BBVA Bancomer

It does not matter what country you are in if you want good service from any bank it is very important to have a good personal relationship with someone at said bank.

When we were in Toronto we dealt with the Royal Bank of Canada and always had wonderful service from them and they have looked after us for many years and continue to do so to this day. It is absolutely vital, particularly when you are out of the country, to have the name of someone who knows you and can help you cut through any red tape that financial institutions have a way of throwing at you. We understand that a lot of this red tape is necessary for our protection but, having said that, having a personal relationship with someone in the branch is extremely helpful.

When you deal with an online banking message center you never get the same person twice and seldom, in my experience, accomplish anything.

We took our good relationship with our bank in Toronto for granted and found things to be very different here when we arrived over 18 years ago.

After signing away our first born we were able to open an account at the BBVA Bancomer in Ajijic, Lake Chapala.

The first few years were a challenge as the rules seemed to change depending on what teller you got and you had to have extensive identification to make a deposit. That’s right I said, make a DEPOSIT. I used to think “I am giving you money not asking you for a thing, why then do I need ID?” The interesting thing was that if you had all the correct ID it was never what they wanted or they did not ask for it. They only asked for it when you did not have it with you.

Now they do accept Mexican driver’s licenses but not in the good old days. I would take my passport or immigration papers with me just in case that particular day they did not accept driver’s licenses.

We now are associated with BBVA Bancomer and we have a wonderful relationship with Adalberto Alcantar Garcia (Beto), who is located at the Ajijic Branch located on the main plaza in Ajijc on Colon, and he looks after the Preferred Customer Unit. His direct phone # is (376) 766-2154.

We have a personal checking account and two accounts for the business one in pesos and one in US dollars.

Whenever I need to get something done I know that my relationship with Beto will make it happen with a minimum of bloodshed.

Take the time to get to know someone at your bank on a personal level and you will find things will be a lot smoother with your transactions making life so much easier.