“Money Travels”: Digital applications drive the future of remittances in Mexico

Visa has released its fourth annual report, "Money Travels: Adoption of Digital Remittances 2025," which highlights the growing role that digital apps have taken on in sending and receiving remittances in Mexico.

In this new edition, the study shows that 66% of Mexicans prefer to use apps to send money abroad, while 60% choose them to receive money, consolidating Mexico as one of the Latin American countries with the highest adoption of digital remittances, behind only Brazil.

Remittances in Mexico

Mexico shows a positive trend in the sending and receiving of remittances compared to March 2024, despite the fact that overall activity in this area has decreased in approximately half of the markets evaluated.

The frequency of remittance use shows an upward trend compared to March 2024, increasing from 71% to 77% for receiving money and from 64% to 76% for sending remittances.

Growing Adoption of Digital Remittances

In this regard, Breno Andrande, Director of Visa Direct for Visa Latin America and the Caribbean, noted that the expansion of digital remittances in Mexico strengthens consumer confidence and reflects the growing demand to adopt the agility standards of digital money.

“At Visa, we remain committed to leading this transformation, unlocking the benefits of remittance innovation to foster greater prosperity in our Mexican communities.”

Sending and Receiving Digital Remittances via WhatsApp

Key Findings

The key findings of the research include:

1. Dominance of Digital Apps

Digital apps continue to be the preferred option for sending (66%) and receiving (60%) remittances in Mexico, and show a steady trend of increasing use.

Mexicans used digital apps more frequently over the last year to send and receive remittances (50% and 52%, respectively), showing usage levels higher than the global averages (40% and 42%).

Mexico slightly increased the use of digital apps to receive remittances, from 59% in 2024 to 60% this year, and from 64% to 66% for sending digital remittances.

2. Security and Ease of Use

Digital remittances are considered the fastest payment method in Mexico for remittances, and most digital transfers have a turnaround time of less than one day.

Digital apps are considered the safest method for sending (49%) and receiving (39%) remittances.

User experience is driving digital migration. Facilitating remittances and ensuring security, privacy, and speed are considered the main benefits of digital money transfers in the region.

3. Challenges

While more Mexican senders and recipients of digital remittances are now experiencing fewer issues, high fees continue to top the list of top concerns for both senders and recipients.

Ana Rojas, head of Money Transfer and Business Solutions at Visa Latin America and the Caribbean, mentioned that digital remittances have transformed the industry by offering greater security and a better user experience, but improvements are still needed.

"Innovations like stablecoins, integrated through Visa cards and linked settlement solutions, promise to reduce costs and improve financial accessibility," she concluded.

By Mundo Ejecutivo