Mexico digital economy law reducing cash use, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico): The federal government published this Wednesday, November 4, in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) the Digital Economy Law for Digital and Electronic Payments, a piece of legislation promoted by President Claudia Sheinbaum that seeks to reduce cash use and expand electronic payment options in Mexico.
The new legal framework establishes provisions to encourage digital transactions, make use of existing financial infrastructure, and simplify procedures for accessing banking services. The decree contains 22 articles and five transitory provisions and keeps practically the same content as the original bill sent by the Executive to Congress.
The law also distributes new powers between the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) and the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), and recognizes digital identification tools that may be used to contract financial services. The legislation seeks to expand the use of electronic payment methods through tools that already form part of the Mexican financial system, as well as set conditions to facilitate their use among the population.
Among its main provisions, these measures aim to extend electronic payment alternatives in both everyday transactions and services offered by public institutions. One significant change is that the SHCP will have the authority to determine the sectors and activities where only digital and electronic payments will be accepted.
This means the law opens the possibility of establishing spaces where transactions must be carried out without physical money, although it does not represent a general elimination of cash in the country. The scope of the measure will therefore depend on the activities the Finance Ministry determines under the powers established in the legislation.
The law also officially recognizes the Digital CURP and the Digital Citizen File as valid identification instruments. Through these tools, people will be able to carry out financial procedures without necessarily visiting a bank branch.
With this, the legislation incorporates electronic identification mechanisms into the processes for accessing the financial system.
One of the main challenges for implementing the law will be changing the population’s payment habits, since banknotes and coins continue to have a significant presence in everyday transactions. According to information from the Bank of Mexico, as of October 16 the monetary base reached 3.521069 trillion pesos, an annual increase of 237,584 million pesos.
Although this figure does not measure exclusively the cash used by the population, it indicates the amount of physical money that forms part of the economy.
In addition, a Banxico study covering 2025, published October 7, 2026, indicates that 98% of the population uses banknotes and coins for daily expenses. This behavior reflects the challenge the new legislation faces: expanding access to electronic payments and facilitating their use in a country where cash remains part of the consumption habits of virtually the entire population.
Publication of the law represents the start of a new regulatory framework for digital transactions in Mexico. Its application will depend on the provisions issued by competent authorities and the conditions established for sectors that must accept only electronic payments.
Related reporting notes that after Sheinbaum confirmed the elimination of cash in services such as gas stations and toll booths, the Senate approved the Digital Economy Law, and that telepeaje and tools such as CoDi and DiMo will be mandatory, even though millions of Mexicans still do not have bank accounts.
