Mexico - Mexican Peso - Currency Guide

General Currency Info - Mexican Peso

Contributing to a little more than 2% of the foreign exchange market daily turnover, the Mexican peso is the world’s second most traded emerging market currency, behind only the Chinese yuan. The peso is subdivided into 100 centavos.

The peso’s value is heavily influenced by commodities prices, particularly oil.

As an emerging market currency, the peso is considered riskier than currencies from major developed nations, which means that its value will fall against those currencies (especially JPY, CHF, USD, GBP and EUR) during periods of economic uncertainty or when global geopolitical risk is elevated, or during bouts of high market volatility.

Mexicans are mostly concerned with the value of their currency against the US dollar, since more than 80% of Mexican exports go to the US, with whom Mexico shares a free trade agreement.

The peso has consistently depreciated against the dollar since it's all-time high in 1972, when USD/MXN traded at just 0.01. By 1990, USD/MXN was at 2.7; at the end of 1994, after the currency was devalued by Mexico’s government, USD/MXN stood at 5.7; by the year 2000, the USD/MXN was meandering around 9.5; in 2009, the rate reached 15.6; and in January 2017, the peso reached an all-time low when USD/MXN traded as high as 22.03.

MXN News, Forecasts and Trends

The Mexican peso continued its good run in 2020 hitting the significant value of 20 to the US dollar November 23rd, as the oil price continues to improve and investors look for higher yield investments. The peso fortunes are connected to the oil market with oil high on the list of Mexico’s top exports.

US interest also affect the peso because Mexico holds high levels of dollar-denominated debt, which becomes easier to repay when dollars are cheap and US rates are low.

Cash remittances to South America have defied predictions of a large Covid related drop. The World Bank's prediction in April was dire; Cash transfers from immigrants in the U.S. to family in Latin America would plummet 19% due to the pandemic. However with remittances surging, the level of money being sent is roughly equal with 2019.

Travel, Currency and Money saving tips for Mexico

Mexico is a fascinating and vibrant country to travel in, though like many other great spots there are also areas where there is crime, and tourists can be targeted for theft and pickpocketing. So some convenient tips are to photocopy your passport, and the front and back of your credit cards, so you have copies of their details. It may be a good idea to travel with a Prepaid Travel Card to avoid having to carry your credit card on you at all times. You can then leave your credit cards and passport in the hotel safe. 

At the airport and bus stations in Mexico City and other major cities there are official taxis (Taxis Autorizados) that you should take. Avoid hailing taxis on the street, hotels will always be willing to organise this for you. For a long time flights within Mexico have been expensive and most travelers went by the good bus system or by train. Now however, depending on your preference, flights are very affordable and convenient, and can save a lot of time seeing more of the country. Doing a bit of looking around online can save you a lot of money on flights.

Travel money for Mexico

Save money and time by Ordering your Mexican Peso online from Travelex, you get better rates and can pick up the MXN cash locally or even on travel day at the airport.

Another popular option is to use a Pre-paid Travel Card. Your Debit/Credit Card provider will charge you 2% from market mid-rate, but your bank may also charge an extra 3% as an “Overseas Transaction Charge” plus “Overseas ATM” fees for withdrawing cash.

For card purchases if offered a choice of currencies always select to Pay in Mexican Peso otherwise you may get much worst exchange rates.

Send Money to Mexico - Best Rates

To get a good (and fair) exchange rate when sending money to Mexico you need to find and compare exchange rates for International Money Transfers (IMTs).

The available FX rates for sending money abroad can be very different to the mid-market (wholesale) rate which you see reported online and in the News.

You should especially compare your own bank's exchange rates to those available from Money Transfer specialists to see how much you can save - we make that calculation easy in the below table.

Get a better deal for foreign transfers to Mexico

When sending money to Mexico it’s important to compare your bank’s rates & fees with those we have negotiated with our partner money transfer providers. To get a better deal you should follow these 4 simple steps :

1. Open an account with a BER reviewed FX provider (id docs may be required)
2. You specify the local or Mexican Peso amount you want to transfer
3. Make a local currency domestic transfer for the requested amount to the provider's bank account in your country
4. Once your funds are received by the provider the converted MXN amount will be transfered to the recipient account you specify in Mexico.

Use the above Send to Mexican Peso calculator to compare the exchange rates of FX specialist providers rates versus your bank's standard rates you can hopefully save around 5% and maybe more - end result is more Mexican Peso deposited into the recipient bank account and less margins and fees kept by the banks!