One element in the recent “Big Beautiful Bill” passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Trump is the tax on remittances.
Here’s the Wikipedia definition of “remittance”: “A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their [sic] home country or homeland.”
The new law takes effect January 1st, 2026, and will charge a 1% tax on remittances sent from the United States.
However, this tax is only to be applied to cash transfers, cashier’s checks, money orders and similar instruments. Examples include cash transfers through Western Union or MoneyGram.
It doesn’t apply to electronic transfers.
The government of Mexico is providing a card to enable Mexicans in the U.S. to send remittances electronically and not be subject to the remittance tax.
From Perplexity: “President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday [July 18] promoted a government banking card that allows Mexican migrants in the United States to circumvent a new remittance tax set to take effect next year. Speaking at her morning press conference, Sheinbaum brandished a Finabien card for cameras while encouraging its use for electronic money transfers.”
“The Financial Institution for Well-being (Finabien) [that’s Financiera para el Bienestar in Spanish] card enables users to send remittances electronically, avoiding the 1% federal excise tax that will apply to cash transfers starting January 1, 2026. The tax, part of President Donald Trump’s legislative package, targets outbound money transfers but exempts electronic transactions.”
These cards can be obtained from the vast network of Mexican consulates in the United States, which by the way is the largest consular network in the world.
“The Finabien cards can be acquired at 53 Mexican consulates across the United States, by mail, or through digital application at miconsulado.sre.gob.mx.
According to Mexico News Daily, accounts can be accessed at 1,700 sites throughout Mexico.”
Of course there is a small fee charged by Finabien.
“Finabien director Rocío Mejía Flores announced that transaction fees have been reduced from $3.99 to $2.99, benefiting the 30,000 cardholders currently operating in the United States. Users can send up to $2,500 per day and $10,000 per month, with funds accessible through an [sic] mobile application.”
How does it work?
“The card allows direct deposit operations, enabling employers to send wages directly to the card or through authorized institutions. Users can also reload their cards at major retailers including CVS, Walmart, and 7-Eleven.”
And the Mexican government has something for those who send funds via cash transfer. “Beyond promoting the Finabien cards, Sheinbaum announced that Mexico will reimburse the 1% tax for individuals who continue sending cash remittances. ‘For those who send in cash, we’re going to provide a reimbursement of that 1% through the Finabien card,’ she said during her press conference.”
Source: ObturadorMX
Note that what the Mexican government is doing is legal under U.S. law because the U.S. government exempted electronic transfers from the remittance tax!
It also shows that the Mexican government pays close attention legal developments in the U.S. that affect Mexican immigrants.