Mexico Lower House Votes on 6 October to Phase Out Cash
MEXICO · ECONOMY
Key Facts
- —The country Mexico, with about 130 million people, is a top US trading partner where much daily commerce still runs on cash.
- —The background President Claudia Sheinbaum sent the bill to Congress on 8 September with her 2027 budget package to reduce cash use.
- —Why now The finance committee cleared it last week, and Morena and its allies command a large majority in the chamber.
- —What happened Deputies passed it 327 to 122 on Tuesday, 6 October, and sent it to the Senate.
- —How it works The finance ministry would choose sectors where only digital payment is accepted, starting with toll roads and gasoline.
- —What it means for you US drivers in Mexico may need a card, app or toll tag at booths and pumps once rules take effect.
- —Still open The Senate vote date, the full list of sectors and the transition periods have not been set.
Mexico’s lower house has voted to let the finance ministry phase out cash sector by sector, beginning with highway tolls and fuel.
The Mexico digital payments law cleared the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Congress, on Tuesday, 6 October. Toll roads and gasoline would be first in line for cash-free rules, the Mexico City daily La Jornada reported.
That reaches Americans who drive across the border or rent cars in Mexico, at the toll booth and at the pump. For investors, it promises a bigger market for card networks, banks and digital lenders, several of them listed in New York.
What the Digital Payments Law Does
Its formal name is the Law on the Digital Economy for Digital and Electronic Payments. President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government sent it to Congress with the 2027 budget package on Tuesday, 8 September.
The text lets the finance ministry, known as Hacienda, name the activities where only digital payment will be accepted. Sector regulators would then write the rules and set transition periods.
Accepted methods include bank transfers, cards, QR codes and NFC, the contactless technology used by phones and cards. Cash or cheques remain allowed when a technical failure blocks a digital payment, according to N+, a Mexican broadcaster.
Federal, state and municipal offices must accept digital payments for public services and paperwork. A digital version of the CURP, Mexico’s personal ID code, could be used to open bank accounts remotely.
The draft, as summarised by the law firm White & Case, also widens the role of the Bank of Mexico, or Banxico. Together with the banking regulator, it could require card terminals to accept QR-code payments.
How the Vote Went and Who Objected
The first vote, on the bill as a whole, was 330 to 122, the Mexican news site Latinus reported. La Jornada gave a final count of 327 to 122 and said the bill went to the Senate.
Morena, the left-wing ruling party founded by former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and its allies voted in favour. Carol Antonio Altamirano, the Morena deputy who chairs the finance committee, called it “a new, cutting-edge and innovative law”.
Opposition parties voted against, including the National Action Party (PAN), the main conservative force. PAN deputy Homero Niño de Rivera said the bill gives Hacienda free rein to add sectors without defined criteria.
Emilio Suárez Licona of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which ruled Mexico for most of the 20th century, focused on informal work. He said 55% of the economically active population works informally and that micro firms get too little help to adapt.
Claudia Ruiz Massieu of Citizens’ Movement (MC), a centre-left opposition party, called Hacienda’s new power unconstitutional. Letting the ministry decide where banknotes can no longer be used crosses the line of Banxico’s autonomy, she argued.
Why Mexico Wants Less Cash
The stated aim is to widen the use of electronic payments and reduce cash use gradually, according to N+. Transfers through SPEI, Banxico’s interbank system, and CoDi, its QR-code platform, carry no fees for buyers or sellers.
José Antonio Peña Merino, head of the Digital Transformation and Telecommunications Agency, set out the plan on Thursday, 24 September. He said the limit on basic accounts, opened with just an ID, would rise to MXN 135,000 (about US$7,450).
The current limit is about MXN 25,000 (about US$1,380), according to Por Esto, a Yucatán daily that covered the briefing. Conversions use 18.11 pesos per US dollar, the rate of 6 October 2026.
What It Means for You
For US drivers, the change would land at the caseta, the toll booth on Mexico’s highways, and at the fuel pump. Nothing changes yet, but once rules apply, a card, a phone payment app or an electronic toll tag will matter.
Travellers should check with their bank that cards work in Mexico and what foreign transaction fees apply. Keeping some pesos remains sensible, because the law allows cash when digital systems fail.
For investors, more digital payments mean a bigger market for card networks such as Visa and Mastercard, both NYSE-listed. The rule on QR codes could also steer some payments to Banxico’s fee-free system instead.
Digital lenders such as NYSE-listed Nu and Mercado Pago, part of Nasdaq-listed Mercado Libre, compete for the same customers. Families receiving money from relatives in the United States could keep more of it in accounts.
The opposition’s argument about Banxico also matters for the peso. Investors see the central bank’s independence as an anchor for Mexican assets, so a court fight over its powers would draw attention.
What Is Not Known
The Senate has not set a date for its vote, and the final text passed by deputies is not yet published. Hacienda has not said which sectors would follow toll roads and gasoline, or how long transition periods would last.
Under the draft, Hacienda had 15 business days after publication to name sectors, and it is unclear whether that deadline survived. The draft also set no penalties for businesses that refuse digital payments.
It is not known whether opponents will take the law to the Supreme Court over Banxico’s autonomy. The two vote counts reported on Tuesday, 330 and 327 in favour, could not be checked against the chamber’s own record.
What Comes Next
The bill now goes to the Senate, where Morena and its allies also hold a majority. Under the draft, it would take effect once published in the Diario Oficial, the government gazette.
Passage would not mean cash disappears from Mexico. Notes and coins remain legal tender, and the law targets designated sectors, not every purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mexico banning cash?
No, it is not. The law lets the finance ministry name sectors where only digital payment is accepted, and notes and coins remain legal tender.
Can tourists still pay cash at Mexican toll booths?
For now, yes. Nothing changes until the Senate passes the law, it is published and the finance ministry issues rules with a transition period.
What are SPEI and CoDi?
SPEI is the Bank of Mexico’s interbank transfer system. CoDi is its QR-code platform for paying from a phone, and both carry no fees.
Why do opposition parties object?
They say the finance ministry gets too much discretion and that informal workers and small shops are not ready. One opposition deputy argued that restricting banknotes intrudes on the central bank’s autonomy.
When could the new rules start?
No date is set, because the Senate must vote first. Under the draft, the finance ministry would have 15 business days after publication to name sectors.
Sources: Cámara de Diputados, Gaceta Parlamentaria No. 7121-G, Ley de Economía Digital para Pagos Digitales y Electrónicos (8 September 2026); Gaceta Parlamentaria, 2027 economic package index; La Jornada; Latinus; N+; El Tiempo; Por Esto; White & Case (all accessed 7 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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