Mexico continues to use cash for 8 out of 10 payments; expert explains digital economy lag

Despite advancements in digital finance, Mexico predominantly uses cash for transactions, with cash accounting for eight out of every ten payments. This reliance on physical currency persists, indicating a significant lag in the country's digital economy.

César Francisco Duarte Rivera, a researcher at the Institute of Economic Investigations, points to high economic informality as a primary obstacle. This informal sector, which operates outside regulatory oversight, often favors cash transactions due to ease of use and a desire to avoid formal tracking. The prevalence of informality directly supports the continued dominance of cash, thereby impeding the broader adoption and development of digital payment systems.

The persistence of cash usage highlights a complex economic landscape in Mexico, where traditional methods remain deeply entrenched. Addressing this requires tackling the underlying issue of economic informality, which presents a significant challenge to Mexico's digital transformation goals.

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one of the main obstacles is the high economic informality, which favors the use of cash