Mexico’s central bank is currently working on legal, administrative, and technological requirements for the peso’s digital version launch. Over a year after it was introduced, Mexico’s proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC) is still in the initial stage and unlikely to meet its 2024 launch date.
According to local media reports, the country’s central bank, called Banxico, is now working on legal, administrative, and technological needs for the peso’s digital version.
In December 2021, the local government confirmed its plan to introduce a national digital currency, noting in a tweet that the “new technologies and next-generation payment infrastructure” would boost Mexico’s financial inclusion. While that tweet mentioned a launch date in 2024, one year later, authorities seem to be avoiding predicting a launch date.
The central bank said:
“The result of this initial phase entails the preparation of a budget that is currently being determined, and will in turn allow establishing a probable date on which the MDBC [CDBC] will be available.”
Their original plan included in its first stage the development of the PagoCel platform, enabling users to make bank transfers using their mobile numbers and personal information. A second phase would feature the nation’s financial institutions, which will issue a security code for digital currencies to get transferred via the Interbank Electronic Payment System (IEPS), a transfer network owned and operated by the central bank.
The last stage of the project would enable participants without bank accounts to utilize the digital currency, boosting their financial inclusion.
Mexico’s interest in crypto gathered momentum in 2021, when 40% of the companies in the nation got interested in adopting crypto and blockchain, according to Triple A’s crypto ownership data.
Increasing interest in Bitcoin in Mexico has resulted in the installation of a Bitcoin ATM in its Senate building, with the support of many legislators and crypto enthusiasts. Mexico is the second-biggest recipient of remittances in the world, with transfers reaching a record $5.3 billion between July 2021 and July 2022, as highlighted by statistics from the World Bank.
