The initiative of Mexican financial regulators to modify the commission scheme and modernize digital payments opens the door to greater interoperability and inclusion in the system, said Ramiro Nández, director of users of Payment Market.

He explained that the company is already working with the authorities so that the changes really translate into benefits for businesses and users, although the specific advantages have not yet been defined.

“We recognize the spirit of that initiative; we understand that seeks more interoperability, more inclusion and fewer barriers to the digitalization of payments”, he noted.

He remembered that Mercado Pago operates “from both sides”, as a card issuer and a relevant participant in acquisitionand that they will maintain close collaboration with the regulator throughout the entire process.

The basket or size of the market is enormous. The payment and digitalization platform Antom, used in OXXO Pay, reports that in Mexico, the acquiring business moves hundreds of billions of dollars a year in card payments, within a total card and payment market that is estimated to generate about $215 billion in card payments in 2024.

According to Nández, it is still early to detail the impacts of the regulations, but there is constant communication with the authorities.

Greater acceptance

He Draft Provisions for Disposal Media Networksthat the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) and the Bank of Mexico put into consultation, raises a comprehensive reconfiguration of the operational framework with a view to expanding the acceptance of card payments in the country.

The goal is to improve conditions to boost its use and, at the same time, reduce dependence on cash.

This regulatory push occurs in a context of progress in financial inclusion. At the national level, the percentage of people with at least one financial product savings account, credit, insurance or Afore rose from 68.4% in 2015 to 76.5% in 2024, according to EncuThis National Financial Inclusion (ENIF) 2024. In 2024, 72.8% of women and 80.9% of men had access to some of these products.

The use of cards and electronic transfers also grew. The greatest advance occurred in transfers or payments by cell phone for purchases over MXN $500, with an increase of 4.8 percentage points compared to 2021. Among those who have a formal savings account, the use of mobile apps for inquiries or movements went from 54.3% in 2021 to 69.1% in 2024, while the use of ATMs and branches fell 16.8 and 5 percentage points, respectively.

It is worth noting that, according to a report by worldpay Regarding the payment practices of various markets, in Mexico, although between 60% and 70% of all payments are made in cash, the value of these represents only 38%. That is, the maximum value of payments is through cards and other digital means.