Convert MXN to USD

The same rate can be written two ways, and they are easy to mix up:

• USD/MXN (also written USDMXN or “MXN per USD”) is the number of pesos one US dollar buys — about 18 in October 2026. This is how currency markets, Banco de México and Mexican banks quote it.
• MXN/USD (“MXN to USD”) is the dollars one peso buys — about 0.0555. It is simply 1 divided by the first number.

So when a headline says “the peso strengthened”, the USD/MXN number fell: from 18.37 pesos per dollar on 1 October 2026 to 17.98 on 7 October, for example, each peso bought more dollars.

Does “$” mean pesos or dollars?

In Mexico, $ means pesos. The 1992 decree that created today’s peso states that the unit “continuará representándose con el símbolo ‘$’” — it keeps the $ sign. A peso is divided into 100 centavos, and its international code is MXN. To make the currency clear, prices and documents often add M.N. (moneda nacional, as in Banco de México’s official notices: “$16.8947 M.N.”) or write MXN; converter sites use MX$ or Mex$. When a menu in a tourist area shows “$250”, it almost always means pesos — ask if in doubt.

Quick mental maths

At around 18 pesos to the dollar: halve the peso amount, drop the last zero, then add 10%. MX$500 → 250 → 25 → about $27.50 (the reference rate on 8 October 2026 gave $27.75). The popular “divide by 20” shortcut undercounts by about 10% at that rate. Going the other way, double the dollars, add a zero, take off 10%: $30 → 60 → 600 → about MX$540 (reference: MX$540.51). These shortcuts only work while the rate stays near 18 — the panel above always has the exact figure.

Converter sites, Banco de México, banks, exchange houses and card networks all quote different numbers on the same day. The mid-market rate is a reference; every real conversion adds a margin, a fee, or both:

Reading a Mexican bank’s rate board

Mexican banks publish two prices per currency, both in pesos per US dollar and both from the bank’s side: compra is what the bank pays when it buys your dollars, venta what it charges when it sells you dollars. Ventanilla means the branch counter; interbancario is the wholesale market between banks, shown for comparison. These were the US dollar rates published on the morning of 8 October 2026 (Mexico City time):

Worked example. Changing MX$10,000 into dollars at BBVA’s venta of 18.45 gives $542.01. At the interbank midpoint quoted at about the same time (18.175) it would be $550.21 — so the counter gave $8.20 (1.5%) less. The other way round the gap is wider: selling US$500 at BBVA’s compra of 17.32 gives MX$8,660, against MX$9,087.50 at the interbank midpoint — MX$427.50 (4.7%) less.

Reference figures themselves differed by about 1% that morning (FIX of 7 October 17.978, this page’s source 18.017, Banamex interbank 18.175), because the market moves during the day. The gap between a bank’s compra and venta does not depend on which reference you pick, which is why it is the fairest way to compare offers. The “Was your rate fair?” box in the panel above does the same sum for a receipt or quote of your own.

Paying by card

For a US Visa cardholder, Visa’s own calculator priced a MX$1,000 purchase on 8 October 2026 at US$55.78 before any bank fee — Visa states that this was 0.94% above the European Central Bank reference it compares itself with. Many US cards add a foreign-transaction fee on top; Visa’s calculator suggests 2% as an average, though fees vary from card to card.

Banco de México has published a reference rate called the FIX since 11 November 1991. It is determined on banking days “con base en un promedio de las cotizaciones del mercado de cambios al mayoreo” — an average of wholesale market quotes, taken from trading platforms — for deals settled two banking days later. Banxico releases it from 12:00 Mexico City time.

Its main legal job: under Mexico’s Ley Monetaria, debts in foreign currency that are payable in Mexico are settled by handing over the equivalent in pesos, and foreign currency is not legal tender in the country. For dollar debts, the rate to use is the FIX that Banxico publishes in the Diario Oficial de la Federación (DOF) on the next banking day. So one FIX does three jobs on three days:

So a rent, contract or invoice priced in dollars in Mexico can be paid in pesos at the DOF rate, unless the parties agreed on another rate — Banxico notes that they may. Like the mid-market rate, the FIX is a reference: banks and exchange houses still apply their own compra and venta.

The peso has floated freely since 22 December 1994. After a sharp devaluation, the Foreign Exchange Commission (Comisión de Cambios) agreed on the evening of 19 December 1994 to replace the previous band with a floating regime; Banco de México describes the result as an exchange rate “determined by the free market without the intervention of the authorities”, with any Banxico market operations made through pre-announced mechanisms and transparent rules. The IMF classifies Mexico’s arrangement as free floating (2023 report, as of 30 April 2023).

• Who decides policy: the Comisión de Cambios — the Finance Secretary and two undersecretaries, the Governor of Banco de México and two members of its board.
• Tools without a peg: since 2017 Banxico can auction currency hedges settled in pesos (up to US$20 billion, raised to US$30 billion on 9 March 2020), which offer protection against swings without drawing down reserves.
• Heavily traded: in the Bank for International Settlements’ April 2025 survey the peso traded about US$147–153 billion a day — 14th or 15th among the world’s currencies depending on the release, and third among emerging-market currencies after the renminbi and the rupee. Banxico notes that 82% of trades involving the peso take place outside Mexico.
• Interest rates: on 24 September 2026 Banco de México held its overnight target at 6.50%; on 16 September 2026 the US Federal Reserve raised its range to 3.75–4%. The gap between them affects the return on holding pesos, so markets watch both decisions.

Figures below are Banco de México FIX rates in pesos per US dollar — a higher number means a weaker peso. Today’s peso dates from 1 January 1993, when one “new peso” replaced 1,000 old pesos (it was written N$ until the word “nuevo” was dropped in 1996).

Yearly averages

Averages of each year’s daily FIX rates. Over the year to 7 October 2026 the peso gained 2.2% against the dollar (FIX 18.3762 → 17.9780), and over five years 14.6% (from 20.604). In the last 12 months the FIX ranged from 16.8748 (4 Sep 2026) to 18.6233 (6 Nov 2025); over five years, from 16.3357 (8 Apr 2024) to 21.8185 (26 Nov 2021).

For anyone paid in dollars and spending in pesos, the swings are real money: at the 2020 average, US$1,000 bought about MX$21,500; at the 2026 average so far it buys about MX$17,400 — 19% fewer pesos.

Visiting Mexico: pay in pesos

• US dollars are not legal tender in Mexico (Ley Monetaria, article 8). Shops in tourist areas and border towns often take them, but at a rate they choose — compare with the peso price, and expect change in pesos.
• Decline “pay in dollars” on card terminals and ATMs. This is dynamic currency conversion: Visa says merchants and ATMs must give you the choice to accept or decline it, and warns it “often comes at a 3–5% markup”. Declining doesn’t cancel the payment; your card network converts instead. Travellers post real examples on forums — one BajaNomad user reported in 2019 that an ATM in Mexico offered 18.36 pesos per dollar when declining gave 19.58 through their own bank.
• Check any rate you were given with the “Was your rate fair?” box in the panel above: enter what you handed over and what you received.

Changing US-dollar cash in Mexico

Mexican anti-money-laundering rules from 2010 cap how many US-dollar banknotes banks and exchange houses may buy from individuals, and they ask for ID (a passport, for visitors):

These come from the official compiled rules (banks: text as of 2017; a 2024 reform changed one case for some peso-account holders), so ask the bank about its current practice. Card payments and ATM withdrawals in pesos are not affected.

Crossing the border with cash

Carrying more than US$10,000 (or the equivalent in other currencies, including pesos) is legal in both directions but must be declared. Mexico’s customs agency (ANAM) says it “no es un delito”, but an undeclared excess is fined 20% to 40%, and more than US$30,000 undeclared can mean prison. The US requires a report to Customs and Border Protection (FinCEN Form 105) above $10,000 — and for families or groups the threshold applies to the total they carry together.

Notes, coins and leftover pesos

Current banknotes (family G, issued 2018–2021) come in 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 pesos; coins in 5, 10, 20 and 50 centavos and 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 pesos. Older note families (B, C, D, D1) and the type-F 20, 50 and 1,000 notes are being withdrawn, but they remain legal tender while they are withdrawn. Keep some small notes for tips and taxis.

Sending money and living with two currencies

• Remittances: people in Mexico received US$61.8 billion from abroad in 2025 (down 4.6% from US$64.7 billion in 2024) — more than 97% from the United States in recent quarters. January–July 2026 was up 3.1% on a year earlier. Mexico’s financial consumer agency CONDUSEF advises comparing the exchange rate and fee before sending, and checking the provider is authorised.
• New US tax since 1 January 2026: remittances sent from the US and paid for in cash, money orders or cashier’s checks carry a 1% tax; transfers funded from a bank account or a debit or credit card are exempt (BBVA Research).
• Selling property: Mexico works out the gain on a home sale in pesos, so a fall in the peso between buying and selling can show a taxable peso gain even when the dollar price has not changed (Mexperience explains the effect). Get advice from a notario or accountant before you sell.

Converting the other way — dollars into pesos? The USD to MXN converter starts from dollars, and the currency converter handles every other currency.

Mexico is the United States’ largest trading partner. In 2025 the US exported US$337.3 billion of goods to Mexico and imported US$534.3 billion — a US deficit of US$197.0 billion and about US$871.6 billion of trade in all, ahead of Canada (US$715.5 billion) on the Census Bureau’s figures. Mexico was again first in January–August 2026, with 16.8% of US goods trade.

Money also flows the other way through families: Mexico received US$61.8 billion in remittances in 2025, and in each quarter from October 2025 to June 2026 more than 97% of them came from the United States (Banco de México, by country of origin).