At the 89th Banking Convention held March 18 to 20 in Cancun, Banco de Mexico presented forecasts showing that transfers processed through SPEI, Mexico's real-time interbank payment system, are on track to exceed the combined volume of debit and credit card transactions by the end of 2026. The projection was shared during a panel on the future of money featuring Banxico's Othon Moreno Gonzalez, General Director of Payment Systems and Market Infrastructure, alongside executives from Banamex, Mastercard, and the Bank for International Settlements.
SPEI has experienced sustained growth over recent years. In 2024, the system processed 5.34 billion transactions totaling approximately 219 trillion Mexican pesos, equivalent to roughly 12 trillion US dollars and representing 6.5 times Mexico's GDP. Transaction volume grew 39 percent year over year. By 2025, 75 percent of Mexican adults had conducted at least one SPEI transfer, with over 71 percent using the system for low-value everyday payments.
The milestone reflects a broader structural shift in Mexican payment behavior. As SPEI adoption has expanded from large-value interbank transfers to everyday consumer payments, it has steadily displaced card-based transactions. Banxico Governor Victoria Rodriguez Ceja highlighted the increasing role of SPEI, digital transfers, and card-based transactions as essential components of a modern economy. The government also confirmed at the convention that digital payments for gasoline and highway tolls will become mandatory in 2026, further accelerating the move away from cash.
Banxico is simultaneously preparing the next generation of its payment infrastructure. SPEI 2.0, expected to begin deployment in 2026, will introduce mass processing capabilities, multicurrency support, and intelligent payment functions designed to extend real-time payment access to institutions of all sizes across urban and rural Mexico. The central bank has also implemented cryptographic enhancements to SPEI's security architecture, including upgraded digital signature generation, encryption protocols, and authentication processes to address potential risks from advancing computing capabilities.