Best Exchange rate from banks

[navegator]

I have been keeping track of the different exchange rates from the various banks over the last 3 weeks and have found that CitiBanamex has the best consistent rate and Bancomer has the worst, keep in mind that the compra is what you get and the venta is what you pay to purchase dollars at the banks, yes there are some banks that have better exchange rates, the location of some of these banks can be a challenge to the tourist and some banks I have never seen, the last four are strangers to me, some of you might have done business with them they might not have that many branches available in some Cities, this information is as is, yes HSBC has the best exchange rate but in order to exchange Dollars to Pesos or open an account in pesos if you can they want you to fill out a ream of paper work in the order of 20+ pages for $20.00 dollars, they want to know why you are exchanging dollars, where you got the dollars, ETC.ETC. Ridiculous so no business from me.

bank..............purchase.........sell

CitiBanamex.......18.40............19.20
BanaBajio.........17.80............19.30
Banco Azteca......17.85............18.99
Banco Base........18.48............18.88
BBVA Bancomer.....17.52............19.38
Bannorte..........17.80............19.20
HSBC..............18.67............19.13
Inbursa...........18.60............19.15
Scotiabank........17.70............19.32
Infosel...........18.87............ N/A
Intercam..........18.49............19.10
IXE...............17.80............19.20
Monex.............18.65............19.16

All government transactions........18.8241


This information is for you to get the best exchange rate, hopefully the dollar does not get stronger, that way we can purchase more birria.

navegator

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Just for drill here is the official site for the Bank of Mexico. Sadly it will not give you a reference to what bank ATMs charge but it does give the official bank to bank exchange rates devoid of speculation.

http://www.banxico.org.mx/portal-mercado-cambiario/index.html

[MEXICOWANDERER]

The reality depends on location.

For those who travel to remote areas it's tough to beat BanaMex because an ATM the sole ATM might be the only one within 50 miles.

I have been told to my face a few times by bank branch suits "We bo longer exchange dollars inside the bank or outside in the ATM" (BanComer)

The same thing happened with HSBC

Is this an individual bank branch decision?

One thing for certain, WHO does WHAT, WHEN, is not cut and dried. I've used BanaMex machines attached to a bank that had a 2.000 peso limit. I've tangled with a BanNorte ATM in a Major city in the last six months that offered a 10,000 peso extraction limit but it's exchange rate was a hair under one peso fewer pesos per dollar.

Being ripped off by BanComer at an exchange rate 4% less than the BanaMex rate is one thing, being limited to 4,000 pesos the second, by an ATM fee of 81.90 pesos (4.55 USA) ridiculous. Almost ten dollars per use?

[Almot]

navegator wrote:
I have been keeping track of the different exchange rates from the various banks over the last 3 weeks and have found that CitiBanamex has the best consistent rate and Bancomer has the worst

Don't know if anybody noticed but USD/MXN in the last 4 weeks was anything but stable. Which makes any serious analysis difficult. $US and $CAN plummeted against $MXN, beginning few days before the election of the 1st of July. Then it somewhat stabilized after July 15, but for the next few months it would be impossible to tell where it's heading. Bancomer appears to be universally hated by retail customers, anyway.

I've been always able to get a better exchange rate in small exchange offices - not banks - before leaving Canada. No charges. Better rates than any Mexican bank, and definitely better than home-based Canadian or US banks - those are the worst. Highly recommended approach for tourists that can control their spending - though most tourists can't.

Living there semi-permanently is another thing, an account in Mx bank is the best way, if you are allowed to open one. Preferable way then would be a crossborder counter-partner pair like City-City or Scotia-Scotia. No charges.

[Talleyho69]

So we'll wait.

We are more of a tourist town than you are, probably. That could be the difference!

[qtla9111]

Wow, here the exchange rate is much cheaper than the bank. The U.S. dollar sells for 18.65.

[Belting_1313]

.07 peso from the previous days closing on the peso exchange rate.

[Belting_1313]

I have an account with Banorte and I direct deposit from my US bank account using Xoom. They take a $.07 paso per dollar + $4.99 fee for each transaction. This to me is by far he best way to go about getting peso's in Mexico. I can trasfer money and it drops into my Banorte account in about 15 minutes on weekdays. Then as long as you use the Banorte ATM's theres no fee.

[Talleyho69]

We'd take a serious hit as to the rate. Last we saw at the one here the rate was 15.5p to the USD. Ouch!

[qtla9111]

Why couldn't you exchange them at a casa de cambio?

[Talleyho69]

We have listed our Dodge Durango for sale, the one we used to pull a little cargo trailer from Mexico to California empty, then back here full.

First serious query about the Durango wanted to pay us in US dollars. We had to tell him that we had no use for them, and no way to exchange them into usable currency.

[Talleyho69]

What sad things to hear and see.

It's all incorrect, as many/most travelers know.

Embarrassing to see as a traveler from other countries.

[Orion]

Do people really still carry large amounts cash across the border and then try to convert?

This also happens with tourists to Canada as well. Why is this?

Over the years, I have heard these comments.

"If I take money out of my account from ATM in Mexico, it will come out as US dollars anyway" !!

"If I use an ATM, I won't get the exchange rate, if I put in 500, I will get 500 pesos but 500 dollars will come out of my account"

"An ATM in that country won't connect to my account in the US"

"I'll just use my US dollars, they prefer to get them any way" !! I just hate this one. !

[valhalla360]

Do people really still carry large amounts cash across the border and then try to convert?

We just hit an ATM once we get to the country. Our own bank sets the exchange rate and usually it's pretty good. Unless you are in really remote areas (ie: no banks within an hours drive) and/or you need thousands of dollars, this works much better for us.

[Talleyho69]

Last time I used the HSBC ATM, formerly our fav, they had added a screen that stated the exchange rate given. You had to click accept or get nothing. That rate, and I have checked a couple of times since, was at least one full peso less than every other ATM. Santander is now our go to ATM.