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Banking Troubles again


Floradude

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My banking woes just escalated this morning.

I have a Banamex account in Mexico (Chapala) and a Wells Fargo account in the USA. I live full time in Mexico. For the past few years I have been able to write a Wells Fargo check and have it

deposited into my Banamex account immediately.

Today I went into the bank to do this again. I presented the check to the manager for his approval/signature. He informed me that Mexico City says we are now supposed to move

money via wire transfer.

OK. I call Wells Fargo to find out how to do this, and after talking with several people (on hold while they conferred), I was told that in order to Wire Transfer I first have to go to a local branch (Wells Fargo) to set it up and do it the first time. I reminded them I live in Mexico and I cannot go to a branch.

Their only other solution was to go in to my account and under Transfers and transfer from my checking account in Wells Fargo to my checking account in Banamex . Looked easy but NOT.

They wanted the routing numbers and account numbers for both banks. Not surprising the computer did not like the routing number for Banamex. This transfer is only from bank to bank in the US.

Question: You other Banamex customers out there. Any suggestions?? PLEASE.

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Most likely you need the CLABE (18 digits) of your Banamex account. You can find it on your bank state. Normally that is enough to get the money to your account. Some banks also ask the address and/or some kind of bank code of your banamex (SWIFT Code: BNMXMXMM), But the CLABE should be enough to get it to your correct account.

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Did you think of trying another bank? Like Multiva, which has been suggested many times before for just such an occurrence. Probably others but I don't know except to say Actinver is out for this purpose. Yes your check may take up to a month to be credited, yes it would be on that days rate but c'est la vie.

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Your Wells Fargo routing number is on your checks.

https://www.wellsfargo.com/tax-center/easier-refund/

See if you can set up a checking transfer account. It is free but will take a week for the money to get to your MX account. A wire transfer is faster but expensive.

Tell them you visit Mexico, you have an account here to pay bills, and give them a U.S. home address.

http://www.xe.com/xetrade/?WT.seg_1=XTR-TL-XHOM-XIN-XX-V01-131001

I haven't used this one, but the exchange rate looks great but it charges about $15.

https://transferwise.com/

I found one that is owned by Paypal and cost $4.99.

https://www.xoom.com/mexico/send-money

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Ednet94

The only thing the computer transfer program was Routing Numbers and Account numbers for both banks.

I know what a routing number is and my account numbers.

There was no place for the Clabe number.

Joco,

Thanks I will look into these tomorrow

The Clabe is the group of numbers for foreign bank routing numbers like in Mexico.

Xoom looks easier and it gives a better exchange rate than the XE that I use. As an example, if I move $300 USD to Mexico on XE I will get less in the exchange rate than Xoom and come out with more money on Xoom even paying the $4.99 US fee. Xoom would give me almost $200 more pesos.

I think I will change.

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I found wire transfers expensive. I forget the detail, but I also found XE expensive...I think it was a poor exchange rate at the time, or maybe it was an international transfer fee.

Anyway I set up two PayPal accounts...one on PayPal US and linked to my US bank account; and the other on PayPal Mexico and linked to my Santander account. I was then able to send funds from the PayPal US account (pulling from the US bank account) to the PayPal MX account. Then I log on to the PayPal MX account and "withdraw" the funds to my Santander account. The currency conversion happens at PayPal: the PayPal MX account is set up in Pesos.

Using that method the funds are at the PayPal MX account immediately, and then it takes 3 or 4 days to become available at Santander.

I haven't checked the total costs including currency conversion lately but at the time I set it up it seemed the best option.

Logistically it was a pain in the you know what to get the PayPal account linked to the Santander account because PayPal's linking process depends on them making a tiny deposit in the bank account and then you have to read the code supposedly listed on your bank statement (or online) and type it back into the PayPal system. Of course the code did not appear properly on the Santander system so I had to jump through a lot of PayPal hoops to get them to do the "verify" manually. Getting them on the phone was horrendous and then time after time they would promiss me they would initiate it...and then days would go by with no action. Oh yes, and the two PayPal accounts cannot be linked to the same email address. It makes me crazy when I think about it. But in the end it is easy to do the transfers and it works pretty well.

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You need to use the EFT Electronic Funds Transfer option on XE. It takes about 5 days to transfer money but there is no charge. The exchange rate seems to be the same as the others when I checked yesterday.

I haven't looked lately, but I thought Paypal had a fee for each transfer and it makes money on the exchange rate.

XE is touchy and denies people who are in Mexico. It is harder to sign up with than the other services.

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Reporting Back:

I successfully set up an account with Xoom using my Mexico information.

It appears everything has gone through and is being processed. I have a transaction number.

The only negative thing is Xoom would only allow a transfer of $999.99 USD to a Banamex account.

The transaction fee = $4.99

Floradude

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Reporting Back:

I successfully set up an account with Xoom using my Mexico information.

It appears everything has gone through and is being processed. I have a transaction number.

The only negative thing is Xoom would only allow a transfer of $999.99 USD to a Banamex account.

The transaction fee = $4.99

Floradude

Transaction fee is OK, but what was the ex rate used?

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Frankly I question that there is much difference between the various services...posters quote the "fixed" transfer fee and then daily the ex rate varies all over the place...nice to know the services available but it seems to be a crap shoot..the bottom line, leave your money in the USA and transfer as needed

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A naïve question. I use my U.S. Visa debit card to get pesos at an ATM, which I then deposit in the Banamex account that I maintain for automatic payment of my CFE and Telmex bills. I do have to pay both ATM and international transactions fees on the withdrawal. What is the advantage of using the more complicated transfer methods mentioned above?

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A naïve question. I use my U.S. Visa debit card to get pesos at an ATM, which I then deposit in the Banamex account that I maintain for automatic payment of my CFE and Telmex bills. I do have to pay both ATM and international transactions fees on the withdrawal. What is the advantage of using the more complicated transfer methods mentioned above?

Using a U.S debit card is expensive.

A few years ago I think I figured that I saved about $50 a month transferring money to a bank here rather than using my Chase debit card. It all depends on how much you use your card.

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Actually, I have found that using my debit card is much cheaper than transfers. No aTm fees and best exchange rate. Whatever rings your bell.

It isn't whatever rings your bell, it is what bank you have and the fees the bank charges. My U.S. bank charged ATM fees and an exchange rate fee. It all depends on the bank the OP uses, doesn't it?

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Using a U.S debit card is expensive.

A few years ago I think I figured that I saved about $50 a month transferring money to a bank here rather than using my Chase debit card. It all depends on how much you use your card.

.

Not all banks are equal.

Not all ATMs are equal.

Banks keep changing their policies.

General & generic claims like "Using a US debit card is expensive." tell only very narrow truths,

especially when they are based on incomplete, old, out-of-date information.

Many United State's bank policies have been changing every six months, especially since the July 1, 2014 FATCA rules came online.

Internet advice on individual international banking rates, bank's exchange policies, and bank fees don't help, unless they also describe which bank was used, how recently that person's experience happened, and what type of account they had, and which ATM they used.

Example: Using US debit cards to withdraw money at ATMs can be very good, especially if your US bank waives all fees (which some do) or if you use an in-network Mexican ATM. Alternately, debit cards can be very bad and very expensive if your personal bank now charges wicked fees and if you use an out-of-network ATM.

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