Americans traveling in the Mexican Riviera may find themselves having to visit local ATMs to get pesos. That's because not everyone is going to take your dollars anymore. A new law says businesses such as restaurants and stores can no longer accept more than $100 in cash per transaction. And some businesses may respond by not taking U.S. dollars at all, reports USA Today. Many U.S. travelers to Mexico have gotten used to paying in dollars for things like meals and souvenirs, including those visiting for a day on cruise ships. Dollars have been widely accepted by merchants in tourist areas, some even encouraging U.S. currency over pesos. But now as part of an effort to stem drug-related money laundering, several Mexican states including Quintana Roo - where Cancun, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen are located – have adopted the $100 limit. The new rules became effective last month. The amount of dollars foreigners can trade for pesos at banks and money exchangers is also now capped at $1,500 per month. The new measures do not affect credit card or debit card purchases, and travelers can still draw as many pesos as they want from Mexican ATM machines. Among other changes, the newspaper quotes an American Airlines spokesman as saying airlines at Mexican airports can no longer accept U.S. cash for check bag fees and other last-minute charges. For its part, the Mexican tourist is board is recommending travelers buy pesos before they leave the U.S., to "eliminate any inconvenience" the changes may cause. Courtesy USA Today. Thought I'd pass this along.
Just to clarify the facts a little more. The $1500 USD per month cash transaction limit at Mexican banks is per person - so if you are a couple traveling in Mexico the limit for you as a couple is $3000 USD cash per month Also further from USA Today " Mexico Tourism Board spokesman Joel Staley says the $100 per transaction limit is not part of federal policy but is being imposed in some Mexican states " - but the number of transactions per customer is not restricted, so basically it leaves it up to the merchant to be as creative or restrictive as they wish. Since this $100 USD max cash per transaction is not part of the the recent official Mexican policy change it is still really up on the air to see how it will affect tourists - perhaps Steve or others living in Cancun can comment more accurately on this
There's an earlier discussion on this here: http://www.cancuncare.com/forum/temptation-resort-cancun/17093-mexicans-not-accepting-dollars.html More irresponsible journalism I'm afraid. Gotta keep on churning out those stories to give folks from the US yet another excuse to not visit Mexico. There are restrictions on exchanging dollars at banks and paying dollars into Peso accounts, have been for months now - but I doubt this affects the average tourist at all. The problem comes with the (foreign) travel agencies who previously ended up with large amounts of Dollars they couldnt pay in to the bank - so they refuse to accept them for things like tours, excess baggage fees at the airport etc and then pretend it's the same everywhere. They are just trying to look after themselves - note there's no Mexican business quoted: I am not aware of any Cancun based small businesses such as tour operators, bars, restaurants, taxis, airport transfer companies etc refusing Dollars. To do so would put them at a distinct disadvantage to those who continue to accept them. So contrary to USA Today's reports it's largely business as usual as far as I'm aware - other than when dealing with foreign travel agencies or carriers. We dont use Dollars ourselves very often apart from at Costco where we have had no problems paying over $100 in a single transaction recently. We rarely use Dollars in the HZ so may not be up to speed on the current situation- but I'm fairly confident not much has changed for the average tourist. That said, I have always recommended people use Pesos over USD when in Mexico and still consider the best way of handling your finances when in Cancun to be via withdrawing pesos from the ATM machine.
I don't classify Canada as being the same as mexico because we are on top so that makes the US our bitch:bj: But I for one like when US money comes into my business I usually buy it from the company and put it away for my next vacation. When I try to use Canadian dollars in Mexico or South America they think its monopoly money but do admire the pretty colors and pictures. So for this traveller I leave my Canadian money at home and always travel with US dollars and for any larger purchases I use plastic.
My thought is that the average tourist won't have much of a problem. However if a business refuses to accept my dollars i'll just put them back in my pocket and move on. If you are staying at an AI Resort you don't really have to go out to eat & drink and put money into the local economy. In our 6 previous trips to Cancun our average spending outside the resort has been between $1,000-$1,500. I wouldn't have a problem bringing that money back home with me.
