How is the new Mexico rule about accepting dollars affecting people?

[Sue Sue]

I think the problem comes on the back-end when the restaurant takes all the US$13.00 lunches and tries to deposit that in the bank. Not sure why your photo ID would have helped them there though...

I agree...I can understand limiting the amount of USD that is used for purchases, especially a high priced service or item, and how that can affect the end result banking wise for a business, however, what does my photo ID have to do with a $13.00 purchase. I doubt that a lunch paid for in USD or the three $200.00 money exchanges we did at the front desk were actually being tracked and accounted to our name. Plus, we used USD for taxi's as well as tips everywhere. As I said, next time we either get Peso before going or make our way into town to use a bank ATM. Overall, no big deal, we will just go with the flow and do whatever it is to make it work out. No worries.

 

[redacted]

Great. Making it harder or more costly for tourists to spend UDS in MX should really put a dent in powers of the drug lords in MX.

 

[DandyDon]

Great. Making it harder or more costly for tourists to spend UDS in MX should really put a dent in powers of the drug lords in MX.

Well, it's inconvenient, but I understand their approach. It'll encourage more plastic card spending therefore higher prices, but I question how well it will be enforced? Maybe it won't be too disruptive.

 

[redacted]

Well, it's inconvenient, but I understand their approach. It'll encourage more plastic card spending therefore higher prices, but I question how well it will be enforced? Maybe it won't be too disruptive.

Yes, it could be good for businesses like Scuba Club where everything but tips is payed in USD in advance of the trip. Bad for small businesses that don't take plastic or that can't make the use of plastic convenient.

What I don't understand is how the downside of this is offset by the upside that aids in combating the MX drug trade.

Is anybody going to be rejecting my $20 tip?

 

[DandyDon]

Much of the drug related crime in Mexico is financed by USD.

If the US gave up on the war on drugs, long ago lost anyway, they'd have to go back to the farm. Experienced has proven that making recreational drugs unlawful only raises the prices as the users will still want them no matter what. Also encourages much of the crime in the US.

 

[Christi]

Aside from La Ceiba, I don't know of anyone not accepting USD. It's a bigger hassle for business owners - but to the tourist, overall, it shouldn't affect you much.

We just have to exchange the USD now and deposit pesos instead of just depositing the USD directly into our accounts - so we lose a little on the exchange - and it's an extra step for us to get our money into the bank to cover expenses - but it's just another cost of doing business.

 

[judydivescoz]

We know that just about any place in Cozumel takes US dollars. There are so few exceptions that Christi is right, it will not make much difference in any trip. I asked the DMs I dove with 2 weeks ago what currency they prefered and none of them really cared. They just exchanged the US currency at the cambios in town. Who knows if the rules will become more strict in the future. To be honest, I do not understand why it would be a big deal just using pesos for whatever spending happens on the island. Maybe I am missing something! Most larger hotels and dive ops have web pages that post prices in US dollars and accept credit card payment in advance or credit cards on the island making it easy to manage the largest amounts of spending in dollars. There are some smaller hotels that do not accept credit cards, I can't imagine the person who stays at a smaller local hotel is to concered about what currency they have to pay with. For me, using the local currency is all a part of visiting another country. Not sure why an earlier post thought it would be more expensive to use pesos. We always convert dollars to pesos and enjoy our trip.

 

[fpope]

Just got back on Sat. Hotels can not accept the dollar but stupid thing is they can convert the dollar to pesos and the you pay in pesos. All shops still accept the dollar. Had no issues with anyone not taking over $100 (a bud spent $150 on Cuban cigars at a smoke shop and they gladly accepted US cash.

It ended up being a lot easier that we were led to believe from our travel agent.

 

[divechik]

So where is the best place (ie best exchange rate) to exchange US $ for Pesos? Before you leave the US, or at the banks in Cozumel after you arrive? Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[judydivescoz]

We use the Santander Bank ATM at the airport or at the branch on 10 to get pesos. We have a Bank of America account and the banks have/had a relationship that makes the transaction fees very low. We have never had a problem with fraud. Last trip a few weeks ago, I had a few hundred dollars in cash and exchanged at a Cambio in town. We like to use pesos because we know exactly how much we are spending. Each business can set its own exchange rate. Some have great exchanges (12.4:1) while others have very poor ones (10:1). We do not stay at an all inclusive resort. We eat out and use local businesses every day, the 10%-20% savings in the exchange rates add up for us.