How to pay contractors in Mexico from the US

Mexican contractors receive pesos instantly through SPEI with an 18-digit CLABE. Paying in MXN locally usually leaves them with more than a USD wire converted by their bank.

Alexia M.Comparisons and market guides editor

Published: 8 September 2026
Reading time: 1 min read

Mexico is the most common nearshore market for US companies. Paying Mexican contractors is easy once you use SPEI.

Routes

Route	Speed	Cost to contractor
MXN by SPEI	Seconds	Your provider's FX margin
USD wire to a Mexican bank	1 to 2 days	Bank's FX margin and fees
USD to a Mexican USD account	1 to 2 days	Fees; no conversion

What you need

The contractor's full name and CLABE.
A W-8BEN.
Their CFDI or invoice for your records.

A $4,000 monthly payment

By USD wire, the contractor's bank converts at its own rate and may charge a fee, and neither of you sees the margin until the money lands. By SPEI in MXN at a published 0.5% margin, you can check the rate against Banco de México's reference rate, and the money arrives in seconds.

A monthly run, step by step

Collect the W-8BEN and the 18-digit CLABE, and check the name on the account.
Agree whether the fee is set in USD or MXN.
Receive the invoice or CFDI and pay on a fixed date with the invoice number as the reference.
Send the receipt.

SPEI rejects payments where the CLABE check digit is wrong, so a typo is caught before money moves.

Paying into the United States: the local rail

What	Detail
Local rail	ACH for batch payments; RTP and FedNow for instant transfers
Run by	Nacha for ACH; The Clearing House for RTP; the Federal Reserve for FedNow
Settlement	Same-day ACH within the business day, standard ACH the next; RTP and FedNow in seconds, 24/7, where both banks take part

Source: Nacha: Same Day ACH. Checked when this guide was last updated; the scheme's own page has the current figures.

Where Rivet fits

Rivet pays contractors in Mexico in MXN on local rails from your USD balance, with fee and FX shown before you confirm, and pays 120+ other countries the same way. Rivet is not a bank; regulated partner institutions hold the funds. See MXN business payments.

Questions people ask

What is a CLABE?

An 18-digit standardised bank account number used for SPEI transfers in Mexico.

Should I pay Mexican contractors in USD or MXN?

Ask them. Many prefer MXN at a good rate; some with USD accounts prefer dollars.

How fast is SPEI?

Seconds, 24 hours a day, for most payments.

Do contractors need a CFDI?

Mexican taxpayers issue CFDI electronic invoices for income. Foreign clients usually receive one with a generic foreign RFC.

Sources

Written by

Alexia M.

Comparisons and market guides editor

Alexia compares the accounts, cards and payment tools companies weigh before they switch, and writes Rivet's market guides for founders in a specific country. Prices in Alexia's comparisons come from each provider's own pricing page on the date given in the article, rules come from the regulator or tax authority that sets them, and every source is listed at the end.