La Jornada: New BdeM rules bring 4.4 million small businesses closer to digital payments

The new rules of the Bank of Mexico (BdeM) open the door to 4.4 million small businesses to the digital payments ecosystem, experts consider. The changes aim for grocery stores, bakeries, tortillerias, beauty salons and hardware stores to stop operating outside the digital economy and gradually integrate into the use of electronic transfers and payments.

The BdeM published in the Official Gazette of the Federation modifications to circulars 3/2012 and 14/2017, which seek to expand the access of businesses and users to digital financial services. The changes cover both the operation of the Interbank Electronic Payment System and the creation of a new banking product for micro and small businesses.

The central provision is the Level 2 Bis account, aimed at individuals who are also owners of these businesses, say experts from the STP firm, fintech Mexican specialized in payment system technologies in the country. It is relevant because these businesses drive the economy of the neighborhoods, and until now they were subject to transactional limits that did not correspond to their daily activity.

With the new scheme, the accounts will be able to receive deposits of up to 15 thousand investment units (UDI) per month, equivalent to around 130 thousand pesos, an amount that contrasts with the 3 thousand UDI that the previous Level 2 accounts allowed. To have access to the cap, it is required that at least 12 thousand UDI come from digital payments made through SPEI, CoDi or Dimo, which turns the scheme into an incentive for these businesses to formalize.

They explained that the rules also modify the way bank transfers from cell phones operate. Financial institutions will have to standardize the experience in their applications, so that sending money from one bank or another is practically the same. Users may stop using the CLABE or card number for transactions and instead opt for an alias associated with their account.

The adjustments also affect DiMo, a tool that allows transfers using telephone numbers, and CoDi, a payment platform with QR codes. The institutions that participate in the SPEI must adapt their systems to meet the new criteria before December 14, 2026, the date on which the provisions must be fully implemented.

“Today the ecosystem has the conditions for a small business to receive a digital payment with the same ease with which it receives a bill,” said Jaime Márquez Poo, partner and executive director of Business Development at STP, who added that the infrastructure to translate these rules into concrete benefits for businesses already exists in the market.

For STP, the modifications represent a relevant advance in terms of financial inclusion for micro and small businesses. Márquez Poo considered that the regulation aligns with the operational reality of commerce in Mexico.