If you are like me, and come from abroad, you likely have a bank account at a major institution, a credit card or two; you often check your balance, pay bills and transfer money through internet banking. All of the above seems normal to you, right? Well… In Mexico, on paper, this is exactly the same, however in the real life of an Expat, this may not necessarily be the case.
Welcome to the complex Mexican Banking world.
I hope this article helps you get settled bankingll-y (I think I just created a new word !)
I’m an Expat coming from Hong Kong. The asian financial hub where talking about banks and money is as common as talking about beach destinations and tacos here in Mexico. Before I moved, and thinking ahead of the game, I thought that opening a new bank account would not be easy. Especially in Mexico, a country sensitive to illegal activities such as money laundering; here, the authorities are especially strict when it comes to selecting new customers to be included in their financial system. So, I naively approached my local bank about a month before moving to Mexico, -HSBC in my case-, and asked to initiate the process of a remote account opening. I had been banking with HSBC for over 15 years back home so I thought this would just be an easy process and, as HSBC advertises itself as “The world’s local bank”, I thought this would be done in no time. Say.. 48hrs. Well… I was wrong wrong wrong. To be fair with the local staff at HSBC, they were great, interviewed me for over an hour and did a very thorough questionnaire of my finances, why would I need an account in Mexico, how much money I would be depositing every month, etc etc. They warned me that the process would require several weeks and that I may be already gone before the process would be finalised. I insisted, and we initiated it from Hong Kong, hoping that it would be done before my arrival to Mexico.
Clearly that didn’t happen. I arrived in Mexico and had no news from HSBC in Hong Kong. Even though I emailed them several times asking for updates. They always replied that the process was still ongoing…
Since I’m a patient adult (please read my sarcasm) I decided not to wait for HSBC and take action in the matter. With the help of the almighty Google, I came across several new digital banks that are popping up in Mexico like mushrooms at my grandma’s garden. Names such as Oyster, Klar, NU Bank and even your everyday household names such as Rappi and Oxxo started to appear on my laptop’s screen with banking solutions.
Wow!, I said, this is great, I think I can subscribe to one of these services, get an account, move some money from my Hong Kong Account so I can get going before I start to be paid locally by my company. The Question is, can I ?
At the end of the day, I’m not Mexican and I’ve just landed so I’m still doing AirBnB. I don’t even have an address in Mexico. So can I just go online and open a bank account without being Mexican, resident and not having an address ? The answer is YES, here’s my experience.
I signed up for Klar. That is www.klar.mx. The requirements were so basic I was shocked! Your name, an email, a telephone number (just get a prepaid if you don’t have one yet) and an address. In my case I just put the address of the AirBnB I was staying at and POOM ! A day or two later I got a beautifully designed Mastercard physical card at my door and a digital bank account through a mobile App installed on my smartphone. This is really a great starter when getting into Mexico. You can deposit some money safely, pay with it virtually anywhere online/offline as it is a Mastercard, transfer and get paid by providing a simple code called CLABE (it is a 18 digit code that it is unique to your account so people can pay you by just knowing this number) and get cash rebates for every purchase you make. Super neat and works as advertised. I do think that Klar is monitoring your transactions and profile so really, the way to prevent illegal activities it’s done through your everyday behaviours rather than doing a super investigation on you before opening the account. This is my assumption only, I can’t be 100% sure of it. I also looked at Oyster Bank which is getting more and more popular with business owners, freelancers and digital nomads. I think they are great and have a lot of features and tools for these specific users. In my case, I work for a company but if you are an independent vendor, you may want to consider them.
A few months in Mexico, I can tell you that there are now several other solutions for your everyday basic banking needs, without the trouble of dealing with the established banks such as BBVA, Santander, HSBC… which are great and safe institutions generally but, are slow and traditional.
You want a means to get paid and be able to pay for bills ? Try RappiPay. Just in case you are living under a rock, Rappi is the leading food and grocery super App in Mexico and Latin America. Think about Uber Eats meets travel, shopping and e-commerce all-in-one… They are bloody fantastic! With their “Pay solution” You get an account, a CLABE (so people can transfer money to you) and you can also pay for utility bills. If (or when) in the future, you do end up opening a traditional bank account once you are more established in Mexico, you can always transfer the funds in your Rappi account to yourself. The process is super simple: Download the Rappi App on your smartphone and set up Rappi Pay. On top of it, of course you can order food delivery. Try it as it works super well in Mexico, at least in Mexico City where I live.
Several other big Latin American digital banking players (known as neobanks) are disembarking in Mexico. That is the case with NU Bank which is the largest Brasilian Digital bank and Uala from Argentina. Don’t get me wrong, you can open an account at BBVA for instance, and from what I know, their app and online experience is pretty neat, however it will take more time, more documentation and probably a few visits to their physical branches to get it done. You may want to, ultimately, get a bank account in a large established institution if you are holding some substantial savings, you are planning on buying a property, getting a mortgage or simply you are looking for another level of safety in terms of holding funds.
Lastly and finally… a few weeks ago I actually did get an email from HSBC Mexico. They have a department that deals with international customers called Gerencia de Servicios Diplomaticos (that is: The diplomatic services business unit) like me. I was surprised to receive a Welcome Message to HSBC Mexico and I did get a Mexican account linked to my Hong Kong account. This is great as I can now do transfers between my accounts safely and at very reasonable exchange rates and fees.
Bottom line..., as an expat just landed in Mexico and in need to be able to deposit money, pay and get paid.. I strongly suggest you look at the digital alternatives I listed above which will make your life a lot easier and get you started. Financial Technology in Mexico is booming and so many great services are now available.
Happy banking and welcome to Mexico!
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