It seems the pesos issue is back

:mad:

This was discussed some time ago however it is now official.

From Tavelindustrytoday.com

16 SEP 2010: Effective immediately all vacationers travelling to Mexico will be required to use Mexican pesos only. Other currencies, including Canadian and American dollars will no longer be accepted in the country.

The use of international credit cards is unaffected as transactions will continue to be processed in Mexican pesos, as per current practice.

It is recommended that travellers bring Mexican pesos and/or credit cards to avoid difficulties.

__________________

Can anyone verify if this is true , those that will be cruising in the next few weeks and going to Majahual. We will be going Oct. 25th would like to know if we have to exchange money or not. Thanks...

Wow! Mexico not accepting U.S. currency. The almighty $. Hope it aint true. I don't want to be troubled converting currencies.

Jon

Wow! Mexico not accepting U.S. currency. The almighty $. Hope it aint true. I don't want to be troubled converting currencies.

 

Jon

I hope this is sarcasm.

Yes I took it as being a smartass , didnt really want to respond as really didnt see where my question was hurting him but some people cant help themselvese:rolleyes:

Just talked to reservations at Maya Palms to confirm Peso issue. They said Taxi company in Costa Maya prefers Peso, but will accept dollars..no problem.

I would prefer $$ over pesos as the peso is always dropping in value. Almost every tour listed on the port sites quote cost in US$$.

This has been batted about before. From everything I've read in various newsoutlets, the new law really applies to Mexican merchants exchanging US$ to pesos at local Mexican banks. Some merchants may then limit the amount of US$ they will accept or not accept any in order to not have to exchange above their monthly limit.

I wouldn't be too concerned unless you are planning on making a very large purchase (say expensive jewlery or a used car) with cash during your port visits to Mexico. But if you want to, you can exhange US$ for pesos on your ship at the pursers (guests services) desk. Use a cc or smaller denominations (US$1s or US$5s) if you don't exchange currency.

Yes I took it as being a smartass , didnt really want to respond as really didnt see where my question was hurting him but some people cant help themselvese:rolleyes:

You never know! LOL.

and watch them drop in value almost every day.

and watch them drop in value almost every day.

I'm presuming you are saying this tongue-in-cheek, given the US$'s fluctuation right now. Seriously, how many THOUSANDS of pesos would you need to have in your possession before you would lose even the cost of a cup of coffee? :) If you are planning on returning to Mexico, use leftovers then. A peso remains a peso.

I really don't understand some people's reluctance to use the currency of the country they are visiting.

I'm presuming you are saying this tongue-in-cheek, given the US$'s fluctuation right now. Seriously, how many THOUSANDS of pesos would you need to have in your possession before you would lose even the cost of a cup of coffee? :) If you are planning on returning to Mexico, use leftovers then. A peso remains a peso.

 

I really don't understand some people's reluctance to use the currency of the country they are visiting.

You I dont either , guess its just a pain in the butt , we have been cruising for years there has been no problem . Messing aroung changing money for one stop , makes me rethink my cruises and the stops , but thats just me.

Most transactions will remain unaffected under a certain $$ amount.

Drug cartel money laundering is a major issue here. A little over a month ago, a drug kingpin was shot a few blocks from my house and he had stacks of American $$$ in his house. Politics aside on how the drug war is being handled aside, I have to support a decision that may help them get this under control.

buckanear, you say:

Most transactions will remain unaffected under a certain $$ amount.

but if I'm interpreting the info correctly, Mexican businesses and citizens (eg., cab drivers) wil have a cap on how much US $ they can convert to pesos each month. So that could very easily affect their ability to pay suppliers, purchase items needed for their business, pay staff. If it is an aggregate amount of US $ transactions each month, it will potentially put them at risk financially -- especially if they need the money for continuing on their business. For example, if there is a $5000 US cap, and they reach that by mid-month over the course of hundreds of $10 US transactions, they may not be able to meet all their financial obligations in the current month if they defer converting any other US $ they receive until the following month. They need cash available to pay suppliers, staff, bank loans, etc., not US $ cash sitting in a safe or something waiting till the next month to be converted.

Or am I totally in left field on this?

I think time will tell how that works out. Who knows, maybe if the store goes over their $4000 limit, the owners have their family members convert money. I prefer to use my cc when I'm on vacation because I get a better exchange rate (actual exchange rate vs. 10/1).

that I had left over from several cruises and when I tried to use them last year they dail they were worth about a penny.

Use them for tipping at restaurants or cab drivers.

m steve, when did you get those peso coins?

From cointalk

In 1992 Mexico revalued their coinage, 1000 Old peso = 1 New Peso.

I kinda think you've had that coin a long, long time.

:mad:

This was discussed some time ago however it is now official.

 

From Tavelindustrytoday.com

 

16 SEP 2010: Effective immediately all vacationers travelling to Mexico will be required to use Mexican pesos only. Other currencies, including Canadian and American dollars will no longer be accepted in the country.

 

It is recommended that travellers bring Mexican pesos and/or credit cards to avoid difficulties.

__________________

Can anyone verify if this is true , those that will be cruising in the next few weeks and going to Majahual. We will be going Oct. 25th would like to know if we have to exchange money or not. Thanks...

I live in Mahahual and as far as I know all my collegues are still accepting USD..as has always been until now, there are only a few places where you can pay with credit cards.

Re. cash, it might be that some times you cannot pay with a 100 bill, either they dont have change, or dont want to accept it because they migth be afraid its a false one.

New law in Mexico against drug trafficking is that per month you can only deposit 4000 USD cash on your bank account. So that might make big companies decide to not take USD anymore. Here in Mahahual hardly the case for most of us are small business owners.

Of course you can also pay everywhere with mexican pesos...

will keep you posted if the situation changes . Have a lovely day in Mahahual !

I think only transactions over $100 USD are affected - like if you were buying jewelry or drugs.

I live in Mahahual and as far as I know all my collegues are still accepting USD..as has always been until now, there are only a few places where you can pay with credit cards.

 

Re. cash, it might be that some times you cannot pay with a 100 bill, either they dont have change, or dont want to accept it because they migth be afraid its a false one.

 

New law in Mexico against drug trafficking is that per month you can only deposit 4000 USD cash on your bank account. So that might make big companies decide to not take USD anymore. Here in Mahahual hardly the case for most of us are small business owners.

 

Of course you can also pay everywhere with mexican pesos...

 

will keep you posted if the situation changes . Have a lovely day in Mahahual !

Thx for the update , we will see you in a few weeks:D

We were just there on the Dream and US money was fine. We didn't ask, just used it.

We were just there on the Dream and US money was fine. We didn't ask, just used it.

Cool

We were in Costa Maya on Sept 20th, and Cozumel on the 23rd. No problems either time. Cabs took our dollars willingly, as did the restaurant owners. The car rental place converted the amount to pesos before we paid with credit card.

We were in Cabo recently and went to 2 or 3 banks trying to buy some pesos with US$. None would sell us any. We finally ended up just getting some from an ATM. We thought it strange at the time and wondered if they were trying to encourage us to use US$'s with the merchants. It probably did have more to do with the drug trouble.

I just checked with the local yellow taxis. They tell me that they do still accept US Dollars and plan on continuing to at this time.