Banking at Banamex

Banamex is one of Mexico's largest banks. It is owned by Citibank.

Today, Annabelle and I went to our local Banamex branch, in Polanco, to see if we could get pesos out of our U.S. Citibank account.

It was an interesting experience.

First, when you walk in...it's like going to the DMV in the U.S. You immediately take a ticket, then go sit down in the rows of chairs, until your number is called.

There must have been 30 people waiting, with more coming in the door behind me! I wanted to take a picture...but in the U.S. for security reasons, that is generally not allowed. So, I figured I shouldn't take a photo in Mexico...

Apparently you can pay utility bills at Banamex, which is probably what the majority of people were doing.

I ended up just paying my gas bill, as I wasn't able to take funds out of my U.S. checking out. However, they were very nice about getting someone to speak English with me and tell me what I need to do to get a Banamex Mexico checking account! -- documents needed include my FM3 visa, passport and a utility bill with my name on it!