Travelers
Mexico currency laws make it tougher to pay in dollars
American travelers bound for Cancun and other popular Mexican destinations have long been able to pay for meals, souvenirs and other goods or services in U.S. dollars instead of pesos.
But under new currency laws that took effect last month along the Mexican Riviera and elsewhere, restaurants, stores and other businesses can now accept a maximum of $100 in cash per transaction. Tour operators Apple Vacations and Funjet Vacations are warning customers that "certain businesses may not be able to, or may choose not to, accept U.S. dollars for any purchase at all, " and airlines at Mexican airports can no longer accept U.S. cash for checked bag fees or other charges, says Tim Smith at American Airlines.
Effective Sept. 14, as part of an effort to stem drug-related money laundering, the Mexican government capped the amount of dollars foreigners can trade for pesos at banks and money exchangers to no more than $1,500 per month.
The $100 limit per transaction on cash purchases in dollars, which also took effect Sept. 14, "is causing a lot of confusion within Mexico," admits Tim Wheatcroft, a spokesman for the tourism board in Baja California.
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 - including Quintana Roo, home to the major resort destinations of Cancun, Cozumel and Playa del Carmen. Elsewhere in Mexico, Wheatcroft says the Baja California government is "urging merchants to accept dollars on all purchases, even those over $100."
The laws don't affect credit or debit card purchases, or the amount of pesos that U.S. travelers can withdraw from Mexican ATM machines. But, the tourism board adds, U.S. travelers should purchase pesos before they arrive in Mexico "to minimize any inconvenience the exchange cap at banks may cause. "
" I think businesses are feeling their way through it, but I know it's starting to make an impact (and) many places are not accepting (U.S. cash)," says Kelly McLaughlin, author of the blog A Canuck in Cancun.
The new measures come at a difficult time for Mexico's embattled visitor industry: On Sept. 30, American tourist David Hartley was allegedly murdered by Mexican pirates while jet-skiing with his wife Tiffany on Falcon Lake, a dammed portion of the Rio Grande River located on the Texas-Mexico border. Hartley's body has not been recovered, and a Mexican police commander investigating the case was killed.
(Published by USA Today – October 26, 2010)