Paying in cash now carries a federal tax
If you pay for a transfer to Mexico in cash at a counter, a change that took effect in 2026 applies to you. Since 1 January 2026, section 4475 of the Internal Revenue Code has imposed an excise tax of 1% of the amount of a remittance transfer, payable by the sender and collected by the provider. The exceptions are transfers funded from an account at a US financial institution and those paid with a US-issued debit or credit card. In its announcement of deposit relief for providers, the IRS describes the taxed transfers as those paid with cash, a money order, a cashier's check or a similar physical instrument.
Because Regulation E's pre-payment disclosure must list any taxes the provider collects alongside its fees, exchange rate and the pesos the recipient will get, the tax should appear on the quote before you hand over any money. The table above ranks providers on what arrives, not on how you pay them.
Into a Mexican bank account
Deposits to an account in Mexico usually need the recipient's CLABE, the standardised interbank account number. Once a payment has gone through SPEI, Banco de México's interbank electronic payment system, the central bank's electronic payment receipt service lets the people involved look up the transfer and download a receipt using the date, tracking key, banks, beneficiary account and amount. That is a useful check when a provider says the money has been paid and the recipient's bank says it has not.
Some US financial institutions also offer Directo a México, a Banco de México service that uses the existing link between the Federal Reserve Banks and the Mexican central bank to send money from a US account to an account at any institution that participates in SPEI. It is only available if your own bank has subscribed to it.
Cash pickup and the consulate card
Cash collection at an agent suits recipients without a bank account, at the cost of a trip to collect it. Finabien, the Mexican government's Financiera para el Bienestar, also issues a debit card that the Mexican consulate in San Antonio says can be requested at consulates or online and used to send money to a Finabien card in Mexico. Judge any quote from it on the same basis as the table: the pesos that arrive.
Changing your mind
Regulation E gives you a short window to stop a transfer. Under section 1005.34, a provider must honour a cancellation request received within 30 minutes of payment, as long as you can identify the transfer and the pesos have not yet been collected or deposited. The refund must include all fees and taxes and be made within three business days. If the recipient collects cash soon after you pay, the window closes then, so check the recipient's name and the CLABE before you pay rather than after.
For other amounts, start with the money transfer comparison, and use the currency converter to see a quote against the mid-market rate.