No more check cashing in San Miguel?

[doncoulter]

Your friend is wrong, and you are correct. It's not true that the Congress outlawed the cashing of U.S. checks in Mexico. What has happened, however, is that the U.S. has imposed stringent reporting requirements on foreign financial institutions, including banks, and as a result many such institutions are now deciding that they don't need the hassle and they'll just stop accepting U.S. customers. At the same time, many U.S. financial institutions are concerned that those reporting requirements and other such regulations are just the first moves in a trend of increasing U.S. regulation of accounts held by Americans living abroad. As a result, many U.S. banks, for example, are severing the relationships they've had with Mexican and other foreign banks. They're doing this in spite of any current legal requirement to do so. In other words, their lawyers are running scared of what the future holds. This seems also to be affecting wire transfers--though some SMAers have reported that small banks have been slower to impose restrictions than big banks. That makes sense, as the big banks have more lawyers.

I lurk on the Civil_SMA forum, and I've been mostly amused by all the hysteria among San Miguel expats about their impending inability to cash checks. I mean, these people manage their expat cash flow by writing and cashing checks?!? Do they also wear spats and listen to Victrolas? I can't remember the last time I wrote a check.

On the other hand, if the banks start limiting ATM transactions, then I will be concerned.

Don