Along with the 2027 Economic Package, the federal government sent Congress a bill that could change the way many companies get paid: the Digital Economy Law for Digital and Electronic Payments. Its stated goal is to make digital payments widespread, reduce the use of cash and expand financial inclusion. In practice, it opens the door for cash to stop being an option in certain sectors.
The bill has already cleared its first hurdle. The Finance and Public Credit Committee of the Chamber of Deputies approved the committee report by a general vote of 24 in favor and 4 against, according to reports published on October 1 and 2, 2026, and sent it to the Presiding Board (Mesa Directiva) for debate on the floor.
Where the law starts
The official diagnosis is that cash still dominates small transactions: about 85% of payments under 500 pesos are made in cash. The law seeks to change that with obligations for the public sector, for financial institutions and for sectors deemed strategic.
The obligations that matter most to companies
1. Sectors where only digital payment will be allowed
The core of the bill is article 13: the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (Secretaría de Hacienda) may determine the strategic sectors and relevant activities in which acceptance of digital and electronic means of payment may be the only form of payment. The report approved in committee keeps that power and provides for a gradual transition.
The law does not list those sectors. According to El CEO, the changes would reach about 120 thousand companies and individuals that carry out any of the 18 vulnerable activities covered by anti money laundering legislation, in sectors such as real estate and the sale of vehicles, jewelry and works of art. Other media outlets have mentioned gas stations and toll roads. Until the Treasury issues its determination, those lists should be taken as a reference and not as final.
2. QR codes for businesses that already use a terminal
The bill empowers the Bank of Mexico (Banco de México) and the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) to require businesses that currently accept card payments through terminals to also accept electronic payments via QR codes, under the technical specifications they issue. For merchants with several locations, this means reviewing contracts with acquirers and terminal providers.
3. Recognized means of payment
The report recognizes electronic transfers, bank cards, QR codes and NFC technology as means of payment, and gives the Bank of Mexico supervisory powers over transfers, financial services and QR payments.
4. Contingency exceptions
The bill allows cash to be accepted when a contingency prevents digital payment, but clarifies that this exception cannot be invoked permanently or repeatedly to justify noncompliance.
5. Digital identity
It adds the Digital CURP as an identification mechanism with financial institutions and the Digital Citizen File. In addition, all three levels of government would have to accept digital payments for public procedures and services.
The deadlines ahead
Under the bill's transitional provisions, once the law takes effect, the Treasury would have 15 business days to determine the sectors where digital payment will be mandatory, and the competent authorities another 15 business days to issue the rules for each sector. These are very short deadlines, so companies in the designated sectors could have little room to adjust. The bill still needs a floor vote in the Chamber of Deputies and then in the Senate, and the text may still change.
What it means for your company
If your business is in a sector where cash is commonly handled today, such as the sale of real estate, cars or high value goods, you should prepare for a scenario in which payment must be exclusively digital. That affects your purchase agreements, your deposit and layaway policies, your relationship with banks and acquirers, and the way you document each payment.
Even if your sector is not included, the obligation to accept QR codes for businesses that already have a terminal and the general shift toward digital payments will make your revenue increasingly traceable.
We will follow the floor votes in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, as well as the list of sectors the Treasury defines, which will be the piece that determines the law's real impact.
