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Banking is convenient and easy in Mexico. There is a universal ATM network spread out across the country and rarely will you have to search far for one of them (unless you are in rural Mexico.) There are five major banks in Mexico: Bancomer (which is owned by BBVA in Spain), Banamex (which is owned by CitiBank and Group of USA), Banco Santander (which is partially owned by Bank of America), HSBC, and Banorte.

In addition, all major credit cards are accepted in the larger department stores, grocery stores and organizations, while only cash is accepted in the small mom-and-pop stores known as tiendas.

In order to open a bank account in Mexico, you must be able to provide the following: an FM2 or an FM3 (see visa section), your passport, proof of residency (a bill with your address on it) and two references from referees who can vouch for your financial stability. Checking accounts are almost non-existent in Mexico, most people use cash. If you decide to keep a U.S. or Canadian bank account, you will be able to use your universal bank card at any of the ATMs. You can also use major credit cards to take out cash advances.

Submitted 17/7/08 by Angry Expat:

Banking in Mexico is "easy" is it? I assume this has been written by somebody with zero experience of actually living in this country.

I am a Britsh expat and I have been living and working in Mexico City for the past 6 months. My wife and I opened a joint bank account with HSBC and each month we deposit my salary and housing allowance in the account (which adds up to a not insignificant amount, especially by Mexican standards).

However, despite the fact that my wife and I speak fluent Spanish and we therefore have no problems in communicating with the bank staff, we are still encountering problems 6 months down the line with the most basic of services. It took almost 4.5 months for the bank to provide us with personalised debit cards with the new Chip & Pin system... and when they finally arrived we found that although they could be used in shops without problems, we were not able to use them to draw cash from ATMs!

This is one of a whole host of problems that we have experienced with the "easy" Mexican banking system (and yet to be resolved) and from what we've been told by other expats (many of whom work for HSBC ironically enough!) the other banks are not any better. It all comes down to a complete lack of regard for customer service, which stems from a lack of (sufficient) education and training by the banks.

These companies were all once national Mexican banks that were snapped up in their majority by overseas giants such as HSBC and CitiBank etc, they stuck their flashy logos on the door and on the bank cards (if you're lucky enough to get one) and they then carry on... but they fail miserably to train their staff and to demand the same levels of customer service that we have become accustomed to in say, the UK, in recent years.

Easy it is not...so be warned.

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