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Banking Troubles again


Floradude

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In the end Xoom rejected me. After several days, many emails, for which I provided every document they asked for

I was told this afternoon that "we found it necessary to cancel your transaction in accordance with our regulatory and compliance policies."

Vetteforron.....what are the circumstances they you are able to use them every month.

I was trying to transfer money from my Wells Fargo checking account to my Banamex checking account.

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To Floradude: Having Banamex pay my CFE and Telmex bills is the only way I can be sure that they will be paid while I am away, and that my electric will not be off when I return. I have no one to pay my bills for me, and the one time, years ago, I tried leaving a deposit with CFE, it did not work; the deposit simply disappeared, even though I had a receipt for it, and getting the electric back on was very difficult. (Deposits worked with Telmex, but since I must have my Banamex account for CFE, I may as well use it for Telmex, too.) My Banamex debit card can only be used fee-free for withdrawing pesos from my Banamex account.

To others: The only other way of getting funds from my U.S. bank to deposit in Banamex would be by wire transfer, which is neither convenient nor cheap for me. When I first opened my Banamex account, I could deposit U.S. checks in it, but Banamex stopped that a long time ago. I am unwilling to endure the trouble of changing my U.S. account with its direct deposits and automatic bill paying.

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I can understand not wanting to have to change all auto pays and such but Banamex is not a friendly bank to us expats. I can't imagine having a bank that won't let me cash a foreign check especially when they are in US and Mexico. Maybe time to move on at least over time. For me nothing is cheaper than a check if no fees and a proper exchange rate. Others may disagree but Bancomer has been very good to me. Banamex has done quite a bit dumping us expats with little warning if you look at the old posts.

Good Luck

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In the end Xoom rejected me. After several days, many emails, for which I provided every document they asked for

I was told this afternoon that "we found it necessary to cancel your transaction in accordance with our regulatory and compliance policies."

Vetteforron.....what are the circumstances they you are able to use them every month.

I was trying to transfer money from my Wells Fargo checking account to my Banamex checking account.

Did you make sure you told them that the money that is transferred is only for paying bills? I am guessing that you also want to keep it a small amount at a time meaning $1000 USD or less. You can transfer that amount several times a month after you are approved.

It could be a problem with Banamex.

Why not sign up with Bancomer? I don't use it, but I have never heard the complaints like I have heard with Banamex. I was a Banamex customer once and I think it is a horrible bank.

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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.

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.

OK, I ran another test using PayPal as described above. This was done a couple of days ago (Dec 12), but I waited to see how much arrived before posting this. Here is the result:

Transferred: 9,000 pesos (i.e. that is how much I wanted to receive in my Santander Account...and that is how much arrived)

Withdrawn from my US (Midfirst) account: $534.27 USD... described as $52.20 MXN peso fee; and 16.94 exchange rate

I then went to the XE website and asked for a quote on transferring 9,000 pesos...and was quoted $528.12 USD...described as 17.04 exchange rate.

If I had gone through with the XE transfer, I don't know if I would have experienced a fee or whether the fee is embedded in the exchange rate. I vaguely remember being unhappy with the proposed fees when I looked into XE a couple of years ago, but I don't remember the detail, and it may have changed since then. Joco indicated there is no fee now.

Anyway, the difference is pretty small...and the delivery time (3 days starting on a Saturday) is reasonable.

Does anybody else have specifics of transactions that would show a comparison?

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If you looked at the regular XE exchange rate site, that is the best exchange rate for banks, not individual trades. For trades it isn't that good a rate.

3 days starting on a Saturday is great. It takes XE 5 business days and sometimes 8 business days because I have gotten caught on US bank holidays and MX holidays in the same trade.

I might try Paypal a few times and see if it is better.

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If you looked at the regular XE exchange rate site, that is the best exchange rate for banks, not individual trades. For trades it isn't that good a rate.

.

This advice is exactly backwards from reality.

XE.com's posted internet exchange rates for the MXN peso : USD dollar rates are moment-by-moment real-time trade "mid-market" values. "Mid-market" values are the $$ rate that is exactly between each trade's seller's price and the buyer's price.

In contrast: The bank's exchange rates are generally determined only once a day, or twice a day, unless you have your branch bank manager (or account representative) request a special quote from their far-off main office. That special quote takes a little time and effort to get, and the special quotes have a modestly short shelf-life.

Let's use a real first-person current example:

We just exchanged $2 million pesos: I tracked XE.com rates for 3 months, we had a relationship established with our local Scotiabank representative, plus paperwork pre-prepared by her, as she waited each day for us to call her and request that best and final quote.

XE.com's moment-by-moment trade-prices bounced to the best level in 2 months, we called our local Scotiabank rep, she called their main office, we got our competitive quote from Scotiabank in less than 10 minutes ...

We executed the exchange at the quoted value ~ which was 0.1 pts better than XE.com's best quoted rate (because our actual exchanges w/XE.com are NOT at the posted prices, the rate is based on personally requested quotes). The Scotiabank special quote was also 0.25 points better than Scotiabank's quoted rate for the day.

For people who want a good $$ deal, it's worth reapeating: Incorrect advice, factually false, and out-of-date inapplicable advice simply direct readers to poor results, costing the reader serious $$.

We saved a very real $5,100 USD by following this approach.

and yes, some people prefer reading a ½ page of detailed factual information ~ that works ~ to save $5,100 dollars,

rather than following cute false 1-liners.

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If you looked at the regular XE exchange rate site, that is the best exchange rate for banks, not individual trades. For trades it isn't that good a rate.

3 days starting on a Saturday is great. It takes XE 5 business days and sometimes 8 business days because I have gotten caught on US bank holidays and MX holidays in the same trade.

I might try Paypal a few times and see if it is better.

I actually went into the quote function on XE and requested a quote for transfering 9000 pesos...so it was real. The only thing I don't know is whether there would have been an additional fee anywhere along the line if I had submitted the transfer order. Yeah, PayPal is worth trying a couple of times. I suppose a service could be less expensive on one transaction and mor expensive on others...or the completion time might vary. If we build up a number of tests we can reach a fair conclusion.
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.

This advice is exactly backwards from reality.

XE.com's posted internet exchange rates for the MXN peso : USD dollar rates are moment-by-moment real-time trade "mid-market" values. "Mid-market" values are the $$ rate that is exactly between each trade's seller's price and the buyer's price.

In contrast: The bank's exchange rates are generally determined only once a day, or twice a day, unless you have your branch bank manager (or account representative) request a special quote from their far-off main office. That special quote takes a little time and effort to get, and the special quotes have a modestly short shelf-life.

Let's use a real first-person current example:

We just exchanged $2 million pesos: I tracked XE.com rates for 3 months, we had a relationship established with our local Scotiabank representative, plus paperwork pre-prepared by her, as she waited each day for us to call her and request that best and final quote.

XE.com's moment-by-moment trade-prices bounced to the best level in 2 months, we called our local Scotiabank rep, she called their main office, we got our competitive quote from Scotiabank in less than 10 minutes ...

We executed the exchange at the quoted value ~ which was 0.1 pts better than XE.com's best quoted rate (because our actual exchanges w/XE.com are NOT at the posted prices, the rate is based on personally requested quotes). The Scotiabank special quote was also 0.25 points better than Scotiabank's quoted rate for the day.

For people who want a good $$ deal, it's worth reapeating: Incorrect advice, factually false, and out-of-date inapplicable advice simply direct readers to poor results, costing the reader serious $$.

We saved a very real $5,100 USD by following this approach.

and yes, some people prefer reading a ½ page of detailed factual information ~ that works ~ to save $5,100 dollars,

rather than following cute false 1-liners.

The XE rate is the best rate at that moment for trading. XE is a currency trading company.

http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/

The XE trade rate for individual trades is not as good.

What is your point? Is it that you had to let us know you made a big trade?

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The XE rate is the best rate at that moment for trading. XE is a currency trading company.

http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/

The XE trade rate for individual trades is not as good.

What is your point? Is it that you had to let us know you made a big trade?

.

.

If you looked at the regular XE exchange rate site, that is the best exchange rate for banks, not individual trades. For trades it isn't that good a rate.

Factual context: Joco's continues giving incorrect advice that can lead readers to expensive errors.

Her complaints are rooted in basic mistakes in how various kinds of exchanges are made, and mistakes in how she defines XE.com.

Here are some applicable facts on how the exchange systems actually work - which helps readers decide how to get the best rates for their type of exchange:

~ Both US and Mexican big banks have their own exchange offices, deciding what currencies they want to hold and how much.

~ Each big bank decides (daily) for itself whether they want to increase or decrease the number of Mexican Pesos or US dollars they want in their reserves. Each big bank then sets their own general "daily" rates for generic exchanges made for walk-in customers. Some banks adjust those "daily" rates in the morning, afternoon, and sometimes both.

That's why the signs in the Mexican banks windows don't always match the rate they give to walk-in customers, because

1. Mexican Banks DO NOT use XE.com ... nor do they use XE.com's rates. Those are falsehoods proposed by Joco.

2. The branch banks often don't update their sign in the window to match that day's current "daily" exchange rate.

~ When bank customers walk into their Mexican or American Bank, they have 2 options: Inquire about & use that bank's generic "daily" rate for small exchanges, or ask for a quotation for larger exchanges**. The branch bank account rep or manager then calls the big bank's main office for currency exchanges, and gets a custom quote for that $$ amount that's valid only for a brief time (30 minutes?).

This process has nothing to do with XE.com - because banks make their own exchanges - not using XE.com as falsely claimed by Joco. This point is really very important, because there are times that the bank's internal exchange offices decide that the general market MXN peso rate (posted on XE.com) is either too-low or too-high ... and the individual bank then decides to offer substantially better rates ~ to us ~ or substantially worse rates ~ to us ~ depending if they want to buy more MXN pesos or sell more MXN pesos.

e.g. When the MXN peso: USD dollar exchange rate was falling to $16.45 two weeks ago, SOME Mexican banks thought the MXN peso would continue to strengthen, and they made bets to buy more MXN pesos from customers - as they thought the MXN:USD exchange rate would continue to fall. During that day, some Mexican banks gave far far better exchange rates than XE.com's internet reported "mid-market rate".

**This is why it's critical to say how big the $$ exchange was, to say which bank or exchange house or ATM was used, and to also say when the exchange was made, because all 3 things affect the exchange rate we get.

Small exchanges of $100 USD or less get the generic daily rates.

Larger exchanges of $1,000 - $5,000 USD get improved-better rates than the generic daily rates.

(at US banks, Mexican banks, and for XE.com quotes)

Even larger exchanges get the very best rates.

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You don't think anyone reads these super long posts, do you?

What XE.com is:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XE.com

"XE.com offers various free online currency tools, including the XE Currency Converter which allows visitors to check live exchange rates of any world currency. The website also offers free historical charts and rate tables. The company provides a foreign exchange service (XE Trade) and a commercial currency data feed service (XE Data Feed). Other features include customized converters, a currency encyclopedia, travel expense calculator, and forex currency news. In 2010, the company introduced a free mobile app (XE Currency) which is available on iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, Windows 8, and Firefox OS devices. In early 2013, a paid version (XE Currency Pro) was made available for iPhone users."

I do not know why this is so confusing and another argument for Snowy, but obviously it is a big deal.

All most of us are want to do is send money the fastest and cheapest way to MX banks here. We are not moving millions. I transfer small amounts a few times a month. I guess I can watch it carefully and save myself 50 cents, but I don't want to do that.

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More facts about how banks and credit cards, and ATM and casas de cambios work, to help readers get the best rates:

Larger exchanges get the very best rates.

So, how do we take advantage of these realities to save serious $$ ? (like the $5,100 US dollars we recently saved - earned)

Basic Facts:
~ A $100 USD exchange at a bank is too small to get the best exchange rates,
~ Using your US debit card (Mastercard or Visa) ~ from a US bank that has no fees, and using that card at a Mexican ATM that has no fees (or fees paid by the US bank, combine to have that little $100 USD exchange gets processed at midnight as a part of by Mastercard or Visa's exchanges for the day.

~ Mastercard and Visa are exchanging $10's of millions of MXN pesos a day, they get very very good rates on their daily exchange.

~ Mastercard and Visa pool all of our little exchanges (and our Mexican credit card purchases) into their one massive daily trade.

(usually posted at midnight of the day that the ATM company submits your transaction, or as many as 3 business days later for credit-card purchases that are posted up to 3 days later by the Mexican merchant)

These facts combine to mean that: Choosing the BEST US bank debit card, paired with a good Mexican ATM, then piggy-backs onto Mastercard or Visas huge daily currency trades, combine to give our little $100 USD debit-card exchange at a good ATM, giving us very very good rates.


This combination of preparation, good factual knowledge, and a little effort gives us the best possible exchange rates for small daily or small weekly exchanges.


Combining those tricks with the facts from above generally gets us the best rates,
except when you have $2,000 USD(?) or more to exchange. On days when a Mexican bank's currency exchange office wants to buy US dollars (because they think the US dollar is going to get stronger in the future), then individual Mexican banks can give special exchange rate quotes that are better than the XE.com "Buy MXN peso" rate. ... and surprisingly even better than the normally very good ATM-Mastercard-Visa system rates.

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You don't think anyone reads these super long posts, do you?

.

Reality from personal messages and conversations say: Yes,

People who like to save money, enjoy reading factual useful information, to understand how things work, and they enjoy learning and using profitable tips.

People who like to avoid over-paying also read, to learn the best ways to do things.

Some people even say they'd rather read a little, to get the truth, and to sweep-out mistaken advice from their understanding.

Some people simply prefer useful facts.

All of the factual points made above have been published on the internet since at least 2008,

and have been verified by US banks, Mexican banks, and XE.com, so this stuff is not "news".

It's simply years of accepted reality.

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Final notes on using XE.com

XE.com offers at least 5 different kinds of exchange rates, depending on our needs, depending on our requests, and depending on our $$ amounts.

XE.com handles individual trades from private individuals, but the trades are based on quotes that we request, not necessarily the posted "mid-market" XE,com live rate.

XE.com rules requires that their private individual customers apply for an XE.com account, before being allowed to make exchanges.

XE.com current rules requires that their private individual customers apply for an XE.com account from the USA, having a physical US address, before being given an XE account.

XE.com also offers "Bid Rates" services, where we make an order to buy or sell at a specific exchange rate, and when/if the XE.com quoted rate hits that value, our currency exchange trade executes at our pre-chosen $$ rate.

XE.com also offers "Live Rates", where you call-in or request on-line to get a special rate quote.

Like all exchange houses, XE.com must make money on each exchange to stay in business.
This means that exchange houses either charge a fee or interest% on each exchange transaction, or they have separate "Buy" prices and "Sell prices" where the difference between the US Dollar "Seller's" price and the USD "Buyer's" price is the reported, published "mid-market" rate.

That's why we generally cannot get exactly the posted "mid-market" rates, as the exchange houses must make$, and the live rates fluctuate moment-by-moment.


Finally, the official Bank of Mexico rates are based on an arcane calculation of various rates from the previous day(s) rates, which mean the official Bank of Mexico rates lag the currency market rates by 1 to 3 days.

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This is ridiculous.

The OP said Banamex stopped taking his U.S. checks so that he could pay local utilities.

Some of us suggested other methods to transfer money from the U.S. to Banamex.

One suggested XOOM but the OP was denied service by XOOM a few days after he thought he made a transfer.

I suggested XE, but said it is difficult to be approved by XE.

The OP used PayPal and was happy with the time it took to transfer and the fee.

Is this confusing? This isn't about moving huge sums of money, just small transfers. Why don't you write several pages about the disadvantages of using XOOM and PayPal?

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I am the originator of this link.

I did not use PayPal after I was denied by Xoom (which is owned by PayPal).

Tomorrow I am making one last visit to the manager at Banamex Chapala.

I have prepared a chart for 2015 showing the only deposit each month being my monthly social security payment.

I also have a column showing how much I actually spent each month with the difference being money that was

deposited by Wells Fargo checks.

I will tell him I do not care how long it takes to process (deposit) the check but if they will not take it I

will be forced to change banks.

If it comes to that I am thinking either Bancomer or Multiva? Which would you vote for (no long explanations please).

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Most people like any bank other than Banamex. I am using Banco Azteca because it is open 7 days a week until 9 at night, but it won't take checks. I am thinking about opening a Bancomer account also.

Have you talked to Intercam about an account or tried cashing a check at CI Banco?

http://www.chapala.com/webboard/index.php?showtopic=59100&hl=%2Bcash+%2Bcheck#entry470141

Did you look at these also?

https://transferwise.com/

http://www.usforex.com/our-services/transfer-money/mexico

Or, if you want to make it simple and keep Banamex, open a Citibank account in the U.S.

http://www.banamex.com/en/personas/servicios/global_transfers.htm

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Is Multiva a real bank yet? Do they have real checking accounts, checks, debit cards, credit cards, home banking and bill payer? I no longer have an account there primarily due to losing patience waiting for full banking services.

Bancomer has generally provided a good service for me over the years. I have wired money from Ameritrade with no problems at a reasonable exchange rate. Never deposited checks because I haven't seen one for about 5 years. No longer a need to write them with electronic banking.

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Is Multiva a real bank yet? Do they have real checking accounts, checks, debit cards, credit cards, home banking and bill payer? I no longer have an account there primarily due to losing patience waiting for full banking services.

Bancomer has generally provided a good service for me over the years. I have wired money from Ameritrade with no problems at a reasonable exchange rate. Never deposited checks because I haven't seen one for about 5 years. No longer a need to write them with electronic banking.

Multiva has been a real bank for 2 years or longer.

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