We asked and you responded.
Mexico News Daily received more than 200 responses to the survey we published on July 3 in which we asked readers whether they had been affected by the United States’ sanctions on CIBanco, Intercam and Vector.
In late June, the United States Department of the Treasury accused the aforesaid Mexican banks and brokerage firm of laundering millions of dollars for drug cartels involved in the trafficking of fentanyl and other narcotics to the U.S.
Treasury Department orders prohibiting transactions between U.S. banks and the three Mexican financial institutions are not scheduled to take effect until the middle of July, but many of you told us that you have already had problems or issues with your Intercam and CIBanco accounts.
Nevertheless, the vast majority of survey respondents didn’t take immediate decisions to close their accounts with the two Mexican banks, although many were considering doing so.
Intercam — which says it specializes “in making expats feel right at home during their stay in Mexico” — is especially popular with foreign residents in Mexico. Lionne Decker, an agent with the real estate company Mazatlán 4 Sale, told Mexico News Daily, via the survey, that he has dealt with the bank for almost 20 years and “referred countless expats” to it.
From the comments we received from readers, we got a sense of the frustration and anger of Intercam and CIBanco customers whose capacity to transfer and access their own money has been affected by the United States’ declaration that the two banks are of “primary money laundering concern in connection with illicit opioid trafficking.”
However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom, as some survey respondents expressed optimism that the situation will normalize, while others took the opportunity to voice their satisfaction with the service they have received from Intercam.
While some MND readers indicated they were unsure about how to deal with their personal banking situation in light of the impact of the U.S. sanctions on Intercam and CIBanco, others told us what they have already done or what they plan to do.
Below you will find the key results from MND’s survey as well as a selection of the comments we received from readers.
The survey results
- A total of 204 Mexico News Daily readers responded to our survey.
Most respondents — 154 of 204 — are Intercam customers
- Three-quarters of respondents (75.5%) said they are Intercam customers and have been (or will be) impacted by the U.S. sanctions.
- Almost half of Intercam customers (48%) said they were keeping their accounts.
- Four in ten Intercam customers (41%) said they were considering closing their accounts but hadn’t yet taken a final decision.
- One in ten Intercam customers (10%) said they were closing their accounts.
Most CIBanco customers are considering closing their accounts
- One in seven respondents (14%) said they are CIBanco customers and have been (or will be) impacted by the U.S. sanctions.
- Six in ten CIBanco customers (62%) said they were considering closing their accounts but hadn’t yet taken a final decision.
- Three in 10 CIBanco customers (31%) said they were keeping their accounts.
- Only 7% of CIBanco customers said that they were closing their accounts.
Just one Vector client responded
- Just one survey respondent said they were a client of Vector, a brokerage firm controlled by Alfonso Romo, who served as former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s chief of staff between December 2018 and December 2020.
- That person said they were keeping their account with Vector.
- Around 2% of survey respondents said they hadn’t personally been impacted by U.S. sanctions on Intercam, CIBanco and Vector but know someone who has been (or will be) affected.
Readers report problems completing transfers to and from Intercam accounts
Terry, a reader in San Miguel de Allende, told Mexico News Daily that he has an Intercam account and has been unable to send money from the United States to Mexico, and from Mexico to the United States. He said that his capacity to pay bills has been affected by the problems he has experienced with his Intercam account.
An Intercam customer in Puerto Vallarta said they had been unable to transfer money from Canada to their account in Mexico. The person added that their Intercam branch had limited daily cash withdrawals to 20,000 pesos (US $1,070).
Another Intercam customer said they had decided to open an account with Mexican financial group Actinver so they could “wire dollars down” to Mexico.
“I’m using O’Rourke & Asociados as well,” the person said, referring to a Jalisco-based investment firm.
“It’s not as easy as before with Intercam but it’s going to work, at least for now,” the person said.
Another person said they have been placed in a “horrible situation” as they have “no access” to their money “because the U.S. will not send” funds to Intercam anymore.
Another Mexico News Daily reader said their client “is from Mexico and he has his money in Intercam and now he cannot pay me.”
Transfers to CIBanco ‘in limbo,’ says bank customer
The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said on June 25 that its orders prohibiting transactions between U.S. banks and Intercam, CIBanco and Vector would “become effective 21 days after … [they] are published in the Federal Register.”
A CIBanco customer highlighted this in their response to Mexico News Daily’s survey, and accused Mexican authorities of “canceling transfers.”
“The U.S. government gave the banks 21 days. Why the knee-jerk reaction from the Mexican authorities? Why couldn’t they wait the full 21 days before canceling transfers? Several of us immediately sent money to Mexico to get ahead of this, and now our cash is in limbo,” the person said.
A reader in San Miguel de Allende said that their employees have CIBanco accounts, which made it “easy to transfer money to them when I was out of the country.”
“Paying them efficiently will now be much more difficult, making their lives more difficult,” the person said.
Receiving funds to pay builders a problem for some
Pauline Duffy, an Intercam customer in Baja California Sur (BCS), expressed concern about her ability to get money from the United States to Mexico to pay for the construction of her new home.
“I’m building a house in Los Barriles, BCS. I don’t know how I will pay my next payment to the contractor. If I don’t pay him, how will he pay his workers? I’m looking for a new bank to open an account, but I’m not a resident so I’m finding it very difficult. I’m hoping this will be resolved soon,” she said.
Another Intercam customer told Mexico News Daily that they are “having a small 900 square-foot house built and it’s very difficult to pay labor.”
“I wish I had some warning about this bank situation,” the person said.
Another Mexico News Daily reader said that the U.S. sanctions “took place at a most inopportune time for us.”
“We were in the process of buying a house and we were not able to transfer funds [to Intercam]. We were not able to cash a personal U.S. check as before and we have other concerns about what is going to happen next,” the person said.
Intercam and CIBanco customers report problems withdrawing funds
An Intercam customer in Mazatlán told Mexico News Daily that they weren’t able to take out as much money as they wanted from their account.
“The manager kept changing his rules. We waited 4 hours to take out 50,000 pesos and then we were only allowed to take out 10,000 pesos via the ATM machine,” the person said.
A CIBanco customer said they were unable to withdraw cash when using an ATM at a branch of the bank.
“It might have been a fluke, but I routinely deposit [money to my CIBanco account] from my U.S. account. I’m concerned this stupid problem will affect [my ability to do] that,” the person said.
Tim, an Intercam customer in Ajijic, Jalisco, said there had been “a brief run on the banks” and branches had “stopped filling the ATMs.”
He added that Intercam branches were only allowing withdrawals up to a maximum of 20,000 pesos.
Larry, an Intercam customer in La Peñita de Jaltemba, Nayarit, also encountered a maximum limit on withdrawals.
“I was told I could no longer deposit into my account by check and I cannot withdraw any more than 50,000 pesos per day,” he said.
“My financial director was very apologetic and said this should be straightened out in a week or so,” Larry said.
John McKay, an Intercam customer in Ajijic, said that “being unable to deposit Canadian and United States currency checks will eventually make it impossible for me to pay my living expenses.”
Time to find another bank?
The survey results indicated that many people were considering closing their accounts with Intercam and CIBanco.
One MND reader explained why they were planning to withdraw funds from their Intercam account.
“We have a large amount in our 9-month CD [certificate of deposit]. When it hits maturity, we are going to move it to another bank. Our concern is the lack of being able to access our funds abroad,” the person said.
Another survey respondent said they “would not be able to operate in Cabo and the United States” while continuing to bank with Intercam.
Randi, an Intercam customer in San Jose del Cabo, said:
“We have opened another account at Banorte. For the time being we are keeping our Intercam account but since we cannot get money into that account there will be no transactions. If Intercam survives, we will stay with them because we have always gotten good service there. We will see how the service is at Banorte and decide later.”
Douglas, an Intercam customer in Colima city, said that the bank closed its only branch in the state capital earlier this year, “and now the nearest branch to me is in Manzanillo, about an hour away.”
“First that, and now this. If I didn’t have a timed deposit there I would probably have already moved my money,” he said.
A part-time resident of Nuevo Nayarit told MND they have reduced their Intercam account balance “by prepaying HOA [homeowners association] fees.”
“Account is still open but risk is reduced. When I get there in the fall, I’ll look for another bank,” the person said.
A CIBanco customer in San Miguel de Allende said they have used the bank for ten years to exchange Bank of America checks for pesos.”
“I will now have to find another local bank,” the person said.
Readers express support for Intercam
Mary Jo Mallan, an Intercam customer, said that the service she has received at the bank’s two branches in Ajijic “has been excellent.”
“I have been using Wise to transfer money from my U.S. bank to my Intercam account. Without that service I have no way of transferring money to myself in Mexico. Today I opened an account at another bank where I can use Wise, but I will go back to Intercam if possible in the future,” she said.
An MND reader in Puerto Vallarta stated that “Intercam is a very good bank in my opinion … and deserves the presumption of innocence until otherwise proven.”
Rick Martin, an Intercam customer in La Paz, Baja California Sur, said that the bank “has been diligent about keeping me, as a depositor, aware of all the actions that are affecting them.”
John, a Puerto Vallarta resident, said that “Intercam is a great bank” and asserted that “whatever Trump’s perception [of it] is, I’m sure it’s a lie!”
“No proof of wrongdoing has been provided” by U.S. authorities, he added.
An Intercam customer in Los Cabos said they “have faith in” the bank.
“I am disgusted by the actions of the USA,” the person added.
Steve in Puerto Vallarta said he has been banking with Intercam for four years and is “very satisfied with the service.”
“What U.S. banks were involved with the wire fraud?” he asked. “This fraud requires banks on both sides of the border.”
Mexican student abroad encounters problems using CIBanco account
We received the following response from a Mexican reader in Canada:
“I’m a Mexican student in Canada and I cannot use my CIBanco card anymore after Visa canceled all transactions with the bank. My family in Mexico would sometimes send me money through CIBanco and now I cannot access it abroad.”
Optimism that Intercam will ‘return to normal operations’
Randolph López, a reader in Cuyutlán, Colima, told MND that he is in contact with managers at his Intercam branch and remarked that he is “fairly confident” the bank will “return to normal operations.”
“I also have an account with HSBC which had a similar issue years back and they recovered fine,” he said.
A CIBanco customer in San Miguel de Allende said he is “hoping this chaos blows over soon.”
A reader in Puerto Vallarta highlighted that federal authorities in Mexico have declared that deposits with Intercam and CIBanco are safe, and noted that the “temporary managerial interventions” at the two banks are designed to “guarantee this.”
“It’s true that in about two weeks U.S. banks will not be able to make money transfers in US dollars to [Intercam and CIBanco] until this matter is settled. But this USA boycott does not have an impact on any other money transfers or operations WITHIN Mexico!” the person said.
Intercam customers express concern and uncertainty
“As a U.S. citizen living in Puerto Vallarta in the winter, I have always used Intercam because I could just write a U.S. check and deposit it,” one reader said.
“I, and many like me, live month to month and therefore need to transfer funds monthly. This banking fiasco will really impact me, and I don’t know what to do,” the person said.
Another Intercam customer in Jalisco said that their Wise account, which they used to transfer pension funds from Canada to Mexico, was “closed suddenly.”
“I’m not sure what method I will be able to use in the future. I am just waiting to see how it goes. HSBC had major issues before and are still operating. Seems to be a problem everywhere. Hoping for the QFS [Quantum Financial System]!” the person said.
An Intercam customer in the Lake Chapala area said they were “unsure” how they would be able “to move US dollars into Mexico and convert them to pesos.”
“Other banks aside from the three mentioned have stopped accepting U.S. bank checks — I’m assuming as a safety issue,” the person said.
Nicole, an Intercam customer in San Carlos, Sonora, expressed concern about the safety of the money in her account.
“I am Canadian and I am furious. We have nothing to do with the U.S. and President Trump’s unproven claims that is holding my money hostage,” she said.
“I am traveling and cannot access my funds and have term deposits that are coming up in the next few months and I want to buy a home with those funds,” Nicole said.
“… I’m told I have to physically be in Mexico to withdraw my money. I am nervous of leaving it and cannot access it from Canada. Intercam keeps insisting that my money is protected and insured. But what happens if the bank collapses?” she asked.
Charlene McDonald, an Intercam customer in San Miguel de Allende, described the situation as “deeply worrying.”
“I hope it doesn’t spread to other Mexican banking institutions,” she added.
Banking options beyond Intercam and CIBanco may be limited for some foreigners
Donald Childress, an Intercam customer in San Carlos, Sonora, highlighted that “we only have three banks in town” and CIBanco and Intercam “are two of them!!”
What does the future hold for Intercam? One reader weighs in
An Intercam customer in Puerto Vallarta told Mexico News Daily they “wouldn’t be surprised if the Mexican government engineers a sale of the bank’s assets to another bank
I’m not sure the other banks are any safer. I put enough money [in my account] to cover all summer … for homeowners fees and CFE [Federal Electricity Commission] so I’m not worried at this point and will wait to see what happens. … I wouldn’t be surprised if the Mexican government engineers a sales of [Intercam] assets to another bank. That’s what would happen in the United States,” the person said.
By Mexico News Daily chief staff writer Peter Davies ([email protected])
