ATM fee survey

[mr bill]

I have been using a Banco del Bajio ATM at the DIF HQ for some time as it seemed to be the least avaricious in its fees. The DIF has recently remodeled its entrance and away went the machine and its 18.60 peso fee. Serfin/Santander across the street charges - if my memory is correct- 32 pesos. At the Bancomer machine in Mega this morning the total fee was 29 pesos [25 fee 4 IVA].

Can members help fill in the missing fees - assuming that one is not an account holder at any given bank.


Banco del Bajio 18.6
Banorte
Bancomer 29
Banregio
Banamex Citibank
Scotiabank Inverlat
Santander/Serfin 32?


Thanks

[kasugie]

If you have a BofA checking account in the U.S., you can withdraw pesos at Santander Serfin ATMs for free. Likewise with Banamex USA (and possibly Citibank - check online) at Banamex ATMs. This assumes you keep most of your cash/savings in dollars.

In terms of minimizing fees on native bank card withdrawals, only advice is to withdraw the max each time (fee is the same), and hide away the extra cash you don't need right away. If you have a hard time breaking 500 peso bills, the best chance of obtaining all 200 and 100 notes at Banamex and Santander Serfin ATMs is on Sundays.

[doncoulter]

I too miss the BanBaj?o ATM at DIF. But there's another one, at the BanBaj?o branch in Plaza de la Paz. This ATM is less secure, as it's mounted in a window so that you have to stand on the street where anyone can see you withdrawing your cash. But practice Stratfor-level situational awareness and you should be okay. This ATM charges the same 18.56 pesos (with IVA) as the old DIF terminal.

As for fees at other ATMs, I've found Santander's to be lower than most. At the Mega last week, the charge with IVA was 25.52 pesos.

As Kasugie indicates, the amount one pays can ultimately depend on one's financial institution in the States. I use USAA and Fidelity, and both reimburse me for ATM fees charged by U.S. banks and by some Mexican banks. Through experimentation I've found that they fully reimburse me when I use Santander and BanBaj?o ATMs.

Don

[laconstance]

The last time I withdrew money from Bancomer (October 27, $4,000 pesos) the fee was $19.50 plus IVA on the commission of 3.12, for a total of $22.62 pesos for the transaction. This was at the actual bank at the corner of Ju?rez and Juan Valle. Perhaps the fee has increased since then, or more likely the fees are higher at ATMs away from the bank itself; I have long thought that was the case, so always avoid them. My hometown bank in the USA does not charge any ATM fees, ever.

If I want to withdraw smaller amounts of money, I withdraw from my Banamex USA account, using the ATM at Banamex, or withdraw from my M?xican Banamex account. No fees at all, either. Using the Banamex USA ATM card, I can also withdraw fee-free from any Citibank ATM worldwide, and fee-free from thousands of other ATMs that have an arrangement with Citibank, including 7-11!

Serendipitously, I found that my experience echoed that of Kasugie in Banamex -- on Monday (a holiday after the long weekend), I withdrew $2,000 pesos, and got it all back in 50s, 100s, and a few 200s! Wow!

[laconstance]

Well, O.K., the fee is only part of the story, although that's the part that raises our hackles. The other part is the exchange rate.

Today, I withdrew a chunk of pesos from the ATM at Bancomer (Ju?rez at Ju?n Valle) and their fee was still $19.50 pesos + 3.12 pesos commission. Taking the fee into account, the raw exchange rate was 14.037967, or 13.958682 for what I netted in cash.

As an experiment, I then walked directly to Banamex on Plaza Los Angeles and withdrew from their ATM, using my no-fee Banamex USA card. The exchange rate was a (relatively) measly 13.888888!

The transactions were 3? minutes apart!