ATM Fees

[kasugie]

Here are BofA's policies vis-a-vis Santander. In the past, Santander has tried to sneak a fee when withdrawing money with my BofA check card. I've had to waste 10-15 minutes calling BofA's customer service in India to reverse it.

I have a Banamex USA checking account which enables me to transfer pesos via the internet to my Banamex account here, as well as use Banamex ATMs without a service fee. However, compared to using a Capital One Credit card (no currency transaction fee), the exchange rate is less favorable. Banamex USA (and Mexico) are subidiaries of Citicorp. If you have a Citibank ATM or check card, you may be able to withdraw money at Banamex without a service charge, as well. You would need to check with them.

Disclaimers aside, these are your two best bets.

[meroberts]

Hi Constance,

I don?t think I responded to your last questions. So sorry... To get cash, I used my BoA debit card, at the Santander ATM, located at MEGA. My fee was ZERO.

The only condition to get this little perk is that I maintain my account at Santander. Once a month I deposit cash in the account from where I withdraw cash or make my payments on line for my local expenses. The charges for maintaining the account on line are 145 pesos or so per month. The charges are based on the monthly activity.

I did mention the "SAFE SEND" service before. That is provided between BoA and Santander. You call their 800 number and they will wire the money the same day. You do have to set this up before you come back. I hope this clarifies your questions better.

Best regards,

Martha ;)
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Thank you!

Did you use the ATM card for your BOA U.S. account, or your Santander Mexican account when you used the machine at Mega?

And, do you know how what charge is levied to transfer money from BOA in the U.S. to Santander in M?xico? Sometimes, it seems "free" to send money, but costs to receive it. Is that the case with BOA/Santander, or is it a seamless situation, about as easy as shifting money from one account to another at the same bank?

[laconstance]

Thanks for the clarification. But, YIKES!, this is what I meant by a high maintenance fee. That amounts to around $11 or $12 per month (assuming a favorable exchange rate). At that rate, it would be cheaper for me to pay a 25-32 peso per transaction fee, and keep using my USA bank's ATM card.

No matter what, the banks get you coming and going.