Bank Accounts in Mexico

[RolandBeltran]

Maybe it is a good place to live and make business - like other millions of US, Canadian and European people that live there think.

I'm also agree with you here.

 

[Suzy Emerald]

Sure, but the majority does not conduct business. After all mx remains a corrupt shithole

 

[botero]

Maybe it is a good place to live and make business - like other millions of US, Canadian and European people that live there think.

I'm a Canadian living here and don't think it's a great place to start a business or family. I consider it a hazardous place in many ways and there's a pattern of neglect, corruption, and carelessness that permeates everything here. The cheap cost of living and lax taxation can save you money, however, you will be paying indirectly through things like your health and security.

The only group I would somewhat recommend Mexico is for retirees on a budget that are just running out the clock. They likely won't mind the health, security and corruption issues plaguing the country. However, younger people with aspirations will care that the air pollution will lower their life expectancy and will care about things like infrastructure, law enforcement, crime, health standards, opportunities, etc. Perhaps that is why you don't see many young foreigners here starting a life. I'm in my early 30's, married to a Mexican and have a baby on the way. I will happily pay more taxes to give my family a better life. We are planning to leave Mexico by the end of the year and only coming back for short visits to see my wife's family.

The major young 'foreigner' population I often see are American citizens of Mexican descent who are culturally more Mexican than American. I feel like they make up the bulk of the American citizens here and may outnumber the retirees. I know of more than a dozen people in my wife's family alone who have American passports that live in Mexico and can barely speak English. I have yet to meet a young Canadian like myself living here starting a life. The majority of the Canadians I met are retired and either live full-time in an expat enclave like PV or are snowbirds who visit during Canadian winters.

I'm currently living in a smaller city in a gated community full of German and Japanese expats who are working for car manufacturers. They all have families and are the only community I can somewhat relate to here. They echo the same complaints I have regarding Mexico and pretty much everyone I spoke to doesn't have long-term plans here. It's nice to finally live amongst people who care about their future and well being. Previously, I lived in the bigger Mexican cities surrounded by locals.

For larger or multinational companies it makes sense being here since Mexico is a lucrative market and they can manage the risks. However, for small businesses, I think there is too much risk and fraud distracting you to run a business properly. In developed countries, you can count on crucial services that banks and the police provide. However, here, they can be your adversaries. You also have to get used to the idea of paying protection money to gangs to operate here. If you become successful and your competition doesn't like it, you may need to be prepared for retaliation. You think that calling the police would help but that can make things worse. When I moved here I admit that I was naive and trusted the police. However, after a few experiences of my own and hearing many stories, I avoid them like I avoid the narcos.

Bank fraud is very common and all the paperwork and manager sign offs for new account openings or account changes exists to fight that fraud. I have heard enough stories from locals about how bank employees themselves are often the thieves and there is nothing you can really do to avoid it. The advice from the bank is to keep your funds in savings or investment accounts that are not linked to your debit card. However, that doesn't really help if the thief was working for the bank.

On most expat forums, people recommend keeping their funds in their banks back home (open a Schwab account is the most common advice). Expats that open local accounts usually don't keep a lot of funds stored. After the Monex scandal rocked the expat community, people are more cautious about keeping funds here. I keep all of my assets outside Mexico and have local accounts for paying bills and making local transfers.

 

[Tr0nad0r]

As a Latam expat living in a developed country, I can relate to many of the experiences described by @botero.

Having a bank account in many countries of Latam is a risk by itself and many people are always looking to keep their money safe on accounts that can't be accessed easily (e.g moving funds to very low-risk mutual funds) and/or limiting their possible losses (e.g using prepaid cards or credit cards that are insured by franchises). Debit cards are avoided like plague.

Many banks employees are corrupt and sell your personal information to fraudsters, is totally normal receiving fraud calls from "banks" or "card franchise" providing you all your personal information and asking you to "confirm the full information of the Visa card finished in XXXX" to "waive the fees of your card" or to "avoid getting your card blocked"

On a personal note about Mexico, I got my debit card cloned during my first visit there. Fortunately, I was using a debit card from a US bank and they helped me and restored the funds, most of the banks from Latam won't help you in this situation because they prefer to lose you as a client instead of giving you a peso back.

 

[EuroKiss]

Sure, but the majority does not conduct business. After all mx remains a corrupt shithole

Ok when we got this kind of shitty nonsense comment, it is clear that some people know the world through the pinky non-binary NatGeo...

 

[Suzy Emerald]

I have been spending for more than 20 yrs the bigger part of the year in mx and have seen it all here. First hand, no hear say... And i dont watch paranoid US natgeo documentaries

 

[EuroKiss]

I have been spending for more than 20 yrs the bigger part of the year in mx and have seen it all here. First hand, no hear say... And i dont watch paranoid US natgeo documentaries

And so talking about a “shithole” is a nonsense, beside being very disparaging.

 

[Suzy Emerald]

It is what it is. Cant make it any nicer for you.

 

[daxbr]

There is an amnesty now in effect in Mexico for those who overstayed or visited as tourists 2015-2020 and hold expired FMM card to gain 4 year temporary residency (without financial qualifications) that leads to permanent residency, that leads to citizenship in 5 years. Also for others, if creative or with help of a fixer.

 

[Digitalmarketing]

Here down in Mexico it is pretty easy to get many benefits happy to assist guys