How it works in Mexico
Yes, you can pay your team in Mexico in stablecoins with Toku. Salary is set, withheld and paid in legal tender as the Constitution and Federal Labour Law require, employees who opt in can then have their net pay, once paid, converted into USDC, and contractors can be settled in USDC or USDT.
Paying employees
Article 123 of the Constitution and article 101 of the Federal Labour Law require wages in legal tender, so the salary is paid in pesos first. Employees who opt in can then have their net pay, once paid, converted into USDC in a way Toku confirms for each person. (Sources: Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, article 123, section A, part X; Ley Federal del Trabajo, articles 90, 101 and 102)
Paying contractors
Contractors can invoice in pesos or US dollars and be settled in USDC or USDT. None of the Mexican laws we reviewed bars a private person from accepting crypto for services, and the fees would fall within the general income tax rule. (Sources: Ley para Regular las Instituciones de Tecnología Financiera (Fintech Law), articles 30 to 34 and 88 (Chamber of Deputies); Banco de México, Circular 4/2019 on virtual asset operations; Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta, articles 90 and 94)
Salary is set and taxed in local currency. Employees who opt in have their net pay, once paid, converted into USDC, and contractors are settled in USDC or USDT, where the local rules allow it. Toku handles the conversion, the compliance checks and the tax and payment reporting, and confirms the arrangement for each person before the first payment.
How Mexico treats crypto and stablecoins
Mexico's Fintech Law defines a virtual asset as an electronically recorded representation of value used by the public as a means of payment, excluding legal tender and foreign currency, and the Banco de México, the Finance Ministry and the CNBV say virtual assets are not legal tender or foreign currency. (Sources: Ley para Regular las Instituciones de Tecnología Financiera (Fintech Law), articles 30 to 34 and 88 (Chamber of Deputies); Banco de México, SHCP and CNBV, joint statement No. 039 on the risks of virtual assets (June 28, 2021))
In a joint statement in June 2021, the Banco de México, the Finance Ministry (SHCP) and the banking and securities regulator (CNBV) said virtual assets are not legal tender in Mexico and are not foreign currency under current law. They added that crypto assets do not fulfil the functions of money because their acceptance as a means of payment is limited, and that Mexican financial institutions are not authorised to carry out or offer the public operations with virtual assets such as Bitcoin, Ether or XRP. (Source: Banco de México, SHCP and CNBV, joint statement No. 039 on the risks of virtual assets (June 28, 2021))
The Fintech Law, published on March 9, 2018, defines a virtual asset as an electronically recorded representation of value used by the public as a means of payment, excluding legal tender and foreign currency. Licensed fintech institutions may only operate with virtual assets the Banco de México designates, with its prior authorisation, and must tell clients that a virtual asset is not legal tender and is not backed by the Federal Government or the Banco de México. Banks need the same prior authorisation. (Source: Ley para Regular las Instituciones de Tecnología Financiera (Fintech Law), articles 30 to 34 and 88 (Chamber of Deputies))
Under Banco de México Circular 4/2019, banks and fintech institutions may use virtual assets only for authorised internal operations, must not pass the risk to clients, and cannot be authorised to offer clients crypto exchange, transfer or custody services. (Source: Banco de México, Circular 4/2019 on virtual asset operations)
On stablecoins, the 2021 statement says issuing them is equivalent to taking deposits, which is restricted to regulated financial entities, that nobody may raise funds by issuing or offering stablecoins in Mexico without the required authorisations, and that no service holding peso or foreign-currency balances through stablecoins had been authorised. (Source: Banco de México, SHCP and CNBV, joint statement No. 039 on the risks of virtual assets (June 28, 2021))
Local rules for paying employees in Mexico
Article 123, section A, part X of the Constitution requires wages to be paid in legal tender and forbids paying them with goods, vouchers, tokens or any other sign meant to substitute money. Article 101 of the Federal Labour Law repeats the rule for cash wages. With the employee's consent, wages may be paid by bank deposit, debit card, transfer or other electronic means, with the employer bearing the cost. (Sources: Constitución Política de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, article 123, section A, part X; Ley Federal del Trabajo, articles 90, 101 and 102)
The minimum wage is defined as the lowest amount an employee must receive in cash for a working day. Benefits in kind are allowed, but they must suit the personal use of the employee and family and be reasonably proportionate to the wage paid in cash. (Source: Ley Federal del Trabajo, articles 90, 101 and 102)
Crypto, including USDC or USDT, is not legal tender, so the wage itself is paid in pesos and any USDC is the employee's choice for their net pay. The 2021 joint statement says virtual assets are not legal tender and describes stablecoins as claims on their issuer. Salaries and other benefits from an employment relationship are taxed as employment income. (Sources: Banco de México, SHCP and CNBV, joint statement No. 039 on the risks of virtual assets (June 28, 2021); Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta, articles 90 and 94)
Local rules for paying contractors in Mexico
The restrictions in the Fintech Law and Circular 4/2019 fall on banks and licensed fintech institutions. They limit which virtual assets those institutions may use and bar them from offering crypto exchange, transfer or custody to clients. They do not address a contractor accepting crypto from a client. (Sources: Ley para Regular las Instituciones de Tecnología Financiera (Fintech Law), articles 30 to 34 and 88 (Chamber of Deputies); Banco de México, Circular 4/2019 on virtual asset operations)
Mexican-resident individuals pay income tax on income received in cash, in goods, in credit, in services in the cases the law indicates, or of any other kind, so crypto received as fees would fall within that general rule. (Source: Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta, articles 90 and 94)
The anti-money-laundering law treats the habitual, professional offering of virtual asset exchange, custody or transfer through platforms as a vulnerable activity. Since a reform on July 16, 2025, it expressly covers operations with Mexican citizens from another jurisdiction, and platforms must file a report with the Finance Ministry when a client's operation reaches 210 times the daily UMA or the fee charged reaches 4 times the daily UMA. They must also obtain and keep originator and recipient information on transfers. The tax authority (SAT) supervises these platforms. (Sources: Anti-money-laundering law (LFPIORPI), article 17, part XVI, as reformed July 16, 2025; SAT: the vulnerable activity of virtual assets)
Ways to pay people in Mexico, compared
How the common ways to pay someone in Mexico compare. The Toku row describes how Toku works; coverage and the arrangement for each person are confirmed before the first payment.
| Method | Employees | Contractors | What to keep on record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local payroll and bank transfer in MXN | Salary paid in local currency, with tax and contributions withheld. No stablecoin option. | Paid in MXN or another fiat currency to a bank account. | Payslip or invoice, payment confirmation and any tax withheld. |
| Sending USDC or USDT yourself | Doesn't cover employees on its own: salary still has to be set, withheld and paid under local payroll rules. | You handle the payment, foreign-exchange, tax and reporting rules in Mexico yourself, and some payment rules there may restrict it. | The MXN value on the payment date, the exchange rate used, wallet addresses and transaction hashes. |
| Toku | Salary set, withheld and paid in MXN through Toku's employer of record, with a USDC option for net pay arranged as described on this page. | Invoices in MXN (or USD where local invoicing rules allow it), settled in USDC or USDT where Toku confirms the route for that contractor, with approvals and payment records in one place. | Contracts, invoices, payment records and tax documents kept with each payment. |
Tax and reporting
Mexican-resident individuals pay income tax on income received in cash, in goods, in credit, in services in the cases the law indicates, or of any other kind, and salaries and other employment benefits are taxed as employment income. The income tax law does not mention virtual assets by name, so crypto income would fall within these general rules. (Source: Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta, articles 90 and 94)
The SAT says virtual asset operations are not currencies or financial products and lack the backing of financial institutions, and that it supervises virtual asset platforms under the anti-money-laundering law. Platforms report qualifying operations to the Finance Ministry under article 17 of that law. (Sources: SAT: the vulnerable activity of virtual assets; Anti-money-laundering law (LFPIORPI), article 17, part XVI, as reformed July 16, 2025)
Recent changes
- June 28, 2021: The Banco de México, the Finance Ministry and the CNBV warned that virtual assets are not legal tender and that issuing or offering stablecoins without authorisation is not allowed. We found no later joint statement. (Source: Banco de México, SHCP and CNBV, joint statement No. 039 on the risks of virtual assets (June 28, 2021))
- July 16, 2025: A reform of the anti-money-laundering law rewrote the rules for virtual asset platforms: coverage of operations with Mexican citizens from abroad, report thresholds of 210 UMA per operation or 4 UMA per fee, and a duty to keep sender and recipient information. (Source: Anti-money-laundering law (LFPIORPI), article 17, part XVI, as reformed July 16, 2025)
What the official sources leave open
The official sources leave these points open. Where one affects a payment, Toku confirms how it is handled for each person before the first payment.
- Whether crypto, including USDC or USDT, can be given as a benefit in kind on top of a peso wage. We found no labour or tax authority statement or court ruling on it.
- How the SAT values crypto received as wages or fees, for example which exchange rate or price applies, and how gains on crypto are taxed. No SAT rule written for crypto was found.
- Whether paying a Mexican contractor in a stablecoin issued abroad could count as offering stablecoins in Mexico under the authorities' 2021 statement, which targets raising funds.
- The SAT's own guidance page on virtual asset platforms still shows an older reporting threshold from before the July 2025 reform, which set 210 times the daily UMA.
- Whether Mexico has started crypto-asset reporting under the OECD framework (CARF), and whether any foreign-exchange rule applies to income from services paid in crypto.
- Whether the Banco de México has designated any virtual asset or authorised any institution to use one since 2021.
How Toku pays your team in Mexico
Employees hired through Toku’s employer of record in Mexico have their salary set, withheld and paid in local currency, with the USDC option for net pay arranged as described above through stablecoin payroll. Whether Toku can support a hire in Mexico is confirmed before an offer. Contractors are paid through contractor management, which keeps invoices, approvals and USDC or USDT payment records together. Toku confirms the arrangement for each person before the first payment.
For the practical steps, see how to pay contractors in Mexico. Compare costs on the pricing page and estimate transfer costs with the FX savings calculator.
Toku pioneered this approach: founded in 2020, it started with token payroll and is now an employer of record and global payroll provider in 100+ countries, paying teams in local currency or stablecoins. About Toku.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules on crypto, wages and foreign exchange change often and depend on the facts of each arrangement, so confirm your situation with a qualified local adviser before you pay anyone in crypto or stablecoins.