ATMs in Ajijic, Lake Chapala
When we were first here over 19 years ago there were only one or maybe two ATMs. If they were out of service, which they frequently were, we had to drive to Chapala to get funds from the bank ATMs there.
Accessing your bank accounts in another country was a thing of the future and most of us paid our credit card bills by telephone.
Things, thankfully, have changed for the better and you cannot swing a cat now without hitting an ATM.
We can now access our northern accounts online and can check on a daily basis for any discrepancies. There are ATMs in the Bancomer in the Plaza on Colon, one inside Farmacia Guadalajara, one beside Farmacia Christina in Plaza Bugambilias, one in El Torito in the same plaza, two in Walmart, a Scotiabank one in the plaza where Dominos Pizza is located, two in Superlake and one in the financial institution across from Lloyd’s on the carretera which allows you to take out $5,000.00 pesos. Others you can take out $4,000.00 pesos but most it is $3,000.00 pesos. There may be more but these are the ones I know about.
Unfortunately, since the introduction of the chip in our credit cards it is more difficult to find an ATM that will work with your card. It seems to be a hit or miss situation. There is now, however, a situation that has arisen with the ATM beside Farmacia Christina and one of the ATMs in Superlake.
When it gives you a choice of amount and you enter something other than their offered choices it does not dispense any funds and gives you a receipt saying “No Completado”. If you then check your account you will find that the amount that you did NOT receive has been deducted from your account nonetheless.
For example I tried to get $4,000.00 pesos and I got nada then I tried $3,000.00 pesos and received the funds. When I checked my account both amounts had been deducted from my account. I then send a message to my credit card issuer explaining the situation in detail with all the pertinent data off the receipt including location and folio # and the mistake is usually corrected in a couple of days.
Unfortunately, this has happened frequently and is, to say the least a nuisance. Other problems are that now Farmacia Guadalajara which used to accept all of my credit cards now accept none. The only way I can get funds from my actual Canadian Bank account is at the ATM at Bancomer in Ajijic or the Bancomer ATM in Walmart.
What I am suggesting to you is that if you do use the ATMs in Ajijic, Lake Chapala you check online your account balances on a daily basis to correct immediately any situation where funds have not been dispensed but come off your account nonetheless.
On the plus side we can still get funds here quite readily using the ATMs. If you do use ATMs just check your account balances on a regular basis and all should be well. I cannot speak for American banks but Canadian banks credit your account as soon as they are made aware a mistake has been made. Make sure you keep all of the ATM receipts even if they say “No Completada” so you have the information necessary for your northern banks or credit card issuers to investigate your situation and make the refund to your account when the funds have been deducted withoyt you having received a peso.