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Paying CFE on line


cedros

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I thought I had paid my August CFE bill online from my local HSBC account but it looks like I haven't. Does anyone else pay this way sucessfully?

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Yes

But formerly from Santander

and now CI Banco

I do it manually - look at the bill - do pago servicios - put in required ID and peso amts and a number from my little "fob" from the bank

Normally get a "receipt" showing that I have successfully requested payment which I print as PDF and save

No problem unless I forget....

Which I did once

Met the CFE guy at the door and persuaded him  to give me a day

Ran right to CFE office in Chapala and paid via a machine

Whew....

 

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I have tried several times and it appears to go through but they never show you the credit and the CC never shows it. I was eventually told that it had to be a Mexican Credit Card but that hasn't worked either. You would think they could copy what Telmex does. So, NO I have never made it work.

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I too had trouble with HSBC payments not going through, not the least because you have to enter that 30 digit reference number that changes with each bill. Simply too much room for error there. I now pay at CFE online directly using my Mexican credit card. They charge a 7 pesos service charge for the privilege of paying your bill with them, which is chintzy since you are paying at source so it costs them less, but that 7 pesos is cheaper than what the banks charge so its your choice. No extra fee to pay at a teller. I can't figure the logic out but it is what it is...well maybe the logic is a population of +120million people paying an extra 7 pesos each month on their bill? Even if you only take a subset of that, it's a pretty big cash grab, A 25% subset is an extra $21M pesos a month.

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1 hour ago, Mostlylost said:

Why not open an online account with CFE?  They email you the bill (also send the physical bill) and you can pay online. They email verification of payment. 

I've had an online account with CFE for years. I get the bill online but can't pay it there. What am I doing wrong?

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6 minutes ago, Semalu said:

I too had trouble with HSBC payments not going through, not the least because you have to enter that 30 digit reference number that changes with each bill. Simply too much room for error there. I now pay at CFE online directly using my Mexican credit card. They charge a 7 pesos service charge for the privilege of paying your bill with them, which is chintzy since you are paying at source so it costs them less, but that 7 pesos is cheaper than what the banks charge so its your choice. No extra fee to pay at a teller. I can't figure the logic out but it is what it is...well maybe the logic is a population of +120million people paying an extra 7 pesos each month on their bill? Even if you only take a subset of that, it's a pretty big cash grab, A 25% subset is an extra $21M pesos a month.

So can you only pay online with a Mexican credit card?

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CFE has a phone app called Switch. You get notifications when a bill is posted, you can view it and pay it using your phone using a credit card or from a credit balance you have with CFE. 

The 7 peso CCD charge is new but it's worth it to be able to take care of the bill without leaving the house.

 

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2 minutes ago, John Shrall said:

CFE has a phone app called Switch. You get notifications when a bill is posted, you can view it and pay it using your phone using a credit card or from a credit balance you have with CFE. 

The 7 peso CCD charge is new but it's worth it to be able to take care of the bill without leaving the house.

 

Is that only with a Mexican CC?

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I use a Mexican credit card but one would think a non Mexican one would work also. Enter the key elements of the billing address so Verify by Visa can make a match.

On the CFE app you have to select a credit card country from every one on the face of the earch so it would appear that cards from other countries would be accepted.

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All these methods seem very complicated. Your CFE bill only comes once every two months, or six times a year. You can get it sent to you on-line, if you are concerned about the Mexican mail. Why not just go over to the CFE office in Chapala and pay it at the machine, a simple and easy process? We live in Ajijic and do this. It is a minor errand that we combine with other errands like a stop at Handy Mail to pick up our mail, or a stop at Soriana to pick up something we need there. 

Our CFE gets paid this way, with no complications. Why create so many other hoops to jump through, with banks or Mexican credit cards etc.?

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Everyone here eventually finds the path of least resistance to deal with these financial matters. There is no one absolutely correct answer to these questions.

I like the way I do it, you like your method. Others have a different way to pay bills. The right answer is that which works for you.

I did pay a CFE bill some years back in an Internet cafe in Nairobi, Kenya. Options are good.

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I live in San Juan Cosala. All the CFE bills are sent to a Farmacia in town. An announcement is made in church when they have arrived. You then go this Farmacia to see your bill and pay it there. My problem is I don't go to church so I miss the announcement and sometimes forget when it should be due.

 

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Wow Cedros, that story is  a real blast from the dark ages. I am amazed CFE finds that a suitable solution and am sorry you have had to deal with it. You can avoid the hassle if you register with CFE online and provide your email and click the box opting for email invoices. CFE will deliver your bill to your inbox.   I use the Switch app to pay it from my cell phone but have also paid it online. Either works great, although I have no idea if it works with a non Mexican credit card, Maybe someone can try it and post results here?

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I am registered with CFE and see my bill online but I can't pay it there. Previously people have reported that it has to be a Mexican CC. I would prefer to pay it online from my Mexican bank but it is quite difficult to do so. as semalu reported the 30 digit reference number that changes with each bill. It isn't so bad having to go to the Farmacia to see the original bill and pay it there but I can forget when it is due.

I hate the thought of paying at places or methods where there is a surcharge.

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Should you have difficulty paying online:

If you have your bill, you can pay it at CFE, Oxxo, Walmart, Soriana, etc.  There is a list of the places on the bill, I believe.  Unless you are a hermit and have everything delivered, paying your CFE or Telmex bill should not be a problem.

If you do not have your bill, you can pay at the CFE office by entering your account number or name, address, etc. into the machine. It will display your bill and the amount due. Insert cash, and it will make change. Often, there will be a kid or a guard to assist you, if you are new to the machine method.

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I still recall a time when paying CFE was a nightmare of long line ups and, when the new automatic tellers were first introduced, many incidences of fraud. CFE has certainly come a long way since then and there are many options available to suit most. Now if they would only see their way to eliminating the gratuitous 7 pesos surcharge. We already pay for the service we should not also pay just to be able to pay....

I think the issue to this story was also tied to forgetting to pay. Being an absent minded type myself I can identify with that. My workaround is to use my computer and my smart phones calendar apps where I set up recurring reminders. For example, I have set up a CFE reminder to pay on the same day of the month every 2 months, recurring in perpetuity (I am optimistic). This works for me but may not work for all. I use both MS Outlook calendar (by far the better for me) and Google calendar app, which is more obtuse and less reliable as a result. To each their own of course. Evernote has a lot of followers for this sort of thing. It is an App designed to keep you organized. I have not yet climbed that mountain as I prefer the more private MS Office. I am one of those who fear that with apps like Evernote and Google you are never quite sure if your info is being broadcast to all your contacts or the entire internet......color me "sospechoso"...

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I've started using that new service Simple Pay and it appears to be working great. I use an American credit card and so far am paying Telmex and CFE. No fees -- I'm not sure how they make their money. But everything appears to have been applied promptly. They have even emailed reminders when the same time rolls around the next month. So far I'm a satisfied user of the service.

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Remember when the only to pay the bill in Ajijic was to the girl sitting in an open window at the Prisa paint store? She sat next to a cash register overfllowing with pesos . It was a robbery waiting to happen.

The same girl at the cash register walked the streets delivering bills. 

Times have changed. Somewhat.

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