Mexican Utility Payments and More - How And Where To Pay

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

I read quite a bit about the difficulty ex-pats have in paying bills.  I write this as one comment send, "we live in the land of maybe".  It took offense to that statement.  I realize that not everyone is going to be a Spanish speaker.  As I have said, people live here for many different reasons and some feel just fine to stay with their own kind.  Although I have to say that I see many lonely women in and around San Miguel de Allende just as an example.  I also noticed that in Cuenca, Ecuador which is also another big ex-pat community.  They could learn some Spanish and meet a nice muchacho  :)

 Most of the issue with doing just about anything in Mexico is that if you don’t speak the language you have to kind of fuddle your way through things until you sort them out.  I have heard many people say, “well I have lived here for years and never knew that”.  Read the newspaper, listen to the news on the television or the internet.  Use an online translator and read ex-pat newspapers. 

So how do you pay bills in Mexico?  First off, there are very few countries with a decent mail delivery system and the same goes for Mexico.  We get our mail regularly but it only includes two bills; the phone and our membership dues payment at the resort south of our house. 

The most common things one has to pay are utilities and cable.  Telmex, CFE (electric), gas, be it filling a cylinder at home or in some major Mexican cities that have a natural gas network, cable, and internet.   The good thing about bills today is that mail doesn’t matter much anymore.  Even the CFE who delivers bills is slowly getting out of the business.   Everything is online these days including property taxes, Mexican car insurance, credit cards, etc.  I was shocked when my little brother recently told me that he still writes checks.  Egads! 

The CFE has cajeros or machines where you can pay your bill.  Some even had card readers to pay via debit or credit.  You can scan the bar code or enter your service number which is on any bill you may have or your contract.  The cajero accepts both bills and coins and returns change.  You can also pay at the counter.

Telmex has offices all over Mexico and again, you only need your phone number with the area and an ID in some cities.  This is good also if you just have the Infinitum internet and not the landline.

If you are a Mexican resident, temporary or permanent, you can also open a Mexican bank account.  Someone told me recently that another person had told this person that Mexican banks weren’t safe.  Wow, all Mexican banks have a counterpart in either Europe or the U.S. We even have investments in Mexican banks. We have used Banorte for over 30 years and never an issue. Banorte is associated with the International Bank of Laredo.  You can have an account there in IB of L and do transfers back and forth.

 

Your online account has a page for paying the most popular companies.  Banorte has a list of over 50 that includes all of the payments above and then some.  Speaking of banking, most Mexican banks are now going to mobile apps and you can pay with your phone in many places.  We saw the new readers at Mega and Soriana in SMA, as an example.  You just tap your phone and scan it with the QR code.

Then you have the famous OXXO convenience stores.  They accept all types of payments, bank transfers, deposits, credit card payments, school tuition, and then some for a small price of 10 pesos.  You can send money from one store to another in less than 30 minutes if someone you know needs cash.

After that comes banks.  Any bank will, whether you are a customer or not, allow you to pay any of your bills for a small fee of again, 10 pesos.  If it is not a utility bill, there will be a list of banks on the bottom of your payment slip with the corresponding bar codes for the bank to use.  We even pay our property taxes and car tags at the bank, online bank or at the OXXO.

When we are traveling in Mexico, we can pay the essentials at any branch of the utility company.  When we travel outside Mexico we then use our Mexican online banking.  We even make a payment transfer weekly to the gardener online as well.

Well, that’s that unless someone who reads this would like to add something I may have forgotten.  You can always send me an email and I will be glad to answer any questions.

BTW, we celebrate 35 years of blissful togetherness today.  Wow, how time flies.