BBVA México (formerly BBVA Bancomer) — largest Mexican consumer bank. According to the bank itself, in 2022 BBVA México was the leading financial institution in Mexico with a 23% deposit market share, more than 27 million customers and a branch network of more than 1,727 branches. The bank is owned by the Spanish financial group BBVA. There are bank branches in every more or less large locality in Mexico, and in large cities there are about a dozen bank branches (in Cancun there are 11 branches). In addition, the bank operates more than 13,500 ATMs throughout the country.
The advantage of the bank is its wide representation in Mexican territory, as well as the relative speed and ease of opening an account. At the same time, we recognize that the latter depends more on the policy of a particular department and even on a particular employee. This means that if an account is not opened for you in one bank branch, you are advised to contact another branch. We advise you to contact branches on the periphery, where there is less flow of foreigners and therefore have the right to treat them more loyally. You will have to visit the bank in person, and traveling to the periphery will take longer, but you will not do it as often. Be prepared for the fact that most outlying branches do not (and should not) speak English, so you will need a basic knowledge of Spanish or a translator.
The easiest thing to do with BBVA is to open a basic deposit account called Cuenta Libretón Básico and prepare a Tarjeta Básica card. This is a debit card. You are unlikely to be issued a credit card without a pre-accumulated credit history in Mexico. Opening an account and card is free of charge, maintenance is also free, there is no minimum balance on deposit, however, to use the card you must maintain a minimum balance of 1000 MXN. If this balance is not maintained, there will still be no fees for use, but the card has the right to be deactivated. In our experience, this will not happen immediately and only after several warnings, but if you use the card even a little, it will not be blocked even with a balance of less than 1000 MXN.
Non-residents can open accounts with BBVA if they have temporary or permanent resident status in Mexico. Foreign citizens cannot open accounts with BBVA if they are located in Mexico with the status of a guest of the country. Controversial issue — from opening an account as a visitor for humanitarian reasons (after filing a refugee claim). In our experience in Cancun, BBVA refuses to open accounts for humanitarian visitors, but there are also reports of successful fromclosures on the Internet.
You can only open an account in Mexican pesos. Only those who live in Mexican municipalities bordering the US have the right to open an account in dollars, and this is a whole procedure when just confirming your home address is not enough.
To open an account with BBVA, a foreigner needs three basic documents:
- passport,
- temporary or permanent resident card,
- proof of home address — Electricity or water bill not older than 3 months.
In fact, you have the right to ask for additional documentation (depending on the department):
- CURP printout.
Although the unique number of a resident of MexicoCURPindicated on your resident card, the bank wants to issue a confirmation that the CURP is confirmed by the authority that issued it. To do this, you need a printout of CURP on paper.
- RFC tax number.
Most often, the bank itself has the right to prepare confirmation whether the client hasRFCand whether it is activated using the client's CURP. But some branches require confirmation of the RFC on paper. The bank has the opportunity to open an account without RFC, but you need to understand that sooner or later the issue of the presence of RFC will still come up, and the client’s account without RFC will be blocked.
You have the opportunity to make copies of these papers yourself before visiting the branch, or copies will be made by an employee at the bank branch.
Pre-download the BBVA Bancomer mobile app. To use it you need to have a Mexican phone number (with the +52 code). In many branches you will be asked to first create an account in this application yourself so that your data gets into the bank’s system, and only then an employee will simply activate this account and link the account to it.
Select a bank branch to open an account with, say, thismapor using the search query «sucursales BBVA» in Google Maps. Back in 2022, a foreign citizen could open a Libretón account with BBVA through a mobile application, however, this option is now blocked. You are also unable to set a date and time to visit a BBVA office online; you must come to the branch in person.
Be prepared for a line to get into BBVA branches. Contact the employee who will walk around the entrance and distribute the queue. As a rule, the staff at the entrance are quite knowledgeable and knowledgeable about opening accounts for foreigners. Emphasize that you are a citizen of such and such a power, a temporary (permanent) resident of Mexico and want to open a deposit account. The employee will quickly tell you about the opening criteria and inform you about the necessary documents. He is also able to inform you that after opening you will need to deposit an amount of, in particular, 5,000 pesos, otherwise the account will not be activated. He can tell you, but if the contract says that it is necessary to maintain a balance of 1000 pesos, then for activation it will be enough to deposit 1000 pesos, and not what the employee said. Although Cuenta Libretón Básico has no initial deposit at all, you will still be asked to deposit some amount to start with.
BBVA does not have a centralized ban on opening accounts for citizens of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, as other banks have. If you are rejected based on your citizenship, try opening an account at another bank branch.
Since the summer of 2023, BBVA, like a number of other banks, has introduced a restriction on accepting transfers from abroad for new clients — foreigners. You have the right to start using the card immediately after opening an account and top it up with cash or from other accounts within Mexico. But you can receive transfers from abroad only after six months of using the card. If this is significant to you, choose another bank.
If the standards announced by the employee at the entrance to the department suit you, you will be taken to the manager. The manager will ask you to fill out a form and ask a lot of questions. In general, the account opening process itself is quite long. At the end you will be asked to sign a bunch of papers.
They may offer or even force you to prepare a Meta Segura insurance policy. You have the right to refuse insurance or contact another BBVA branch, where an account will be opened without insurance. If you do get an insurance policy, you can close it only after 7 months, following thisinstructions.
We know that in some cases you may be asked to come back in a few days (or whenever you are assigned) in order to check your papers or get approval from some boss before then. Other reasons may also be given why the account cannot be opened right now. We ourselves have not encountered such difficulties.
After the manager has generated the account number and you have signed all the papers, ask him to help activate the account. To do this, you will need to have the mobile application installed, and it is in Spanish. In principle, the account can be activated by making a cash deposit at the bank's cash desk. And you can activate it through a mobile application, and then top it up with a transfer of funds from another bank.
You will be given a non-registered bank card immediately, but you will be asked to come back for a registered one after 8 days. Some branches offer delivery of a personalized card by mail, while others need to pick up such a card in person. Card validity period — 5 years.
The card also needs to be activated, and this can be done at any BBVA ATM, performing any operation. For example, by changing your PIN code. In the ATM menu, you have the right to select English, then find the option to change the PIN code, enter the old PIN code (it will be indicated in the envelope in which you received the card) and the new 4-digit PIN code. That's it, the card is activated and you can use it.
Según rumores en Redes Sociales 👀 BBVA Ya es compatible con Apple Pay en México 😱
¿Alguien que lo confirme? No uso BBVA 🥲pic.twitter.com/8yNNsO62gN
— Alex Gonzalez (@Alextecnologia_)August 20, 2024
You can top up your card in a variety of ways:
- in cash through the cash desks of bank branches,
- cash through retail outlets such as pharmacies, convenience stores or supermarket checkout counters — by your card number. Standard list of stores — OXXO, 7Eleven, Farmacias Guadalajara, Circle K. The list of available replenishment points is constantly changing, you need to find out the current ones in the application,
- interbank transfer using your CLABE number from a card / account of any Mexican bank,
- international transfer using SWIFT code.
In addition, you can find out your CLABE and SWIFT bank in the application. Any amount sent to your account from abroad will be automatically converted into Mexican Pesos. We would like to add that you can make SWIFT transfers to your account at BBVA — not a good idea because the bank's fee for converting into pesos (or the conversion rate) is extortionate. If you are sending an international SWIFT transfer to your BBVA account, please indicate that you are making an «transfer of own funds». Transfers from third parties may cause the bank to suspect that you are engaged in illegal commercial activities. As a result, the account will be blocked, and you will be called for investigation.
You can accept a maximum of 3,000 UDI per month into your Cuenta Básico account. UDI— conventional unit, for 2023 its size is 7.78 pesos. To summarize, you are not able to top up your account or make transfers of more than 233,460 pesos per month.
In addition, you can make transfers to other cards or accounts from your mobile application, including using the QR code of the CoDi interbank system. You can generate codes so that other people can purchase cash transfers using your code at any BBVA ATM in Mexico without a bank card. All interbank transfers in Mexico between individuals — no commission, however, there is a commission if you transfer funds to business accounts.
There is no commission for withdrawing cash from bank cash desks. However, she has the right to withdraw cash from ATMs. Up to 4 withdrawals per month there will be no commission, but for 8 or more withdrawals you will have to pay 55 pesos, regardless of the amount withdrawn. Abroad, the withdrawal fee is 3.5 US dollars. Checking your balance at BBVA ATMs is free.