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MulitVa now requiring investments, not just deposit accounts?


cookj5

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We just got an email from MultiVa that we can no longer deposit a US check in our savings account unless we shift 25% of our money into an investment account. Has anyone else gotten a communication like this from MulitVa? Are any other local banks/investment houses putting out similar communications?

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15 minutes ago, cookj5 said:

We just got an email from MultiVa that we can no longer deposit a US check in our savings account unless we shift 25% of our money into an investment account. Has anyone else gotten a communication like this from MulitVa? Are any other local banks/investment houses putting out similar communications?

Not at Intercam,our bank. Hope it's not a trend because we ain't interested in an investment account.

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Yes l got the same message, so l am going to be taking my money out at ATM until down to zero, and cancel account and open new account at at Intercam l deposit checks at least three times a year, they also make you wait 20 working days to have access, Intercam lets you have it in 4...

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5 hours ago, artsnob said:

Yes l got the same message, so l am going to be taking my money out at ATM until down to zero, and cancel account and open new account at at Intercam l deposit checks at least three times a year, they also make you wait 20 working days to have access, Intercam lets you have it in 4...

Be aware it takes a little while to open new accounts these days including Intercam.  New rules including picture of your house etc etc.

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6 hours ago, artsnob said:

Yes l got the same message, so l am going to be taking my money out at ATM until down to zero, and cancel account and open new account at at Intercam l deposit checks at least three times a year, they also make you wait 20 working days to have access, Intercam lets you have it in 4...

Our Intercam account gets credited instantly with our cheque from our bank in Canada even though they have to wait 5-10 days for it to clear for them. We deposit more than 3 times a year usually.

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17 hours ago, cookj5 said:

We just got an email from MultiVa that we can no longer deposit a US check in our savings account unless we shift 25% of our money into an investment account.

Anyone involved.... BE WARNED now. While savings accounts there (and other places) are covered by Mexican equivalent of FDIC, investment accounts are NOT .... for gains  nor principal.  I am positive of this since I recently translated a person's entire 6 pages of one month's statements including all the reg's and disclaimers so she could understand the statement when receiving them.

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2 minutes ago, Natasha said:

Anyone involved.... BE WARNED now. While savings accounts there (and other places) are covered by Mexican equivalent of FDIC, investment accounts are NOT .... for gains  nor principal.  I am positive of this since I recently translated a person's entire 6 pages of one month's statements including all the reg's and disclaimers so she could understand the statement when receiving them.

That's true in any country.  

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Still not sure why any expat needs to bank in Mexico.  It is easy to access funds in foreign (non-Mexican) banks from here using ATMs.  Any type of check could be deposited in US bank and accessed from here.  What kinds of problems or issues are folks dealing with that require local bank accounts?  Somebody please explain by example. I guess  there might be a one time need for a particular event but once that is done just ignore the Mexican bank and either close the account or leave the minimum balance to avoid fees.  Alan

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5 hours ago, barrbower said:

Still not sure why any expat needs to bank in Mexico.  It is easy to access funds in foreign (non-Mexican) banks from here using ATMs.  Any type of check could be deposited in US bank and accessed from here.  What kinds of problems or issues are folks dealing with that require local bank accounts?  Somebody please explain by example. I guess  there might be a one time need for a particular event but once that is done just ignore the Mexican bank and either close the account or leave the minimum balance to avoid fees.  Alan

We have lived in Ajijic for almost 14 years. For the first 10 years or so, we depended upon ATMs to access our money in our NOB account. Ultimately, we found that having a Mexican bank account gave us better access to the pesos we needed. This was particularly so after we bought a house that needed occasional repairs and when we needed substantial sums to buy a car, pay medical bills, etc. Many times, the amounts needed were greater than you could get from an ATM, unless you went back repeatedly over a period of time. 

Over those first 10 years exclusively using ATMs, we did encounter a number of problems with them. Sometimes our usual ATM would be inoperable for some reason. We would then have to scramble to locate one that was functional, often at an inconvenient time, such as just before departure on a trip. We discovered that trying to access funds on certain days (particularly during fiestas) sometimes resulted in a message on the screen that the ATM was out of money.

When we couldn't get an ATM to operate properly, we would always return home to check our US account online. Sometmes we would discover that the funds we had asked for had been withdrawn, even though we had an ATM receipt that said zero funds withdrawn. The local bank with the problem ATM never takes responsibility and always refers you back to your US bank. This meant we would have to go through voice-mail hell to get through, and then fight with them to put the money back. 

Ultimately, It made sense to have an account in a local bank where we can access pesos in the amount we need, while dealing with actual human beings, rather than a machine. Others may have different experiences or opinions, these are mine.

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7 hours ago, cookj5 said:

Ultimately, It made sense to have an account in a local bank where we can access pesos in the amount we need, while dealing with actual human beings, rather than a machine. Others may have different experiences or opinions, these are mine.

Even before Covid, I prefer dealing with machines! 

We've lived here a total of 11 years and owned 2 homes and did substantial renovations to each of them, as well as furnishing them.  We have yet to open a MX bank account.  To us it's a matter of simplification....the fewer financial accounts we need to deal with, the better.  Our Schwab account allows for zero ATM fees worldwide.  When we lived here 2008-2012 we never used a credit card because MX hadn't yet embraced Chip technology.  Well, now they do and we use credit cards for many purchases resulting in a lot of airline miles and fewer ATM visits.  

I agree with @cookj5 that we all have different experiences and different comfort levels.  

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9 hours ago, cookj5 said:

We have lived in Ajijic for almost 14 years. For the first 10 years or so, we depended upon ATMs to access our money in our NOB account. Ultimately, we found that having a Mexican bank account gave us better access to the pesos we needed. This was particularly so after we bought a house that needed occasional repairs and when we needed substantial sums to buy a car, pay medical bills, etc. Many times, the amounts needed were greater than you could get from an ATM, unless you went back repeatedly over a period of time. 

Over those first 10 years exclusively using ATMs, we did encounter a number of problems with them. Sometimes our usual ATM would be inoperable for some reason. We would then have to scramble to locate one that was functional, often at an inconvenient time, such as just before departure on a trip. We discovered that trying to access funds on certain days (particularly during fiestas) sometimes resulted in a message on the screen that the ATM was out of money.

When we couldn't get an ATM to operate properly, we would always return home to check our US account online. Sometmes we would discover that the funds we had asked for had been withdrawn, even though we had an ATM receipt that said zero funds withdrawn. The local bank with the problem ATM never takes responsibility and always refers you back to your US bank. This meant we would have to go through voice-mail hell to get through, and then fight with them to put the money back. 

Ultimately, It made sense to have an account in a local bank where we can access pesos in the amount we need, while dealing with actual human beings, rather than a machine. Others may have different experiences or opinions, these are mine.

That is so bang on! We always take out a large amount greater than one would get at an ATM and just go to our bank 1-3 times per month. Use our debit card when needing hospital care. We opened our account about 5 years ago after 9 years of ATM use and had same problems as you. We switched all our accounts in Canada to Scotia because of their ATM being so close but it kept screwing up. Most of the time we get our cash from the teller quicker than we used to lining up at the ATM.

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I agree with the need for a local bank.  So much more convenient!  Relying on ATM not a good idea and limits on how much cash you can get, then the problems with the machines....just not worth it.  Better to spend the time going through the process of opening a local account.  Dealing with live person is better.

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ATMs work fine for me. No charge and I can get 20,000 at a time. I have many problems with my Mexican bank so I am about to give it up even though I can transfer money from  Canada to my Mexican account myself at no charge.

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One of the worst problems with an ATM is that if for example you withdraw  $20,000 pesos, one gets almost all of those funds in $500 peso bills. And when I go shopping or sit down for a cup of coffee, I hate never having the correct change. I would feel guilty always paying with $500 peso bills. With my bank account I can get a a few 20s, 50s, 100s and 200s and almost no $500 peso bills.

It makes it much easier for everyone when we can pay our small bill with close to the exact change, not with $500 peso bills

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When I sold a house about 6 years ago, I deposited the receipts in an investment account. the interest I have earned each year has allowed me to provide scholarships for some 30 students at no direct cost to me. The income earned has varied between 8 percent and 4 percent ( the lowest currently I suppose due to the pandemic effect). My Canadian and US accounts pay below 1% and have never done any better during that time.

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If I get 20,000 pesos out there are always a number of 200 pesos bills. Usually I pay at Walmart with a 500 pesos bill-there is often a slight delay while they get change. Soon I have a number of smaller bills. I have never had to worry about paying with a bill that is too large.

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