Bank of Mexico, the Mexican central bank, is talking with the e-commerce giant, Amazon, to develop a new mobile payment system that allows customers to use QR codes to pay online. In a country where less than half of the population has bank accounts, this payment system could revolutionize online retail. CoDI is the new system’s name and is being built by Bank of Mexico.
Banxico has approached both Amazon and MercadoLibre about possible alliances. A pilot system will be released this month.
Becoming an online buyer
Online purchases were less than 3.9% of the total in Mexico last year. Retailers want to make it easier for unbanked customers to shop online and pay later at convenience stores. Amazon also launched a debit card last year to capture more of the unbanked market in Mexico.
Banxico believes that online retailers and banks will be able to integrate CoDi quickly, granting them access to a large customer base that has not actively participated in e-commerce in Mexico.