Mexico: Chamber of Deputies approves law to reduce cash usage

• The bill was approved with 327 votes in favor and will go to the Senate for analysis.
• The Ministry of Finance is empowered to determine sectors where digital payment is the only accepted method.

The Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico approved the issuance of the Digital Economy Law for Digital and Electronic Payments, an initiative promoted by the federal Executive to reduce the use of cash.

The lower house ratified the bill in particular yesterday, October 6, 2026 with a vote of 327 in favor and 122 against, sending the proposal to the Senate of the Republic for discussion.

This regulation aims to encourage digital payments in light of the predominance of physical money. According to the official text, <<in Mexico, according to the National Financial Inclusion Survey (ENIF) 2024, most daily transactions are still settled in cash>>.

The legal framework includes the use of payment methods such as <<QR codes, NFC devices that allow for payments; debit and credit cards; fund transfer orders>> and other instruments authorized by financial authorities. NFC technology enables data transmission over short distances between devices without the need for physical contact.

Among its central points, the project establishes that the digital CURP will function as official identification for contracting financial services. The Unique Population Registry Code (CURP) is an alphanumeric code used in Mexico to individually identify each inhabitant and resident of the country.

It also includes the creation of a Digital Citizen File, which will have <> for user information consultation.

All authorities from the three levels of government must implement the required mechanisms to accept electronic transactions in their procedures and services. Additionally, Article 13 empowers the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit to determine <>.

However, Article 15 stipulates that <<when a contingency arises that prevents the reception of Electronic and Digital Payment Methods, payment in cash or by check will be allowed>>. Authorities clarified in Article 16 that these unforeseen situations will not justify <> non-compliance with the law.

The legislative text emphasizes that <<each digital payment contributes to the development of a financial history that facilitates credit profiling and, therefore, access to credit>>. Thus, the legislation seeks to correct the gap observed between 2021 and 2024, during which the use of cash for purchases under 500 pesos decreased from 90.1% to 85.2%, while the use of transfers and mobile applications grew only from 1.6% to 4.4%.

Alongside the legislative effort to popularize digital channels, the local financial ecosystem faces a particular scenario. A report published by CriptoNoticias indicates that the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) has stalled stablecoins backed by Mexican pesos due to Circular 4/2019, a situation that has led to dollar-pegged assets like USDT and USDC dominating the remittance market in the country.

In this context, the approved initiative does not explicitly mention stablecoins --- assets linked to a fiat currency --- nor bitcoin (BTC) or other altcoins. According to the regulatory text, any future integration of these assets will depend on the general provisions issued by Banxico and the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV).

For governments, such initiatives towards a cashless society are of extreme interest not only for technological modernization but also because the institutional digitalization of money drastically reduces citizens' financial privacy and increases the traceability of every transaction.

By displacing cash, the state and banking corporations gain the ability to monitor, profile, and even restrict how, when, and where people spend their money.

In this context of surveillance and centralized control, bitcoin emerges as an alternative: a peer-to-peer electronic money system that offers the advantages of the digital age while preserving a high degree of privacy, resistance to censorship, and sovereignty over funds, as long as the user maintains good technological practices and self-custody.

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