Opening a Mexican bank account requires holding either temporary or permanent residency (residente temporal or residente permanente). Both are reasonably easy to obtain for those of retirement age with income from their home country. If you qualify, applying straight for residente permanente is the smarter move — it never expires, whereas residente temporal must be renewed, which raises the cost over time.

A word of warning: US citizens whose foreign bank accounts hold more than $10,000 USD at any point in the year must file an FBAR report with the US Treasury the following year, and penalties for missing it are steep. Many property owners therefore keep their Mexican account balances below $10,000 USD.

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