BBVA Bancomer La Penita: User Beware
Tara A. Spears
There are so many things to love about gorgeous Jaltemba Bay, Mexico life style that attracts thousands of international visitors yearly- except for the crappy bank service. The only full service financial institution within the coastal towns of Los Ayalas, Guayabitos, and La Penita, BBVA Bancomer, has a bad rep and many disgruntled customers. The biggest complaints: weak security with high electronic vulnerability, low withdrawal limit, and high fees. Almost every gringo and many locals that I know who use BBVA have had electric account theft.
The daily withdrawal limit is determined by the individual bank, and generally range from 3,000 to 6,000 pesos per ATM transaction. This means multiple transactions are often needed in order to pay your rent. If the bank has low withdrawal fees it’s doable but, with Bancomer’s outrageous triple digit ATM international fee ($174 mx) it cuts deep to pay for multi-transactions. Recently the La Penita BBVA instituted another restrictive policy that limits the withdrawal limit to within 24 hours- an attempt to stop the foreigner from doing multi-withdrawals from ATM. It is so annoying to have to take the time to plan on returning to the bank several days in a row. People come to enjoy life on the beach not spend hours in a quay in a bank lobby to use an ATM.
Another issue that is concerning is the personal robberies that occur when using the La Penita bank machines. A dozen years ago there were armed soldiers in the bank lobby- which I initially thought was over kill. But from learning about so many people pushed/ grabbed/ scammed when withdrawing money, perhaps this should be reinstated for customer safety.
In the last six months, some customers have had the shocking experience of finding their bank accounts emptied. According to the newspaper Realidades Nayarit, in November 2021, a lawsuit filed with Mexican financial regulatory agency, CONDUCEF, tells the sad tale. Several persons have had the same experience at the Bancomer facility. The customer said that he requested a certain amount, the bills appeared but before they could grab the cash, the bills mysteriously retracted. The customer has a receipt but no money. The customer immediately went to tell a bank employee, who accompanied him to the cashier. The cashier says not to worry, that this amount would appear in his account the next day -but the funds are not deposited in the account as promised. The irate customer made two more visits to the bank with no solution so he decided to expose the situation by filing an official complaint. Many customers are fed up with so many robberies that they feel the only way to get the bank to correct the situation is to publicly denounce Bancomer La Penita, demanding that their money be returned to them. 
As if all these banking issues aren’t scary enough, a new controversy surrounds the BBVA Bancomer bank. Recently, in addition to its bad service, several users have reported that this institution has a hidden charge for a ‘membership’ that they did not request. BBVA has added a hidden charge where you are charged a ‘membership’ for ATM card withdrawals. “This phantom commission is simply another form of scam in BBVA!” complained a customer on social media. The bank’s greed is evident in the operating policy that lowers the daily withdraw limit, ups the transaction fee cost AND then hits the customer with a penalty fee for making multiple withdrawals. Bancomer does not seem fair or ethical to most people. The only way to avoid this charge for ‘membership’ is to make withdrawals at ATMs but with the ‘no card’ modality, because there is no commission charge there.
Most savvy travelers know to not change money in airports as they offer some of the worse rates you’ll see. It’s worth noting that ATMs you find in shops, hotels and on busy tourist streets often charge high ATM fees and give terrible currency conversion rates. While reputable banks, such as HSBC and Santander, are up front about making money off your money, BBVA Bancomer doesn’t disclose its currency conversion rate and Bancomer doesn’t inform the customer or give them a choice. These hidden fees greatly increase the bank’s profit and significantly impacts the customer.
When you use your debit or credit card in a foreign country, you may not immediately know the exchange rate that your card provider will give you until you check your statement. By understanding how Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) functions will enable you to make wise decisions. When a bank lists the conversion charge from one type of money to another, press the lower left icon to decline. You will still receive your cash but for a better rate.
With DCC, the ATM operator offers to handle the conversion for you and tells you up front what the exchange rate will be. That may sound good, but they aren’t doing this out of the kindness of their hearts. This convenience comes with a cost, normally with a percentage mark-up that is not to the benefit of the customer. This charge for converting dollars to pesos is typically more favorable with your home bank. I respect the banks that are honest enough to state their mark-up and distrust BBVA for not providing the information but simply gouging the unsuspecting client.
While BBVA Bancomer México is one of the largest financial institutions in the country with 1,725 branches, 13,014 ATMs and 517,729 point of sale terminals (in 2021), the local branch leaves a lot to be desired. For years Bancomer La Penita has been notorious for compromising bank cards and being ridiculously high in their fees. But when you’re the only bank in town, you can get away with it. User beware!
