Mexico Targets More Digital Payments by 2027. What Would Change for Everyday Shoppers?

Mexico City — Mexico’s federal government is targeting a shift toward digital payments in 2027 under a proposed Digital Economy Law, with officials outlining a goal of reaching at least 50% digital use in the first year.

For households and small businesses, that could mean fewer trips to the ATM, less time finding change and more opportunities to pay by phone at neighborhood shops. Reaching that goal, however, will depend on whether digital payments become practical for people who still rely on cash.

José Antonio Peña Merino, head of the Digital Transformation and Telecommunications Agency (ATDT), said approximately 85% of transactions below 500 pesos — about US$27 using the original report’s conversion — are made in cash. He described that level as among the highest worldwide, with cash use somewhat lower for larger purchases.

“We estimate, and this is a conversation with Banco de México, that in the first year we would have to reach 50 percent, and this will increase over time. It could be faster; it is a conservative estimate,” Peña Merino said at the National Palace.

The underlying statistics require some context. INEGI’s 2024 National Financial Inclusion Survey found that 85.2% of adults ages 18 to 70 usually paid cash for purchases of 500 pesos or less. For purchases of 501 pesos or more, the figure was 73.5%. Those percentages describe people’s most frequent payment method, rather than a count of every transaction nationwide.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said the proposal, sent to Congress alongside the 2027 Economic Package, would improve security and efficiency while helping businesses formalize their operations. The announcement describes the government’s intended direction; the proposal should not be read as an immediate nationwide requirement to stop using cash.

Three-Step Transfers and No Commissions

Peña Merino said the proposal would simplify payments through financial institutions’ apps, using Mexico’s existing SPEI electronic transfer system and CoDi digital payment platform to move money instantly.

The plan promotes CoDi transfers completed in three steps, allowing businesses to receive payments by cellphone without commissions and with immediate settlement.

CoDi already offers those core benefits. Banco de México says the platform operates around the clock, including weekends, and processes payments in seconds without transaction fees. A seller generates a payment request, the buyer reviews and accepts it, and both receive confirmation once the transfer is completed.

For a small food stand or neighborhood shop, that could make it easier to accept a customer’s payment without needing change for a large bill. Immediate access to the proceeds could also help an owner purchase supplies for the following day.

For customers, wider acceptance could reduce the need to withdraw cash before buying lunch, paying for a service or running errands. Those benefits depend on both parties having the necessary account and technology, and the business accepting the payment method.

“No commissions” refers to CoDi transactions. It should not be interpreted as a promise that every associated bank account or mobile service is free.

Bank Accounts and a Record of Everyday Business

Sheinbaum pointed to remote account opening as another part of the strategy.

“If you want to open a bank account, you can now do it at all banks electronically, for up to 130,000 pesos. If you link a CoDi to that account, and you buy from someone else, or someone buys from you, you pay directly with your phone and you don’t have to carry cash,” she said.

The 130,000-peso figure was presented as part of her explanation of electronic accounts. Customers would still need to confirm the applicable account limits and opening requirements with their financial institution.

Sheinbaum said reducing cash use would improve security and efficiency while creating a payment history that could eventually help formalize a business or product.

Peña Merino said the proposal also seeks to make exchanges between individuals and companies easier, expand account ownership and access to loans, and reduce regulatory and financial-services barriers to formalization.

For a self-employed worker or small shopkeeper, a clearer record of money coming in could help document business activity. However, a history of incoming payments is not the same as a credit repayment history, and it does not automatically guarantee loan approval.

Cash Users Will Need a Workable Transition

The practical challenge extends beyond persuading people to try a new app. INEGI’s 2024 survey found that 63% of adults ages 18 to 70 had a formal savings account. That leaves a substantial share of the population outside an essential part of the digital payment system.

Banco de México lists an internet-connected mobile device, an account with a financial institution and a suitable application among the requirements for paying with CoDi. For someone without reliable connectivity, or who needs help using banking apps, paying digitally may involve additional hurdles.

In the Riviera Maya, the proposed shift could affect familiar purchases at small shops and service businesses, as well as payments made while traveling. Its usefulness will depend on whether customers can pay as reliably at a neighborhood counter as they can at a larger business.

Gas Stations, Highways and Government Payments

The strategy also calls for wider digital payment adoption across different levels of government. Peña Merino identified gas stations and highway tolls as strategic sectors where the gradual move away from cash is already being pursued. Sheinbaum described the highway transition as progressive, with more digital-payment lanes rather than an overnight prohibition on cash.

For drivers, that could eventually mean less cash set aside for tolls and faster passage where digital systems work smoothly. The announcement itself does not establish that every gas station or toll plaza has already stopped accepting cash.

Brazil Offers an Example, With an Important Distinction

Peña Merino cited Brazil’s Pix instant-payment system, comparing it with CoDi and saying it reached 80% adoption within its first year.

“So that would be a more optimistic scenario,” he said.

Brazil’s rapid adoption is well documented, but the timing of that figure needs clarification. An International Monetary Fund analysis reported that more than 140 million people — about 80% of Brazil’s adult population — had used Pix by May 2023, approximately two and a half years after its launch. That measures people who used the system, not its share of all payments.

Fewer Requirements and Shorter Waits

Alongside the payment proposal, Peña Merino reported that more than 4,000 government procedures had been simplified during the administration’s first two years, including 1,947 that were eliminated.

Average requirements fell from six to two, while average processing times dropped from 44 days to 22, according to the government’s figures.

For residents and business owners, fewer requirements could translate into fewer documents to gather, fewer trips to government offices and less time away from work. Those figures are averages across the procedures reviewed, so individual experiences will vary.

The everyday test of the broader strategy will be whether paying for purchases and completing government paperwork actually becomes easier for the people using these services.