eCommerce and Payment Trends: Mexico

Rapyd research reveals the most popular payment methods in Mexico and how Mexicans prefer to shop and pay.

While Mexico’s ecommerce market is smaller than neighbors such as the United States and Brazil, it is growing quickly. Thanks to a large population of young consumers who spend hours a day on smartphones, Mexico is seeing a transformation in how people shop and do business. 

There’s still time for international merchants to benefit from being early entrants into this market, but to succeed, they have to understand local cultural norms and consumer expectations and adapt to the way Mexican consumers prefer to pay for goods and services. 

About the Study

To help companies attract and retain customers and grow their businesses cross-border in Mexico, Rapyd conducts an annual survey of consumer payment and purchase behaviors in Latin America, Europe and the Asia Pacific. Our results reveal how online consumers in Mexico pay and receive payments for goods and services as well as their preferences for how they would like to transact when given the choice. As a business looking to enter Mexico or grow your existing business, these reports can help you to meet consumer expectations, drive adoption and build loyalty.

Our data reveals insights into:

• Tech adoption in Mexico
• The most popular payment methods for online purchases in Mexico
• The types of goods and services Mexicans purchase online and the frequency of those purchases
• The most popular payment methods for in-store purchases in Mexico
• The types of payments Mexicans receive
• The payment methods they prefer for receiving different types of payments
• The importance of disbursement features such as speed and security

The survey was conducted in June 2022 and covered Latin America’s largest markets, including  Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. All respondents shop online at least once a month and are involved in purchase decisions in their households.

Key Insights: In Mexico, Mobile Food Ordering Is Definitely On the Menu

— Online shoppers in Mexico make online purchases regularly, with nearly 4-in-10 saying they shop online weekly on their mobile device or computer. 

— Fashion, beauty and utility payments are some of the things they shop and pay for online. These are also popular categories on mobile. It’s notable that when it comes to food and restaurant takeout purchases, 90% of respondents in Mexico say they use their mobile phones to place and pay for their orders. 

— While cash is still a popular payment method in Mexico, Cards, including credit and debit, are the most popular ways to pay for online purchases.

— Mexico’s instant payment system, CoDi, has struggled to gain adoption despite being rolled out by the Bank of Mexico in 2018. There are just over 5 million people registered with CoDi, but only 251,352 accounts had made at least one payment through the platform, which is mostly used for in-person transactions (Márquez). In comparison, Brazil’s instant payment system, PIX, has been successful in reducing cash circulation and bringing more people into the financial system. In our study, CoDi wasn’t called out as a preferred or popular payment method.

— Despite the lack of enthusiasm around CoDi, our survey suggests that cash is losing favor with consumers and that the opportunity exists for a convenient, fast and low-cost payment system to move Mexican consumers away from cash and to more convenient and secure payment methods for both in-store and online purchases. 

— The successful adoption of CoDi or other digital payment platforms could benefit international merchants doing business in Mexico by providing a fast and efficient payment system, reducing the need for cash, and bringing more people into the online economy.

Weekly Online Purchases By Channel

We asked Mexican consumers which devices they had used to make online purchases in the past week. Mobile and Computers were tied for the top online channel. 

36% Mobile
36% Computer

Tech Adoption In Mexico

Rapyd asked Mexican online shoppers how they saw their own openness to adopting new technology. We found that the majority (62%) of Mexicans see themselves as being either early adopters or part of the early majority. 

Read full report.

The Most Popular Payment Methods in Mexico for Online Purchases

Debit Cards are the most popular way to pay for online purchases in Mexico. When debit and credit cards are taken together, 93% of Mexican consumers use cards for online purchases. While cards are still the dominant payment method, there is a significant opportunity for other payment methods to gain market share. Bank transfers, in particular, have an opportunity to gain ground. Bank transfers are the third most popular payment method in our study. 39% of consumers reported using them for purchases. However, Mexican consumers ranked them as the second most popular payment behind credit cards when asked which methods they preferred using. 

Read full report.

• 58% of Mexicans in our study used debit cards in the past 30 days
• 45% of Mexicans used PayPal to complete an online purchase
• 39% of Mexicans in our study reported using bank transfers for online purchases

What Mexicans Are Buying Online

When asked what types of eCommerce purchases they had made in the last 90 days, consumers in Mexico reported making online purchases in the following categories. 

Read full report.

• 73% of Mexicans purchased clothing, shoes & accessories in the past 90 days
• 52% purchased beauty products, cosmetics or health products
• 46% reported using online payments for utilities

How Consumers in Mexico Prefer to Pay for In-Store Purchases

When it comes to in-store purchases in Mexico, cash is still king, with 60% of survey respondents reporting that they had used cash for in-store purchases in the last 30 days. However, cash was one of the few payment methods in our LATAM survey that were reported as the most commonly used payment method but not the one consumers preferred to use most. 

Debit cards were more popular. And taken together, all cards including debit and credit were used more frequently than cash. However, all respondents to Rapyd’s survey make online purchases, which makes them more likely to have a bank account, credit and debit cards than the general population. Because our survey focused on consumers who make online purchases, cash is under-represented as a payment method when compared to the population of Mexico as a whole. 

Some online ewallets, like PayPal and Mercado Pago, were fairly common for in-store purchases, but these methods were not strongly preferred either. There is a significant opportunity for a digital payment method with the right combinations of features, privacy and convenience to gain significant traction in Mexico’s developing digital economy.  

Read full report.

• 60% of survey respondents reported using cash for in-store purchases
• 58% reported using debit cards
• 38% said they used credit cards

How Mexico Gets Paid

Accepting payments in Mexico isn’t the only consideration for businesses. Many businesses operating in Latin America also need to consider how their workers, partners and suppliers prefer to receive payments. 

Using primary research, Rapyd has compiled country-level research on the most used and preferred payout methods in Latin America. 

Types of Payouts Made to Mexican Consumers

The Mexican consumer landscape is a dynamic one, with a diverse range of individuals and households receiving various types of payouts from businesses, individuals and government entities. This chart provides insights into the various sources of income for Mexican consumers and illustrates the most popular reasons Mexicans report receiving payouts. 

Read full report.

• 45% of survey respondents reported receiving payouts for salary, wages and tips
• 39% received payouts for freelance and gig economy work
• 29% received personal gifts

How Mexicans Receive Funds

Like in much of Latin America, cash is still a crucial way of receiving payments for everything from work, to rent, to loan payments. While Bank Transfers are gaining prominence, cash payouts can not be ignored in this market and companies operating in Mexico need to find secure ways to handle cash transactions. This chart shows the most common ways Mexicans receive disbursements based on the payout type. 

Read full report.

• Direct bank transfers were the most popular way to receive payments, especially payments such as wages, tax refunds and remittances
• Cash was a close second and was popular for paying rent, as well as for more personal payments such as gifts and the sale of personal goods
• eWallet accounts were generally unpopular for receiving payments

What Disbursement Features Matter Most to Mexicans?

The features that Mexican consumers ranked as the most important for receiving funds were consistent with responses across Latin America. Mexican consumers value security, speed and the ability to use funds immediately.

Read full report.

• 74% of survey respondents in Mexico ranked “keeping my personal data safe” as extremely important 
• 60% said receiving payments the same day was extremely important
• 55% said having funds available for immediate use was extremely important