Cash And Voucher Payments In Mexico: OXXO Pay, PayNet And PayCash Compared

Nearly 51% of Mexicans are unbanked, which represents over 45.75 million people that a card-only checkout can’t reach. Voucher-based payment options, such as OXXO Pay, PayNet, and PayCash, bridge this gap by allowing Mexican customers to shop online and pay for their purchases in cash.

Key takeaways

• Cash voucher payments enable Mexican customers to complete an online order by paying in cash at a physical counter, using a reference number and barcode generated at checkout.
• Three networks offer voucher-based payments in Mexico: OXXO Pay, operated by the OXXO convenience-store chain, PayNet, operated by Openpay, a BBVA company, and PayCash Global, a Monterrey-headquartered gateway covering cash and digital banking across Latin America.
• OXXO Pay’s coverage is built entirely on OXXO’s own stores, while PayNet (Mexico) and PayCash Global route payments through several affiliated retail chains in addition to their own infrastructure.
• Cash-based payment methods don’t support refunds through the payment rail itself, but a completed cash voucher payment can be refunded manually, outside the original payment method.
• Payment confirmation isn’t instant and typically takes 24-72 business hours after the customer pays.

Why cash still matters for merchants selling in Mexico

Nearly half of Mexico’s adult population lacks access to financial services, and 82% of citizens prefer paying in cash. Consequently, cash-based payments in Mexico accounted for 6.1 billion USD in 2024.

A lack of voucher-based payment methods at checkout can turn away real demand from these customers. OXXO Pay, PayNet, and PayCash help merchants reach and convert a broader customer base by enabling them to shop online and pay for their purchases with cash.

How cash voucher payments work

Step 1: The customer chooses OXXO Pay at checkout.

Step 2: The customer receives a payment voucher, typically with a unique barcode, a reference code, and an expiry date.

Step 3: The customer presents the voucher (printed or on their phone) at their nearest participating store.

Step 4: The cashier verifies the payment voucher, accepts cash payment from the customer, and provides a printed receipt as proof of payment.

Step 5: The merchant receives payment confirmation within 24 to 72 hours.

Step 6: The merchant’s payment service provider or payment gateway settles funds to the merchant’s account.

OXXO Pay, PayNet and PayCash at a glance

OXXO Pay

OXXO is a Mexican chain of convenience stores, owned by Fomento Económico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA). OXXO Pay is a voucher-based payment method that uses OXXO stores as cash collection points for online purchases. 

OXXO stores operate across Latin America, but OXXO Pay, as a payment method, is only available in Mexico and in Mexican pesos (MXN). It enables merchants to tap into a broader consumer base by providing unbanked Mexicans access to e-commerce.

A large number of Mexican consumers prefer OXXO Pay because payments are made in their local language and currency, improving the customer experience and convenience. Additionally, OXXO is a trusted name in Mexico. More than 20,000 OXXO stores across the country serve as places where people buy daily essentials and pay bills, so using the same stores for online shopping feels like a natural extension.

OXXO Pay limits, refunds and chargebacks

OXXO Pay is a trusted payment method due to its low risk of fraud and chargebacks. Since customers pay in cash, payments once made are final and can’t be disputed.

OXXO Pay transactions typically range from a minimum of MXN 10 to a maximum of approximately MXN 10,000. Each voucher also has an expiry date, which is configurable rather than fixed.

Additionally, OXXO payments don’t support refunds or recurring payments. If a refund is required, it must be handled manually, outside OXXO Pay, typically via a separate bank transfer to the customer. Similarly, a new voucher must be issued for each subscription renewal cycle.

PayNet (Mexico)

PayNet is a voucher-based cash payment network in Mexico operated by Openpay, a payment platform. BBVA acquired Openpay in 2017, and PayNet is the cash-collection network built into that platform, distinct from Openpay’s card, bank transfer and loyalty-point payment options.

PayNet’s network has grown substantially since the BBVA acquisition, with over 30,000 affiliated convenience stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, and other retail outlets today. This includes major retail chains such as 7-Eleven, Walmart, Bodega Aurrerá and Farmacias Benavides.

What distinguishes PayNet from OXXO Pay operationally is that it sits inside Openpay’s broader platform, which supports subscription and recurring billing plans at the account level. A customer still has to actively pay each voucher, but a merchant running subscriptions on Openpay can generate a fresh cash reference against the same subscription each billing cycle.

PayNet in Mexico is not PayNet Malaysia or PayNet (Equifax)

PayNet in Mexico is the Openpay-operated cash voucher network for collecting cash payments on e-commerce orders.

PayNet, or Payments Network Malaysia, is Malaysia’s national payment systems infrastructure provider, a shared utility jointly owned by Bank Negara Malaysia (the central bank) and eleven Malaysian financial institutions. Malaysia’s PayNet runs services like DuitNow (real-time bank transfers), JomPAY (bill payments), and FPX (online banking payments), which are national rails, not a merchant-facing cash collection network, and are entirely unconnected to Mexico.

PayNet in North America is a commercial credit bureau focused on small-business lending data, including loan, lease, and credit-line histories, used by banks and lenders to assess default risk, most commonly via its PayNet MasterScore, which is generally cited in the 450-800 range. This PayNet was acquired by Equifax in 2019 and now operates as an independent division within Equifax. It is a data and scoring product and has no payment-processing function.

PayCash

PayCash Global is a Monterrey-headquartered payment gateway, founded in 2016, that lets merchants accept cash and digital banking payments (customers pay for the purchase from their bank app) across Latin America.

Where OXXO Pay and PayNet are Mexico-specific, PayCash’s network spans across 10 Latin American markets and includes more than 350,000 payment points. The retail store chains in PayCash’s network include Walmart, Soriana, and 7-Eleven, and the digital banking channels include BBVA, Banorte, Afirme, and Santander’s SuperNet.

How to choose between OXXO Pay, PayNet and PayCash

The right choice for a business depends on its needs and goals. For instance, merchants operating in Mexican markets alone who want the most recognised cash brand can start with OXXO Pay, as OXXO is a name familiar to most Mexican shoppers.

Merchants looking to go beyond OXXO’s own footprint or subscription businesses needing a cash reference might want to consider incorporating PayNet (Mexico) because it offers documented support at the platform level.

Businesses planning to sell across several Latin American markets would benefit from integrating PayCash, thanks to its multi-country reach and cash-plus-digital-banking model.

Most merchants operating at a meaningful scale in Mexico end up supporting more than one cash network alongside cards, because each one’s affiliated store list and confirmation behaviour differ. Implementing all three under a single provider, rather than three separate contracts, is usually the more practical route once a business operates in more than one market.

What should merchants plan for operationally?

Since the customer pays in cash, voucher-based payment methods don’t carry a chargeback or dispute mechanism, which reduces operational risk and fraud exposure. However, the operational overhead isn’t entirely removed and shows up elsewhere.

Here are a few things merchants should plan for before integrating voucher-based payment methods.

• Voucher expiry and abandonment: A cash voucher typically expires within three to seven business days (depending on the network and provider configuration). Some vouchers expire without being paid, and that gap between vouchers issued and vouchers paid is a measurable conversion loss
• No refunds through the rail: Because there’s no card or account to reverse the charge against, a refund for a completed cash voucher payment must be handled as a separate process, typically a manual bank transfer or store credit, rather than an automatic reversal
• Fulfilment logic built around confirmation: Cash vouchers are paid at a physical counter, meaning confirmation doesn’t reach the merchant in real time. Order fulfilment logic has to wait for the confirmation, rather than firing on the checkout event itself
• Reconciliation against the payment reference: Because the payment status only updates once cash has changed hands, matching each payment to the correct order relies on the voucher’s reference number, which takes more manual effort than a card or bank transfer
• Consumer-side fees: Several of these networks allow the store, or the network itself, to apply a small fee to the customer at the point of payment, on top of the order amount.

Accepting cash and voucher payments in Mexico with Unlimit

Unlimit is a global financial infrastructure provider that connects merchants to over 1,000 local and global payment methods across 200+ markets through a single API. 

With local acquiring across Latin America, settlements in local currencies, and the ability to add necessary payment methods to the checkout page as a business grows, Unlimit makes it hassle-free for merchants to convert customers in every market without managing separate relationships with providers.