Mexico And President Claudio Sheinbaum Announce Phase-Out Of Cash By End Of 2026 To Pay For Gas And Toll Booths, Forces Mandatory Digital ID Or Citizens Lose Their Phones
"In the case of gas stations and booths, there we do want it to be mandatory that the payment is always digital. And it will help everyone.”
Under the leadership of President Claudia Sheinbaum and her administration, Mexico is aggressively transitioning the country into a digitalized society and cashless economy.
Last month, Sheinbaum, along with representatives from the central bank Banco de Mexico, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and BlackRock, including former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, discussed the move into the future of finance for the country. Other speakers included Visa CEO Ryan McInerney and Mastercard Vice Chair Tim Murphy.
The remarks were made at the 89th Banking Convention, the theme this year was called “Innovating Banking, Building the Future.”
During the forum presentations, Victoria Rodriguez Ceja, Governor of the Banco de Mexico, discussed the need to “accelerate” digital payment methods and that the transition needs to be “forceful.”
“The actions undertaken as a guild to disseminate and promote the use of electronic transfers must be forceful, offering extensively charging services and digital payments that endow users with tangible benefits for maintaining and using deposit accounts in the financial system, thus promoting greater financial inclusion. The Bank of Mexico continues to promote an even greater use of this type of transfer.”
She went on to articulate the need to “simplify” the experience and “to mitigate part of the frictions and inefficiencies that today are transferred to the population.” This would be accomplished via “offering the public the delivery of transfers in an intuitive, easy and fast way through their mobile devices.”
“Spreading and encouraging electronic transfers with their users as a means of payment will allow the Bank to successfully extend the adoption of digital payments to the entire population,” she added.
Furthermore, she noted that while card usage is up overall, its uptick over the last several years has slowed down. The central bank does not like this.
“The above reflects the need to promote a greater acceptance of card payments in commerce, which leads to an increase in the availability of point-of-sale terminals throughout the country, particularly for those establishments in sectors and regions that have historically not been properly attended by the bank.
“For our part, the reforms that the authorities promote for this market seek to promote a better balance between the issuer and the buyer, with the aim of encouraging a greater adoption of card payments and extending the benefits that digital payment alternatives represent for the population.”
[…] “Mexico already has one of the most advanced payment infrastructures in the world. The challenge is clear. Translating that capacity into use, adoption and tangible benefits for the entire population.
“The invitation is to accelerate, simplify and place even more people at the center of our actions. By defining how we pay, how we make transfers and who has access, we define the future of the financial system and, to a certain extent, that of our country.”
Following this, Secretary of Finance and Public Credit Edgar Amador Zamora added:
“Digital innovation, translated into electronic payments, digital banks and new intermediary models is a key part of our objectives to expand the scope of the financial system and reduce access costs.”
Emilio Romano, executive and chairman of the Board of Bank of America in Mexico, also took the stage to disparage cash, how costly it is to use and print, and how criminals are more likely to mask their fraud by using cash.
He argued:
“The Mexican bank has a reliable payment system, one of the most efficient in the world. However, it operates at very high levels of cash use, which limits the growth of the economy. In Mexico, 8 out of every 10 transactions are made in cash, while in countries like Brazil or Uruguay, that proportion is 3 out of every 10.
“Cash has a significant cost. It does not generate savings, it does not build financial history to access credit, it limits financial inclusion, it increases the risk of losses and thefts, and it facilitates the financing of illicit activities that affect the security of Mexicans.
“We are working with the Bank of Mexico to achieve a digital payment system that will simplify digital payments and promote the CODI and DIMO systems to make them more efficient and accessible to millions of Mexicans.
“Once we have this new framework, we will continue with the strategy we have drawn up with the government to expand digitalization in key sectors such as gas stations, public transport, roads, social programs, as well as payments and charges at the three levels of government.”
Having said this, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum was the final speaker on stage, and she articulated that her administration would to drastically phase-out cash use in some public services by the end of this year, starting with gas purchases.
“Our goal is that this year, through the schemes we work with the bank, we make mandatory the payment of gasoline and gaskets digitally. This will allow to enhance the accessible digital payments that allow us to advance in the digitalization of the country through many other schemes.
“[…] This year, our goal is that by the end of the year, all municipalities, all states of the republic and the federation, including Mexico City, have the same procedures for the whole country.”
Earlier this week, Sheinbaum doubled down on this plan to eliminate cash payments at the gas pump.
According to a blog post on the government’s website, “President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo signed an agreement between the Government of Mexico and the Association of Banks of Mexico (ABM) and the Association of Voucher Companies (ASEVAL) so that, from May 1 to October 31, 2026, commissions are reduced in the payment of gasoline and diesel with cards and vouchers to benefit the economy of Mexican families.”
“It is proof that when we work together for Mexicans we get very good things. Today we are going to announce the reduction of commissions on the payment of gasoline and diesel, both for those who pay with a credit or debit card and for those who pay with vouchers. This is an agreement in which the Bank of Mexico and the different associations participated, coordinated by the Ministry of Finance.
“Why is this important? Because, by reducing commissions, the price of gasoline and diesel will drop even more. The objective is to continue reducing, above all, the price of diesel and, most importantly, support the economy of Mexican families”, he pointed out in the morning conference: “The town’s mornings”.
“Tell the people of Mexico, the people, that we are working to prevent the price of fuel from increasing and on the contrary to see how we can reduce it even more. The agreement we made today is very important because everyone is contributing to this.”
At a press conference, she added:
“In the future, what we want is that gas stations are no longer paid with cash and that there are zero commissions, zero, zero, of all the commissions. And that not only in gas stations, but that the payment can be made by phone anywhere in the country. And that this payment helps us to reduce any type of commission, or having to go and withdraw money in cash.
“That is going to be maintained, obviously, the payment in cash is maintained, but we are going to make it easier for it to happen. And in the case of gas stations and booths, there we do want it to be mandatory that the payment is always digital. And it will help everyone.”
Sheinbaum and the central bank’s latest policy implementation reflects a much broader shift — as alluded to in their speeches — into the future of finance.
As noted by The Last American Vagabond:
One sign that the meeting is of vast importance to the international banking sector—and the overall push towards Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and stablecoins—is the presence of representatives of Mexico’s Central Bank, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), and BlackRock.
For example, on Wednesday, Fabrizio López Gallo, Director General of Financial Stability for Mexico’s Central Bank, participated in a panel titled “Sustainable Financing: Risks and Opportunities,” while Sergio Mendez, the Director of BlackRock Mexico, spoke on a panel called “Infrastructure Investment as a Catalyst for Growth.”
Multiple panels underscore the push to digitize money in Mexico, including “The Future of Money: What’s Next for Mexico and the World,” featuring BIS’s Alexandre Tombini, and “The Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Future of Digital Payments” with McInerney and HSBC Mexico’s Jorge Arce Gama.
Several statements by Emilio Romano, the head of the ABM, make it clear that the Mexican Central Bank and the international bankers are working diligently to shift Mexico away from cash and towards a track-and-trace society where dissidents have their financial resources turned off.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Romano stated, “The central bank is preparing to publish protocols to drive the adoption of payments sent by mobile phones.”
He noted, “Authorities are studying separate measures that could include eliminating cash payments for some services and products, such as gas stations and toll roads.”
Romano also emphasized that these changes are being made because in Mexico, “roughly 85% of small transactions are done in cash,” largely due to Mexicans not trusting their government and seeking to avoid taxation. “Easing concerns about how the government assesses income will help,” he said.
Additionally, the day before the convention began, Juan Pablo de Botton, the Secretary of Administration and Finance of Mexico City, published an opinion piece with similar themes.
“The banking sector is anxiously awaiting these rules to be published again so that we can advance in optimizing the digital-payments ecosystem,” Botton wrote. [emphasis added] He also reiterated the focus on digitizing Mexico’s economy and building trust among the population.
“And at the same time we must continue to advance on a key issue for our city: the digitization of payments and financial services. This transition also requires confidence. Government and financial sector must promote cybersecurity training so that people have greater certainty in their transactions and can calmly adopt the tools of the digital world.”
In order to drive ‘forceful’ adoption of digital and cashless payments, Mexico is mandating biometric digital ID on smartphones.
The WinePress reported on the nation’s push for digital ID last year, though there have been some legal hurdles that have slowed down Sheinbaum’s ambitions. In the meantime, Mexico City continued to install mass-surveillance devices throughout the city.
Now Sheinbaum’s government has renewed its impetus for citizens to register with biometric citizen identifier, Clave Única de Registro de Población (CURP).
During the 89th Banking Convention, a federal court overturned a suspension that prevented broader rollout of the CURP system. “In its decision, the court said that halting the enforcement of mandatory registration would affect public order and public interest, especially during the search and identification of missing persons,” Biometric Update reported.
It added:
In January, Mexico enacted a new law requiring all cell phone numbers to be associated with an individual, with authorities warning that numbers not registered by June 30th could be suspended.The regulation, however, was challenged by an unnamed complainant who received a suspension, allowing them to avoid handing over biometrics to register their phone number.
The new ruling means the complainant must comply with the registration requirements or risk losing their phone number. According to the judges on the panel, the provisions aim to prevent harms associated with enforced disappearances and to strengthen the State’s capacity to guarantee fundamental rights such as life, liberty, dignity, identity, and security, La Cronista reports.
Beginning on July 1st, 2026, all Mexican residents must register their numbers with CURP or they will lose access to their numbers, which by extension includes their phones. This will affect roughly 127 million active cellphone lines
“A QR code, photograph, and electronic signature are embedded in the document, linking to biometrically verified data held in the national population registry,” ID Tech World.
Mexico’s CURP policy mirrors similar schemes implemented in India, Nigeria, and others that link a national biometric ID to SIM cards.
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
It’s the same song and dance we’ve heard for years, especially beginning in 2020. Cash is dirty, cash carries microbes and viruses that can spread disease, we were told. But the international narrative has quickly shifted into demonizing citizenry for using cash, presuming they are guilty of crimes and illicit activity for being unbanked and predominantly or exclusively using cash for their purchases.
Australia’s central bank, for example, has said something identical and has floated a cash tax to disincentivize its use.
It is so obvious what the central banks and these globalist entities such as the BIS, IMF, UN, World Bank, BlackRock, etc. want. They need to see and know whatever everyone is doing at all times. Though the word was never used once in these speeches, it’s all about CBDCs, stablecoins, tokenization and blockchain ledgers.
On October 19th, 2020, BIS General Manager Agustin Carstens openly admitted that CBDCs would grant central banks total control over the populace, acknowledging that central banks would know precisely how much money people have in their accounts at any given moment.
“We don’t know who’s using a $100 bill today and we don’t know who’s using a 1,000 peso bill today. The key difference with the CBDC is the central bank will have absolute control on the rules and regulations that will determine the use of that expression of central bank liability, and also we will have the technology to enforce that.”
That’s why I have pointed out that the new economy is not just cashless but paperless. Everything eventually will be a digital record, a token, that you do not own or control, and can be overridden at any time — by their own admission!
While we still have some way to go, we are still headed in the direction of the ‘final solution.’
Revelation 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: [17] And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. [18] Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
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On one of his missionary journeys, the apostle Paul visited Athens, Greece, where he said he witnessed “the city wholly given to idolatry,” and who were “too superstitious” and worshipped a plurality of gods and deities, though the people acknowledged that there was still one God above all that was a mystery to them. When questioned by the philosophers …
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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Geopolotics and Empire Hrvoje Morić who lives in Mexico has been talking about this and the hoops he has been jumping through and around. It sounds like it is already affecting bank accounts, especially when there are those like Hrovic who do not easily comply.
The mask and the 6’ distance were the compliance test.
I was paid with a roasted chicken the other day for the car repairs I did.
Some of us will navigate around this digital ghetto. Get your bartering network set up.