It was a saga. I waited a week and decided to open an account at Scotiabank in Manzanillo. The terms offered at the two other banks in Melaque (Banamex and BBVA) did not appeal to me and a small "Credit Union" group has also been targeted by the US government so that precluded the other Melaque alternative. There is a Scotiabank across the street from the TD Bank I use in Toronto and with an ongoing minimum balance of 5,000 pesos -- there are no other account charges at Scotiabank Manzanillo.

I am doing renovations at our casa and it requires a steady stream of funds. I couldn't wait for the situation at Intercam to be resolved.

I opened a Scotiabank Manzanillo account with the assistance of Google Translate, made a nominal deposit and with Caroline's assistance in Toronto started transferring funds to Scotiabank Manzanillo. The Toronto Scotiabank's info re the Manzanillo branch was not current and resulted in some confusion and aggravation. As a test, a wire transfer from the TO branch for a small $$ amount cost $45 and was successful. Subsequent online transfers from Scotiabank Toronto used Santander bank as the intermediary and incurred no charge.

I made a withdrawl from my account at Scotiabank Manzanillo today. I sent an email to the branch contact I was given on Monday specifying the amount I planned on withdrawing today (Thursday). At the branch there were 3 "agents" seemingly unoccupied and a single teller. I took my "number"--four people ahead of me waiting for a teller. It was a long wait -- approx 45 minutes before my turn. Then another 15 minutes, I was asked to return to the waiting area while they prepared the funds. Overall, 70 minutes before I left the bank.

Apparently, the Mexican government guarantees 3,200,000 pesos held in a bank account or Investment certificats (GICs/CDs).

I hope the situation with Intercam gets resolved. I have retained my account with them and seriously considering just using Scotiabank Manzanillo to receive my funds and then transferring them over to Intercam--very easy to do online.

p.s. The other part of the saga: After making approx 30 TD Global Express transfers from my TD Bank to Intercam Melaque over the past 12 months--I made a TD Global Express transfer to my "new" Scotiabank Manzanillo account. TD flagged the transfer as "suspect", attempted unsuccessfully to text me and froze my accounts. I contacted them, apparently failed the identification process (my current Ontario drivers license picture I forwarded via their app is not the same "me" as the selfie that I also sent via their app.

p.p.s Caroline has made several TD Global Express transfers to the Scotiabank Manzanillo account. She was queried by TD to confirm the initial transfer was legitimate and then they were enacted.

Several different banks acted as the intermediary for the transfer of funds. Effective July 1, 2025 there is no charge levied for using TD Global Express. Previously there was a $6.99 fee.