I took an hour out of my busy schedule (not) today and opened an account at BBVA Bancomer. Research narrowed the bank choices to CitiBanamex and BBVA Bancomer, with the latter winning out. Too many horror stories of money disappearing from accounts at CitiBanamex.
I was fortunate enough to have a bank employee who knew some English, so between us we were able to get it taken care of. And he even had me install two Bancomer apps on my phone and showed me how to use them! I can now generate a digital debit card whenever I want to make an online purchase!!! Not being able to buy things online that require a Méxican bank issued debit/credit card was very frustrating – especially when I DID have one from Intercam. I’m not impressed with Intercam at all, even though their interest and exchange rates are really good. And I was able to change my pin number on my debit card at the ATM! Can’t do that with Intercam – you’re stuck with what they send you.
They only offered me a choice between two accounts. One that had a mandatory monthly amount that had to go into savings and one that had a mandatory home or life insurance policy that can only be cancelled after 6 months. Home insurance is less than $25 usd a month and covers small repairs too, so I went with that one. I probably won’t use it, but at least I can kill it dead after 6 months. Note to self: put a reminder to kill it in your Outlook calendar. Oh, and no minimum balance required, so I don’t have to let money sit.
They wanted to see the following items, so be sure to bring them with you if you need to open an account with them:
- Residency card
- Drivers License (US/Canada fine)
- Passport
- Recent (not more than 3 months old) utility bill in your name
- Méxican cell phone number
- Email address
They also looked at my INAPAM card, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t required. I gave them my CURP info too, but I didn’t see them use it.
So, the process was easier than changing utilities over into my name (thank my friend forever for being in town and pushing me to do it while she could help translate), but not as easy as ordering pizza through WhatsApp. I’d assign just a little less difficulty than getting curtains made at Parisina. Do-able, but involves use of Google Translate and convoluted hand gestures 🙂
