Reimagining Financial Inclusion: Moving Beyond Stagnation

Mexico’s push for financial inclusion has reached a critical inflection point. While millions now hold digital accounts, true inclusion remains elusive — constrained by structural inequality, lack of trust, and products that fail to resonate with users' real needs. The path forward seems clear: the sector must shift from merely expanding access to delivering meaningful, responsible, and personalized financial experiences.

“We need to go beyond creating access and start creating products that people actually want to use. True inclusion is never just about having an account; it is about improving people’s lives,” says Ximena Salgado, Vice President of Product and Technology, Bitso. 

According to the latest data from the National Survey of Financial Inclusion (ENIF), only 49% of adults in Mexico have a bank account, reflecting a modest increase from previous years. “The ENIF shows advances in increasing access to financial products, but not necessarily in their effective use or in real financial inclusion," says Salgado. The urban-rural divide remains significant: in rural areas, just 22% of adults have access to formal financial services.

The challenge lies not just in providing access to bank accounts, but in designing financial products that people can use responsibly to improve their quality of life, says Salgado. This focus on user-centric design is key to making products relevant and effective.

But inclusion goes beyond product design or education, says José Murillo, CEO, RappiCard México. “Inclusion is never just about access or education — it is about making products intuitive, not requiring financial literacy courses to use. Institutions must earn people’s trust. A clear example is credit bureau access, which should be a near-human right for financial empowerment,” he explains. 

Financial education is one barrier that has long hindered progress, with over 56% of Mexican adults only reaching secondary school, and no formal financial education available to many. This lack of knowledge prevents many from navigating the financial system effectively.

There is also a widespread reliance on cash, which accounts for over 85% of transactions in Mexico. This cash dependence is further exacerbated by infrastructure challenges — on average, a user is 7km away from a bank branch, and many must travel more than 20 minutes to reach financial services, says Ricardo Olmos, Director of Spin, OXXO. The company aims to address this problem by taking advantage of its widespread reach. OXXO operates in over 1,200 municipalities, so about 80% of individuals in Mexico can reach one store within 5 minutes, says Olmos. 

There are several other critical barriers that must be addressed to expand inclusion. These include financial education, infrastructure, lack of fiscal culture, and cash dependence, says Olmos. He suggests embedding financial education into existing infrastructures, such as OXXO stores, which serve over 1 million small businesses. This approach would allow for financial learning in spaces people already frequent, bringing financial literacy to the people, especially in underserved areas.

Fintechs have made significant strides in closing some of the demand-side gaps, such as simplifying the process of opening accounts and offering quick, frictionless experiences. However, systemic barriers persist. “One of the most pressing systemic issues is the ongoing lag in financial access for many people,” says José Villaseñor, Vice President of Global Payments Network, Stori. He adds that inclusion must be sustainable, responsible, and tailored to improve quality of life: “Inclusion starts with people, and real inclusion requires diverse teams who reflect the populations they serve.”

Financial inclusion should start from a holistic view of the customer, says Salgado. This approach should analyze “how they earn, spend, save, invest, and protect their money,” he adds. By moving beyond biases and recognizing that inclusive design benefits everyone in the long run, institutions can develop products that genuinely cater to the needs of the underserved, says Salgado. “Accompaniment is key: education, trust-building, and long-term support must be built into the product lifecycle,” he adds.

While financial access has improved, particularly with mobile banking usage rising 50% between 2020 and 2023, leading the general population away from cash remains a challenge. However, the fintech sector is challenging the status quo by offering “fast, frictionless experiences,” says Murillo. However, to truly drive change, products must outperform traditional alternatives to create meaningful disruption.

In addition to personalized product design, trust and regulation play vital roles in advancing financial inclusion. Villaseñor says that inter-agency coordination is necessary to avoid duplication and accelerate innovation. 

“There must be better collaboration between public and private sectors,” says Salgado. He, however, adds that regulations need to evolve to reflect real consumer usage patterns. Without understanding how consumers use financial products in their everyday lives, regulations could create more friction rather than promoting genuine inclusion.

Mexico’s regulatory framework has made significant strides with initiatives like the Fintech Law, but the next step is digitizing more processes, from tax payments to reducing cash dependency. Olmos calls for industry-wide efforts to simplify experiences and enforce digital-first payment policies, especially for informal merchants who need to see that accepting digital payments will benefit their business.

“For true financial inclusion, we must focus on designing products that are intuitive, accessible, and responsible, and work together to create a financial ecosystem that serves everyone, no matter their background or location," says Salgado.