Banamex USA -outrageous

[Joco]

That article quoted gives reasons that are absolutely ridiculous. It almost smacks of "blaming the victims".

For one example, my husband and I opened that account with California Commerce back in 2004 as we were in the process of moving to Mexico; never tried to use any false information and have talked to them on our Mexican home phone. We never did anything the least bit illegal and made substantial deposits in the account over the years, along with using them as the SS direct deposit. They may not have loved us quite so much because we paid off our Mastercard account with them in full, every month. They may have missed getting that outrageous interest.

IMO, the move is being made to get rid of expat customers, one wave at a time.

We went through the personal information interview on two recent occasions, so if there's anything they don't know, it's not because they didn't ask.

As a non-financial guru, I'm guessing that they are in deep stuff with the regulatory agencies, and getting rid of expats looks like they are doing something.

"Article?" Are you referring to the email I posted? The man sent his thoughts to me explaining what he had heard from Citibank insiders. If you think it is fiction, I gave his name and email address so feel free to tell him.

Citibank is giving the reason to employees that 40% of the Banamex accounts have problems, are fraudulent or suspicious. Low performing and costing more to service than is worth it, is probably a good reason to cancel accounts also.

[Mainecoons]

Banks all over the world are tossing Americans because they don't want to deal with the IRS.

Get used to it.

[gringal]

Whenever I hear that someone has "insider information", my b.s. meter starts beeping. Lots of trouble in the world has been caused by believing such information.

Not only me, but a number of other respectable, law abiding retirees who have had long term relationships with that bank are being thrown off the rolls. None of them are laundering money or doing any of the stuff referred to in the your email, article or website referred to. Most of them are "Permanente" in Mexico. Some have substantial balances in their accounts. ( "Substantial" meaning 5 figures or more.)

Does any institution give their employees the straight scoop about anything important? No, not unless the working world has changed radically in the last few years.

Those of us who called the bank were told exactly what their supervisors were instructed to tell us. Period.

No matter what the real reasons are for this action, it is just plain rotten treatment of customers to take this action on such short notice.

BTW: Apologies to anyone to whom I said that the Mexican banks have the forms. Actinver did have them as of earlier this week. Sounds like some banks hereabouts need to hop to it on getting more copies. New business awaits.

[Joco]

Whenever I hear that someone has "insider information", my b.s. meter starts beeping. Lots of trouble in the world has been caused by believing such information.

Not only me, but a number of other respectable, law abiding retirees who have had long term relationships with that bank are being thrown off the rolls. None of them are laundering money or doing any of the stuff referred to in the your email, article or website referred to. Most of them are "Permanente" in Mexico. Some have substantial balances in their accounts. ( "Substantial" meaning 5 figures or more.)

Does any institution give their employees the straight scoop about anything important? No, not unless the working world has changed radically in the last few years.

Those of us who called the bank were told exactly what their supervisors were instructed to tell us. Period.

No matter what the real reasons are for this action, it is just plain rotten treatment of customers to take this action on such short notice.

BTW: Apologies to anyone to whom I said that the Mexican banks have the forms. Actinver did have them as of earlier this week.

Sorry, I thought it was easy to understand. Someone who writes about banks, is usually knowledgeable about banks, was told that was the reason Citi was telling Banamex to cancel the accounts. No one is asking you to risk anything. No one is asking you to make an investment on information that might or might not be accurate. There is no risk to you, just another opinion from someone who heard if from a Citi employee. If you believe it or not, that will not change the status of your Banamex account.

No, it was simply what this person who writes about banks heard from a Citibank insider. Whether Citi is correct or not about our accounts being fraudulent doesn't matter to Citi because that is apparently the excuse Citi is using.

[gringal]

Sorry, I thought it was easy to understand. Someone who writes about banks, is usually knowledgeable about banks, was told that was the reason Citi was telling Banamex to cancel the accounts. No one is asking you to risk anything. No one is asking you to make an investment on information that might or might not be accurate. There is no risk to you, just another opinion from someone who heard if from a Citi employee. If you believe it or not, that will not change the status of your Banamex account.

No, it was simply what this person who writes about banks heard from a Citibank insider. Whether Citi is correct or not about our accounts being fraudulent doesn't matter to Citi because that is apparently the excuse Citi is using.

If they're looking for an excuse, they will find one.....no question. Whether I choose to believe it or not, is completely irrelevant. It's still a rotten move on the bank's part; mainly because of the time frame.

[Joco]

Some people here did or are using XE Currency Converter http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/ to send money to Mexico from their U.S. bank accounts. I remember that the exchange rate was excellent and there were little or no fees.

Can someone who is familiar with that please post how it works?

[wanderer]

i am a customer of schwab bank. i have their atm/debit card. they refund any ATM charges worldwide and DO NOT charge a foreign transaction fee even when the card is used at a point of sale worldwide. and they will accept direct deposit from social security into your account. they DO NOT offer a CREDIT CARD through schwab, that was discontinued 2 years ago. i hope this clears up any bad info ive seen posted here concerning foreign transaction fees by schwab. also the charge for an international wire transfer is 25 dollars. my local bank in texas charges 65 dollars.

[Joco]

The response I got from XE Trade which is an option for those who do not have a current U.S. driver's license or proof of residence in the U.S. The email lost some formatting when copied and pasted.

From XE Trade (and be sure to use the links so it is easier to understand)

Thank you for choosing XE Trade as your online currency exchange and international bank to bank transactions provider.

First of all, in order to use XE Trade you will need to sign up for a Trading Account with us. Doing so is

completely free and there are no ongoing charges or minimum transfer levels.

We do not charge any commissions or transaction fees. The only possible "extra charge" you could incur

from us is if you choose to have your funds delivered by Wire Transfer, instead of by EFT or Draft (which are both free). However, unlike with the banks, XE Trade wire transfers from us are done as close to "cost" as possible, and any fees for an outgoing wire transfer from us are always stated up front before you confirm your transaction.

We make our money on what is known as the "spread". This is the small difference between the price

we quote you for a transaction and our actual cost of completing the transaction for you. Since foreign

exchange is our specialty, we can do this extremely efficiently. In addition, our volumes allow us to make

the spread as low as possible. The result is a much lower transaction cost than other providers, and

without any extra per-transaction "commissions" or "fees" that are common elsewhere. You can signup for your free XE Trade account at: https://www.xe.com/fx/signup/.

The rates used in our free informational services are mid-market rates. They are neither "buy" rates nor

"sell" rates. Mid-market rates are derived from mid-point between the buy and sell rates of large-value

transactions in the global currency markets.

Since "buy rates" and "sell rates" include overheads and profit margins that are set independently by

each foreign exchange provider, they will vary depending on whom you're talking to, and will always be

different than the mid-market rate. It is very unlikely that you will be able have a transaction done at the mid-market rate reported in our free currency services. Once you have an account, you can find out the exact rates you will receive for trades online through the XE Trade system.

To assess the rates you would receive, log into XE Trade and follow the steps for a basic trade. We provide a full summary of your trade before you commit to it. This summary includes the exact exchange rate you will receive. If you do not like the rate you simply cancel the trade on the quote screen. There are no fees to cancel a trade at this point. This allows you to evaluate our rates risk free.

XE Trade works in the following manner:

1) You book a transaction using the secure XE Trade website to convert your funds. Once you hit the "Confirm Trade" button this locks in the exchange rate. The rate does not change during the processing of the trade.

2) You send us the funds to be converted. This is the "payment" for the transaction. Payments can be by EFT (Canada, U.S. only) or Wire transfer. More information on how to send us funds can be found in our FAQ at: http://www.xe.com/fx/help/faq3-5.htm

3) we convert the funds that you have provided to the currency you specified.

4) We deliver the converted currency as you specified. Deliveries can be by EFT (free), Wire Transfer or Draft. More information on how we can send converted funds can be found in our FAQ at: http://www.xe.com/fx/help/faq3-8.htm

You may also want to look at our overall Frequently Asked Questions and video demonstration.

The overall FAQ can be found at - http://www.xe.com/fx/faq.php

The video demonstration can be found at - http://www.xe.com/fx/demo/

Our Customer Care team is dedicated to providing you with any assistance you need through this process, and can be contacted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We can be reached at our international toll free number 1-877-932-6640 - Option 2, then Option 1 or email us at fx@xe.com.

Sincerely,

Gediminas Navikas

XE Trade Customer Service

[Joco]

i am a customer of schwab bank. i have their atm/debit card. they refund any ATM charges worldwide and DO NOT charge a foreign transaction fee even when the card is used at a point of sale worldwide. and they will accept direct deposit from social security into your account. they DO NOT offer a CREDIT CARD through schwab, that was discontinued 2 years ago. i hope this clears up any bad info ive seen posted here concerning foreign transaction fees by schwab. also the charge for an international wire transfer is 25 dollars. my local bank in texas charges 65 dollars.

I think the problem some are having is the proof of residence.

[Lexy]

Just returned from Banamex in Chapala where we asked for the form to have our SS checks deposited there. We have NO forms, go to Consulate . Tried Actinver, no go to Banamex for that...not. The consulate in Guadalajara told me to write a request to change your deposits to be electronically sent your Banamex account...No mention of a form, but she asked if I had a Mexican address with SS and I do...whereas someone posted they had a USA address and had to go to the consulate. I faxed it this morning, and if I get a call that it cannot be done without "the form" I will post ...trying to help others as we struggle through this MESS! She told me what to include in the request...name, SS# ,phone number here in case of a question and to get the clave bancaria from Banamex..which is on our statements, and to fax it and gave the number. Good luck to all of us

Kobi

Yesterday at Actinver in Ajijic my husband and I were given Direct Deposit Sign-up Forms (Mexico) for US Social Security Monthly Benefits.

However, your checks go through the Mexican banking system and will be automatically converted to pesos "at a good exchange rate" according to the form. We don't want that, but if it works for you get the forms at the Ajijic Actinver branch.

Lexy