Mexico pilots national NFC and QR mobile payments system

qr code on phone
SMARTER CASH: Banxico’s CoDi payment system aims to reduce Mexican dependence on cash

Mexico’s central bank Banxico has begun trials of its cashless QR and NFC Cobro Digital (CoDi) electronic payment system with employees of financial institutions including BBVA Bancomer, Citibanamex, Santander, Banorte, Banregio and Fincomun.

The system works by using QR codes to make electronic transfers through mobile phones which are linked to a user’s bank account.

For counter sales, the merchant generates a collection message in the form of a static or dynamic QR code or NFC message which is sent to the customer’s mobile.

More financial institutions are expected to join the pilot in preparation for a national rollout to the public at the end of September.

The introduction of electronic payments aims to reduce Mexican consumers’ dependence on cash and drive use of bank accounts, according to Deputy governor of the Bank of Mexico Gerardo Esquivel, who believes the pilot will help to improve financial inclusion.

“CoDi will be a mandatory payment system for all banks in the financial system. It will have a few months of evaluation and learning for its full implementation at national level, and will become very important in terms of financial inclusion,” he said.

A further aim of enabling cashless payments is to crack down on problems such as money laundering, tax evasion and corruption in the country.

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