Money Movements with CLABEs and SPEI Cards

Local Bank Transfers in Mexico — Overview

SPEI is Mexico’s real-time interbank payment system and the primary rail for domestic bank transfers. Cobre integrates SPEI as a native local payout rail, enabling businesses to send money to Mexican recipients using CLABEs (bank accounts) or SPEI Cards, while maintaining a unified balance, transaction, and reporting model.

This guide focuses on what Cobre enables for SPEI payouts from a product and business perspective.

1. What Cobre Enables with SPEI Payouts

With SPEI payouts, Cobre allows companies to:

Send local bank transfers across Mexico

Pay recipients using CLABEs or SPEI Cards

Execute payouts directly from Cobre Balances (MXN)

Track payouts through standardized transactions and reports

SPEI payouts are a foundational component of Cobre’s Mexican money movement capabilities.

2. SPEI Payouts in the Cobre Model

A SPEI payout in Cobre is a local money movement with the following characteristics:

Origin: A Mexican Cobre Balance (MXN)

Destination: A recipient identified by a CLABE or SPEI Card

Rail: SPEI

Speed: Immediate / near real-time

Settlement: Final upon execution

Visibility: Reflected immediately via transactions and balance updates

This model allows businesses to rely on a single, standardized rail for most domestic payouts in Mexico.

3. Account-Based & Card-Based Payouts — CLABEs and SPEI Cards

CLABEs

A CLABE is Mexico’s 18-digit standardized bank account identifier and is the most common destination for SPEI payouts.

What this enables:

Universal coverage across Mexican banks

Compatibility with individuals and businesses

Strong alignment with accounting and treasury processes

SPEI Cards

A SPEI Card allows payouts to be routed using a card-based identifier instead of a full bank account number.

What this enables:

Alternative payout destination when CLABEs are not available

Support for specific use cases where card-based routing is preferred

Flexibility in recipient payment options

By supporting both identifiers, Cobre ensures broad reach and adaptability across payout scenarios.

4. Counterparties for SPEI Payouts

Cobre uses Counterparties to represent recipients of SPEI payouts.

SPEI Counterparties represent:

A CLABE-based bank account or

A SPEI Card identifier

From a capability perspective, this allows:

Reuse of recipient definitions across payouts

Unified recipient management alongside other rails (Bre-B, Fast Pay, ACH)

Once created, counterparties can be reused for ongoing payout operations.

5. Speed & Reliability of SPEI Payouts

SPEI payouts are designed for speed, reliability, and predictability:

Near real-time processing

Settlement certainty

Broad acceptance across financial institutions

This makes SPEI suitable for both operational and customer-facing payout use cases.

6. Typical Business Use Cases for SPEI Payouts

SPEI payouts through Cobre are well suited for:

Supplier and vendor payments

Payroll and contractor payouts

Marketplace seller settlements

Refunds and reimbursements

High-volume bulk disbursements

Because SPEI is Mexico’s standard interbank rail, it is often the default choice for domestic payouts.

7. Transactions & Reporting for SPEI Payouts

Every SPEI payout generates Transactions within Cobre, which:

Debit the originating Cobre Balance

Are categorized by SPEI transaction type (CLABE or card)

Appear in transaction lists and balance statements

Are included in reconciliation and accounting reports

This ensures full traceability and auditability for all SPEI payouts.

8. Controls & Operational Governance

SPEI payouts benefit from the same governance features as other Cobre money movements:

Role-based permissions (Portal only)

Optional approval workflows (maker-checker)

Complete historical audit trails

These controls make SPEI payouts suitable for enterprise-grade financial operations.

9. Summary — What Cobre Delivers for SPEI Payouts

With SPEI payouts, Cobre enables:

Reliable local payouts in Mexico
Support for both CLABEs and SPEI Cards
Broad bank and recipient coverage
Unified transactions, reporting, and reconciliation
Enterprise-grade controls and auditability

Cobre abstracts the operational complexity of SPEI and delivers it as a robust, scalable payout capability within its broader local money movement platform.

Money Movements with CLABEs and SPEI Cards

Local Bank Transfers in Mexico — Overview#

1. What Cobre Enables with SPEI Payouts#

2. SPEI Payouts in the Cobre Model#

3. Account-Based & Card-Based Payouts — CLABEs and SPEI Cards#

CLABEs#

SPEI Cards#

4. Counterparties for SPEI Payouts#

SPEI Counterparties represent:#

5. Speed & Reliability of SPEI Payouts#

6. Typical Business Use Cases for SPEI Payouts#

7. Transactions & Reporting for SPEI Payouts#

8. Controls & Operational Governance#

9. Summary — What Cobre Delivers for SPEI Payouts#