President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday promoted a government bank card that can help Mexicans living in the United States avoid the new remittance tax.
Sheinbaum recommended the new services available with the Finabien bank card, originally created in 2024 by the federal government’s Financial Institution for Well-being (Finabien), brandishing a card for the cameras during her morning press conference.
“It’s a very simple way to send remittances electronically and avoid making cash transfers,” Sheinbaum said.
The newest service offers direct deposit operations, allowing cardholders’ wages to be sent directly to the card by employers or transferred using authorized institutions. Additionally, remittances can be made more economically and will allow cardholders to circumvent the U.S. remittance tax, the president said.
The new tax — which goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2026 — is a federal excise tax applied directly to outbound money transfers. Essentially, it is a fee charged across the board to each person who sends funds out of the U.S.
The Finabien card can be acquired at 53 consulates in the U.S., by mail or via digital application at miconsulado.sre.gob.mx. And accounts can be accessed at 1,700 sites in Mexico.
Finabien director Rocío Mejía Flores said the transaction fee has been reduced from US $3.99 to US $2.99, benefiting the 30,000 cardholders in the United States. Sending remittances only requires a destination and amount to be sent, with restrictions.
Mejía Flores said senders are limited to US $2,500 per day and no more than US $10,000 per month.
In addition to the Finabien card promotion, Foreign Relations Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente emphasized the administration’s new approach toward consular services available to nationals residing in the U.S.
Describing consular attention as a priority, De la Fuente said his ministry (SRE) has upgraded its digital capabilities and consulates now feature:
- An online appointment platform to combat bureaucratic fraud.
- A digital one-stop shop, centralizing all procedures.
- The elimination of fees for consular procedures.
The foreign minister spoke of the emergency phone numbers designated to help nationals detained for immigration violations or subject to deportation. The SRE has two 24-hour emergency numbers from which agents will dispense legal advice and provide consular support: 520-623-7874 in the U.S. and 079 in Mexico.
De la Fuente also praised the roll-out of the new streamlined procedures to apply for a permit to send household goods home. The new digitalized application is a two-step process, whereas it used to require nine in-person procedures.
With reports from Aristegui Noticias, Forbes and El Economista
Just like Trump, Sheinbaum is full of surprises everyday! But, unlike Trump, her surprises are constructive, not destructive!
Exactly as usual, Caguichi.
Verdad!
Sheinbaum thinks she’s clever. Trump will punish tax evasion. Meanwhile cartels continue to flourish and are not transporting Carfentanil, 100x stronger than fentanyl.
Trump will punish tax evasion??? 🤣🤣🤣🤣
He could start with himself! 👌💯✅️
Verdad!
Yes Jim. The US is purrrrfect!
There is no crime. There is no tax evasion. There are no oligarchs and plutocrats hogging all the money and power for themselves. There is no permanent warfare industrial complex. There is no insanely overpriced medical care. There is no cabal of fascist authoritarians trying to undermine the constitution.
It’s so purrrrfect, you should go live there (if you don’t already).
/snark
Politics are sane in Mexico. It’s been a joy to watch the emergence and strengthening of the Mexican middle class. The government continues to make creative changes to make life for ALL people better and safer. Watching President Sheinbaum brilliantly thwart and neutralize Trump’s mean spirited and racist actions towards Mexico (and Canada!?) makes me proud and honored to live here.
Can this card be a solution for dual citizens of Mexico and the US to make transfers of dollars from a US bank to this card to be exchanged to pesos for use in Mexico? I was an Intercam customer and have been looking for a free way to bring my pension dollars from the US to Mexico. Could I have my Social Security and other pensions directly deposited to this card?
Wise.com can do what you are asking for. Cheap, but not free.
Thank you Enrique.
Jorge, if you get an answer to your question, please post it on this forum. Thanks. alaskantina
Jorge, I have my SS deposited into my Charles Schwab checking account and retrieve funds in Mexico through an ATM. For my account there is a max $1,000us a day withdrawal but that is plenty for my needs. When I was buying a house it sometimes took a couple of days to come up with certain fees, but things move slow enough here that it was not an issue.
Oh, and Schwab reimburses ATM bank fees. And they have terrific customer service.
Hola Jorge and AlaskanTina,
One option available to Social Security recipients is to have your payment deposited directly to your Mexican bank. The (significant) benefit of this option is that you receive your dollar payment converted at the exact rate of exchange on the day of the month when you normally receive your benefit payment: no fees, currency spread, none of that. You get the best possible rate for that day. You will want to check online at SSA.gov (Social Security’s website) where the list the correspondent banks in Mexico that are set up to make this transaction essentially costless. Finally, keep in mind that you can always change your deposit bank with SSA. So, for instance, if you build up too may pesos, you can change to have your deposit at a U.S. bank again. Keep in mind, there may be a lag of a month or so from the time you make this change to the time SSA implements it. Hope this helps.
These days, be aware that changing your direct deposit this way is a known red flag and may attract an investigation.
LQ
My thanks to all who have contributed your solutions to my predicament. We are opening an account with Banco Ve por Más “BX+”. We have been counselled that they will take a check from an American Bank in US Dollars. I’ll let you know how that works.