(Expansion) – Cash in Mexico is one of the main forms of payment for the acquisition of products and services, however, the health emergency has been a factor that has accelerated migration to other means of payment, according to the survey , prepared by the Bank of Mexico, 93% of those surveyed made their payments with cash before the COVID-19 outbreak and now this number has dropped to 86%.
This same study reveals that the means of payment that grew in penetration during the pandemic were digital solutions, such as CoDi or SPEI. This has opened the doors for the emergence of new digital and contactless payment tools, which allow small businesses to offer greater options to their customers, such as transfers, payments with QR code or through wallets .
But what about SMEs and their payments to suppliers? Although in this sector there are tax regulations that limit cash transactions, technological solutions are also in the process of growth. According to information from, 70% of the SMEs surveyed globally are accelerating their digitization processes to face the current situation, which implies not only digital marketing schemes, but payment tools that are in line with the environments digital.
Until a couple of years ago, some of the most relevant process automation solutions for companies were related to the reconciliation and expense management of employees who worked in the field or who, due to the nature of their functions, had to travel from steadily.
2020 gave way to a new range of tools that seek to expand the penetration of digital payments in companies. Financial institutions have had to evolve our business models to meet the new needs not only of SMEs, but of the business sector in general.
According to information from FinTech, 83% of those surveyed in Mexico affirm that digital payment methods promote the growth of SMEs. This largely thanks to the new business opportunities presented by having a greater openness in payment schemes. Additionally, this type of tool offers SMEs the possibility of taking another step in the process of automating processes, facilitating the reconciliation of expenses, minimizing administrative processes and making their operations transparent.
We are talking about the implementation of solutions such as:
– Payment platforms or marketplaces, offer SMEs the option of adding their products or services to electronic commerce platforms without the need to develop or manage the platforms.
– Aggregators as allies to receive card payments in an agile way.
– Expense management tools: these are technological solutions that help companies in the management of specific transactions, some of these tools allow setting parameters of amount, type of expense, establishment, period of time, etc.
The challenge for SMEs is to be able to select and implement the tools that solve their specific need and are cost-efficient, so that their use does not represent an expense greater than the profits or savings that will be generated as a result of their use.
In my experience, an analysis of the needs of the company and of the environment in which it markets its products or services will help to identify those tools that can generate value on the path of digitizing a company and, therefore, pay its consolidation.
Editor’s Note: Jorge De Lara is Vice President and General Manager of Global Commercial Services for and Latin America. He has more than 15 years of experience in the commercial and services sector, focused on the opening, expansion and acquisition of corporate clients both in Mexico and in other countries. Jorge has collaborated for international companies in the financial and services sector. Follow him on. The opinions published in this column belong exclusively to the author.
