Money
DINERO
The currency of Mexico is the Mexican Peso. The writing is similar to the dollar sign and therefor easy to mix up. The only difference is that the dollar sign has to vertical lines but the peso just one. Attention- it's a touristic catch. You're better off to be well informed about the current exchange rate before you start your journey. Most of the time it's cheaper to change dollars in Mexico or to simply withdraw money at a cash point. Besides there are a lot of exchange offices, called Casas de cambio. You can also pay everywhere with dollars, which we however do not recommend because being perceived a rich foreigner, you will always pay a dollar-extra-charge.
There are a lot of cash points and most of them accept Visa and Mastercard as well as EC-cards. However be aware of the fees your bank charges for foreign activities. The most common Mexican banks are Banamex and Bancomer. Moreover there are a lot of famous international banks like HSBC, Santander, Scotiabank etc.
Credit cards like American Express, MasterCard or Visa are common means of payment in Mexico and accepted in nearly every larger shop, car rentals, hotels and restaurants. To avoid abuse you should not give anybody else - Mexicain or non-Mexicain - the possibility to take your credit card and you should watch every time you pay with your card that no one is able to make a second receipt.
