SPEI: Mexico's real-time bank transfer (a2a)
Mexico's real-time interbank transfer rail operated by Banxico — the equivalent of Pix but bank-app-native.
How the SPEI flow works
SPEI (Sistema de Pagos Electrónicos Interbancarios) is operated by Banxico and connects every Mexican bank into a real-time interbank transfer network.
At checkout the merchant's PSP generates a reference (CLABE account, amount and concept). The shopper opens their banking app, initiates a SPEI transfer to the merchant's CLABE with the reference, and authorises with the bank's SCA.
Funds move in real time between banks; the merchant's PSP receives a webhook once the credit is reconciled.
SPEI is used for both P2P and P2M and is the workhorse rail for B2B and higher-ticket Mexican payments.
Typical use cases
- Higher-ticket Mexican e-commerce and B2B invoicing.
- Any category where card decline rates or interchange are a problem.
- Marketplaces and payout flows to Mexican sellers.
Consumer reach
Available to every consumer or business with a Mexican bank account.
Universally supported inside Mexican banking apps.
Who should accept SPEI
- Mexican e-commerce with meaningful high-ticket or B2B exposure.
- Merchants paying out to Mexican sellers or contractors.
- Cross-border merchants integrating with a MoR/PSP that surfaces SPEI as a checkout option.
Operational detail
The operational half of every method profile — settlement, refunds, disputes, PSP coverage and licensing — is reserved for Payment Methods List founding partners. It's the part vendor sites won't publish and the part that actually decides whether SPEI works for your stack.
Settlement time
How fast SPEI funds land after the payer confirms, behaviour outside scheme hours, whether the rail settles gross or net, and the realistic T+n to sweep to USD/EUR — plus the PSPs where the advertised timeline actually holds in Mexico.
Book a founding-partner call →Refund mechanics
How SPEI refunds are executed end-to-end when the rail has no scheme-level reversal — payer-initiated pulls, credit transfers, or PSP-fronted refunds — plus partial-refund support, time limits, and the API surface each PSP exposes.
Book a founding-partner call →Chargeback exposure
Whether SPEI has any dispute construct at all, which recall/return/indemnity vectors actually exist on the rail, how consumer-protection rules in Mexico route claims back to merchants, and observed loss rates versus cards.
Book a founding-partner call →PSP coverage matrix
Which acquirers and aggregators run direct rail connections to SPEI vs. reselling a partner, coverage depth and reliability, effective pricing bands, and who to pick when Mexico volume is your primary use case.
Book a founding-partner call →KYC & licensing notes
Requirements to accept SPEI — local entity vs. cross-border MoR, licensing regime governing the rail in Mexico, KYC obligations at onboarding and per-transaction, and FX/reporting rules for foreign merchants.
Book a founding-partner call →