction fee on the posting date of the purchase or withdrawal. The ATM operator may charge an additional fee for cash withdrawals.

Please be informed that using a Banco Santander ATM in Mexico will waive the ATM operator fees or Non-Bank of America International ATM Fee of $5. An international transaction fee of 3% may apply when converting your currency..

Kindly note, using a Scotia Bank ATM in Mexico will not waive the ATM operator fees or Non-Bank of America International ATM Fee.

This response does not agree with the current info on the Global Alliance page at least concerning Santander. The page states that a currency conversion fee of 1% may apply, which they've never charged anyone to my knowledge. This response states a 3% fee may apply which they are applying. Since the website page neither supports what they're replying to customers currently nor are they charging the "possible" 1%, I'd demand a reversal of the 3% fee and point them to their own page. Unfortunately Scotia Bank is not listed under the Caribbean banks, so those customers really have no leg to stand on. That freebie seems to have been closed with the new charges on Nov. 8 and there is unfortunately no documentation to argue with them about that one.

[bostonfrog2012]

Yes, JOHANSON. You haven't seen the 3% charge yet. Neither did I at first. But it will probably appear on your online statement if you look at it on Saturday after the banks close on Friday. I was horrified to see this; first time since I have used the card. I had stopped using B of A for debit card purchases because of the 3% charge, but now I will stop using the B of A card ALTOGETHER here in Mexico, except to receive money transfers, and then transfer those funds to another bank. It has to be one of the worst banks!

[Mainecoons]

This response does not agree with the current info on the Global Alliance page at least concerning Santander. The page states that a currency conversion fee of 1% may apply, which they've never charged anyone to my knowledge. This response states a 3% fee may apply which they are applying. Since the website page neither supports what they're replying to customers currently nor are they charging the "possible" 1%, I'd demand a reversal of the 3% fee and point them to their own page. Unfortunately Scotia Bank is not listed under the Caribbean banks, so those customers really have no leg to stand on. That freebie seems to have been closed with the new charges on Nov. 8 and there is unfortunately no documentation to argue with them about that one.

Are you saying that B of A is charging 3 percent for Santander ATMs too?

[lcscats]

This response does not agree with the current info on the Global Alliance page at least concerning Santander. The page states that a currency conversion fee of 1% may apply, which they've never charged anyone to my knowledge. This response states a 3% fee may apply which they are applying. Since the website page neither supports what they're replying to customers currently nor are they charging the "possible" 1%, I'd demand a reversal of the 3% fee and point them to their own page. Unfortunately Scotia Bank is not listed under the Caribbean banks, so those customers really have no leg to stand on. That freebie seems to have been closed with the new charges on Nov. 8 and there is unfortunately no documentation to argue with them about that one.

I read the same online from BOA online website and agree the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. If we go to Santander we should have to pay 1 % now is how I read it online. Bet which one is right laugh out loud.....3%

Hey folks it was great while it lasted.....Go find the next best deal or complain but complaining to BOA uhhh not very effective. They are even doing this to there platinum members. Not very smart but hey they may not care.

Remember "Were the phone company and we don't have to care" I am disappointed but not surprised.