Banking recommendation for the North American West Coast

[Tinker]

Hi All,

For those of you on the west coast of the US, Canada and Mexico:

I'm looking for a bank that covers all your personal banking needs for cruising the area I mentioned. Fuel docks, grocery stores, perhaps a bill pay site. Any banks you trust to handle your cruising lifestyle? I'd like to know as I'm considering changing banks and I don't want to get locked into any specific ATM or regional system.

Thanks!

[svRaison d Etre]

We have been happy with Schwab bank. They reimbursed the ATM fee at the end of the month and their exchange rate are good (no extra % just the regular rate)

[Dogscout]

+1 on Schwab. I use it globally and have never had even the slightest issue. No foreign transaction fee, pays interest, ATM fee reimbursed. Combine that with a Wise account and its the way to go.

[SV-Viento]

Originally Posted by Dogscout

+1 on Schwab. I use it globally and have never had even the slightest issue. No foreign transaction fee, pays interest, ATM fee reimbursed. Combine that with a Wise account and its the way to go.

+1 on the Wise account.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by Tinker

Hi All,

For those of you on the west coast of the US, Canada and Mexico:

I'm looking for a bank that covers all your personal banking needs for cruising the area I mentioned. Fuel docks, grocery stores, perhaps a bill pay site. Any banks you trust to handle your cruising lifestyle? I'd like to know as I'm considering changing banks and I don't want to get locked into any specific ATM or regional system.

Thanks!

I own property in Mexico and US. Several years ago I tried to open a bank account with HSBC that has global locations. They advertised a consumer service that was a truly multi-country bank account (or as close as possible given regulations that severely limit cross-border banking). Ended up with an HSBC US account, but not the cross-border flexibility of a Mexican account. My impression was twofold: HSBC has been slapped with various banking fines and was still reeling; and the banking requirements filtered out law abiding users with legitimate needs but were likely workable for nefarious actors with staff.

Like a previous post, I've used Wise and Schwab for years. The issue with using a credit/debit in Mexico is there is a fairly robust criminal business in skimming credit card numbers, especially at ATMs, which will generate a fraud-alert shut-down your card. It's difficult to get a replacement sent.

I've recently received a Wise prepaid debit card which promises their 'spot' rates on credit card transactions. Unlike US-based banks (and presumably Canadian banks), there are no fraud protections with a Wise credit card so I'll keep a low balance funding the account. The up-side is replenishment only takes a few seconds.

[Tinker]

Thanks for the information. I've checked into these options and they look perfect for my needs.