For expats in Mexico (and anyone with pesos to park)
Your pesos could be earning more.
Most aren't.
Mexican savings accounts pay 10–15% a year, and some cards pay real cashback. Which ones your household can open depends on whose ID is whose. See what you're leaving on the table in four questions.
- Private. The calculator runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.
- Dated. Every rate shows the day it was last checked.
- Hands-off. We never hold your money, ask for logins, or touch your accounts.
What could your pesos earn?
Rough numbers, recalculated as you type. Rates as of .
Fine-tune it
Who holds which ID, how much you'd lock away, and where your money actually goes. The estimate above updates as you go.
Want this turned into a step-by-step plan?
A spreadsheet built for your household, a monthly routine, and a 45-minute walkthrough. Early-bird price: MXN 500.
The products
Everything the calculator uses: who can open it, where to get the app, and the catches. Rules change, so we re-check them regularly. Some links are referral links; the calculator's rankings never take that into account.
How to read the cardsBanks are protected up to ~MXN 3.5M per person. SOFIPOs only up to ~MXN 221k, from a much smaller fund.
Nothing matches all of those filters. Try removing one.
Want it turned into a plan you can follow?
The calculator gives you the shape. The walkthrough gives you the steps, built around your household.
- A spreadsheet made for you: how much goes into which account, and in whose name.
- Which card for what, so every grocery run and school payment earns something.
- A monthly routine that keeps each rate alive: a purchase early each month for Openbank's 13%, a Nu card purchase every 30 days, when to move interest out of Mifel, which payout to pick on fixed terms.
- A 45-minute walkthrough: how your money stays protected, how to keep SOFIPO interest tax-free, what each app's sign-up asks for (INE photos, a selfie, a video check to raise your account level), and how SPEI transfers work.
Then you sign up on your own time. Give it a week or two: verification sometimes fails and needs a retry, and some accounts take days to become fully usable.
Early-bird price
$500 MXN, one time
You make every move yourself. We never hold your money or ask for your logins.
Why this exists
Hi, I'm Jethro. I'm Canadian, I've lived in Mexico City for over four years, and my wife is Mexican. This year I finally moved our household's peso savings out of accounts earning next to nothing.
Between what my residency card could open and what only my wife's INE could, we now earn about 11%. That's enough for the interest to pay our condo fees every month. Getting there took weeks of reading contracts, testing apps and asking support agents awkward questions.
Peso Pinchers is that homework, made reusable.
Questions people ask
Who counts as my household?
People whose money is fully shared, usually a married couple and their kids. Many of the best accounts need a Mexican INE, so a Mexican partner can open far more than a foreign one. But money in their name legally becomes theirs. If you're dating and wouldn't put MXN 200,000 in their name, plan as two households.
Why can't I find an app in my app store?
Some Mexican apps are only listed in certain countries' stores. Finsus, for example, isn't in Canada's App Store or Google Play, DiDi Finanzas is only in Mexico's and the US's, and Klar's Android app is barely listed outside Mexico. Each product card shows where we found it. The usual fix is switching your store account's country to Mexico. On an iPhone that needs a Mexican payment method and no active subscriptions. Google Play needs you to be in Mexico with a Mexican payment method, and only lets you switch once a year.
Is this financial advice?
No. It's education and planning help about bank and SOFIPO deposit accounts and credit cards. See the disclaimer.
Why not just keep my money in USD or CAD?
For money you'll need back in dollars, you probably should. Pesos pay several points more than USD cash, but exchange rates move: Convert only what you'll spend in pesos anyway, and use a low-spread transfer service instead of your bank's posted rate.
What's the catch with SOFIPOs?
Higher rates, weaker protection. See the warning. Keep each one under its protection limit, and only use money you could live without for months.
How current are the rates?
Each product shows the date it was last checked. These promotions change often, sometimes within weeks, so always confirm in the app before you move money.
Mexican money jargon, decoded
Tap any underlined term on this page for a quick explanation, or open one below.
The fine print
Education and planning help about deposit accounts and cards. Not financial, investment, tax or legal advice.
Not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. Peso Pinchers offers general education and a planning service about bank and SOFIPO deposit accounts and credit cards. I'm not a registered investment adviser with the CNBV or anywhere else. I don't advise on securities such as CETES, investment funds, stocks or crypto, and nothing here recommends buying or selling one.
Estimates are approximate and depend on rates and terms that change often. Confirm everything with each institution before acting. You make every decision and every move yourself. For taxes, talk to a contador, or a cross-border accountant if another country also taxes you.