- The issuing institute is renewing the CoDi electronic payment system, three years after its launch, to encourage the use of digital money.
- Mexico anticipates that by 2024, it will be able to launch the digital Mexican peso but needs to increase the rates of banking and use of electronic payment platforms.
- The new platform, called CoDiCel or Pago Cel de Banxico, will use the same infrastructure as the Interbank Electronic Payment System (SPEI).
The Central Bank of Mexico (Banxico) is promoting digital payment services in the country with the aim of promoting financial inclusion, but also with the aim of creating the necessary conditions before the arrival of the digital peso or central bank currency (CBDC).
This is what the renewal of the CoDi electronic payment system, launched three years ago by the Mexican issuer, points to. With this renewed tool, users of financial services will see an expanded range of payment methods.
Banxico’s revamped system, known as CoDiCel or Pago Cel, confirmed the same infrastructure as the Interbank Electronic Payment System (SPEI). With a mobile phone, users will be able to make money transfers very quickly.
The innovative project carried out in association with private banking promises to improve all banking operations. In addition, it will create a gigantic database through SPEI, which will enable the central bank to facilitate money transfers before the issuance of the digital Mexican peso, scheduled for 2024.
The director of Policy and Studies of Payment Systems and Market Infrastructure of the Bank of Mexico, Othón Moreno, reported that work is being done to launch the project as soon as possible and it is expected to be ready by the end of the year.
“It is a new account association service with a new central database at Banco de México,” the official explained. "That allows you to identify where your account is and from there, many other functionalities can be done,” he added.
The database of the new Pago Cel system, controlled by the central bank, will be fed with customer information provided by all banks operating in Mexico. To do this, bank customers must first give their consent.
On the Flipside
- The push for the digital payment system actually seeks to speed up plans for the launch of the Mexican digital peso.
- Due to the ethnic makeup of the country and the remoteness of some regions, banking and digitalization are a real challenge for the issuance of the CBDC.
The Pago Cel project was submitted to public consultation in March by the Mexican central bank, before its official announcement. The commercial banks and other financial entities that participate in the SPEI and integrate this system made comments and proposals on the original plan.
Why You Should Care
- If the central bank’s plans go according to schedule, Mexico will be one of the first countries to launch a CBDC in Latin America.
- The digital peso will compete against the dollar, whose issuance in digital format has not yet been approved by the US Federal Reserve.
You can find more information on this subject in the following links:
Western Union and MercadoLibre to Send Digital Remittances to Mexico