Mexico received US$5.362 billion in remittances in September 2026, according to figures published on 3 November by the Banco de México (the country's central bank, known as Banxico). It is the lowest monthly total since April and the second consecutive decline from the previous month.
The number reads two ways at once. Against the same month a year earlier, it is growth: 1.6% more than September 2025. Against August, it is a fall of 1.7%. The distinction matters because remittance inflows have been, since 2023, one of Mexico's largest sources of foreign currency, ahead of foreign direct investment in several quarters.
Fewer transfers, but bigger ones
The transaction count explains much of the move. September saw about 12.6 million transfers, down from roughly 13.2 million in August — some 670,000 fewer in a single month.
The average transfer went the other way, rising to US$426 from US$412 in August. Put another way: fewer people sent money, and those who did sent slightly more.
So far this year, 99.2% of remittance income arrived by electronic transfer — US$46.773 billion — while cash and in-kind transfers accounted for 0.6% (US$303 million) and money orders for 0.2% (US$87 million).
The year-to-date figure is still positive
Between January and September 2026, Mexico took in US$47.164 billion in remittances, against US$46.184 billion in the same period of 2025. That is US$980 million more, a rise of 2.1%.
That positive running total sits alongside a lower transaction count than last year's: some 3.18 million fewer transfers were recorded over the first nine months.
How analysts read it
For Janneth Quiroz, head of economic, currency and market research at Monex, the stronger momentum in the US economy is not feeding through to either employment or transfers. "It is not as though they are going to show exponential growth, or anything closer to double digits, in what remains of the year," she said, quoted by El Financiero.
Gabriela Siller, head of economic and financial research at Grupo Financiero Base, attributed the decline to US immigration policy and suggested that some Mexicans who had been working there may have returned home. On her reading, no significant rebound should be expected over the longer term either.
The flow in the other direction
Remittances sent from Mexico abroad came to US$115 million in September, up 23.2% year on year, with a 12.6% rise in the number of transactions. Over January to September they reached US$972 million, against US$872 million in 2025.
Netting the two flows, the remittance account closed September with a surplus of US$5.247 billion, against US$5.187 billion in September 2025.
With information from El Financiero, La Razón and Pulso de San Luis, drawing on Banco de México data.
