GLOBAL PAYMENTS KNOWLEDGEISO 20022 / SWIFT / SEPA / MT / MX
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Mexico SPEI — Banco de Mexico's interbank system

Riya sends pesos to Arjun by CLABE; SPEI, Banco de Mexico's real-time gross settlement system, settles the payment individually in central-bank money within seconds.

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Contributor Shubham Mathure

STEP 1 / 5MESSAGE

Riya instructs Bank Alfa with Arjun's CLABE

Riya (customer) → Bank Alfa (sending bank)

Riya asks Bank Alfa to send MXN 2,000.00 to Arjun, addressing the destination account by its CLABE — the 18-digit interbank account number that identifies the bank and the account. Nothing has moved yet; this is a request.

Step 1 of 5: Riya instructs Bank Alfa with Arjun's CLABE

  1. 01Message
    Riya instructs Bank Alfa with Arjun's CLABERiya (customer) → Bank Alfa (sending bank)
  2. 02Posting
    Bank Alfa validates and debits RiyaBank Alfa (sending bank)
  3. 03Message
    Bank Alfa submits the order to SPEIBank Alfa (sending bank) → SPEI (Banco de Mexico)
  4. 04Settlement
    SPEI settles the payment individually, in secondsBank Alfa (sending bank) → Nordbank (receiving bank)
  5. 05Posting
    Nordbank credits Arjun and a CEP is issuedNordbank (receiving bank)
MESSAGECLEARING OBLIGATIONSETTLEMENTPOSTING
Full step-by-step text (works without JavaScript)
  1. 01Message
    Riya instructs Bank Alfa with Arjun's CLABERiya (customer) → Bank Alfa (sending bank)

    Riya asks Bank Alfa to send MXN 2,000.00 to Arjun, addressing the destination account by its CLABE — the 18-digit interbank account number that identifies the bank and the account. Nothing has moved yet; this is a request.

  2. 02Posting
    Bank Alfa validates and debits RiyaBank Alfa (sending bank)

    Bank Alfa checks the format, screens the payment, confirms Riya has the balance, then debits her account. The money has left Riya, but Arjun's bank does not have it yet — the message that follows carries information, not funds.

    • DR Riya's account at Bank Alfa — MXN 2,000.00

    Screening checkpoint: Outbound screening — Screening runs before the order is released, because SPEI settlement is fast and final once it happens.

  3. 03Message
    Bank Alfa submits the order to SPEIBank Alfa (sending bank) → SPEI (Banco de Mexico)

    Bank Alfa sends the payment order to SPEI, which verifies the message and checks the sending bank's digital signature. SPEI processes each order individually as it arrives rather than collecting orders into batches.

  4. 04Settlement
    SPEI settles the payment individually, in secondsBank Alfa (sending bank) → Nordbank (receiving bank)

    Provided Bank Alfa holds enough balance, SPEI settles this one order in central-bank money, moving the amount from Bank Alfa to Nordbank. Settlement is gross (one payment at a time) and typically completes within a few seconds. SPEI never lends or overdraws a participant to make a payment settle.

    • DR Bank Alfa's balance at Banco de Mexico — MXN 2,000.00
    • CR Nordbank's balance at Banco de Mexico — MXN 2,000.00
  5. 05Posting
    Nordbank credits Arjun and a CEP is issuedNordbank (receiving bank)

    Because the interbank leg already settled with finality, Nordbank credits Arjun straight away. A CEP (Comprobante Electronico de Pago) is issued as the electronic confirmation that the payment was received, giving Riya and Arjun proof it landed.

    • CR Arjun's account at Nordbank — MXN 2,000.00

What this simplifies: One payment settling gross by CLABE. Real SPEI operation depends on each participant's intraday balance, queue management, and Banco de Mexico's message and signature rules, which are omitted here.

LEARN THE CONCEPTS BEHIND THIS FLOW

Sources for this flow2
  1. Official requirement

    SPEI (Interbank Electronic Payment System) ↗ — Banco de Mexico

    Describes SPEI, the Interbank Electronic Payment System developed and operated by Banco de Mexico: a real-time gross settlement system that processes payment orders individually, typically settling within seconds; it does not extend credit or overdraw participants, and transfers lacking liquidity are queued until they can be processed. A CEP is issued as confirmation of a received payment. · Checked 2026-07-14

    SPEI settles gross in central bank money and queues payments that lack liquidity rather than overdrawing accounts.

  2. Simplified educational illustration

    Payments Signal editorial teaching models — Payments Signal

    This site's own simplified teaching models. · Checked 2026-07-12

    What this simplifies: Fictional customers and banks and a single low-value transfer; real SPEI carries many participants and payment types, and its exact timing, queue handling, and signature rules are set by Banco de Mexico.

    Used wherever diagrams, scenarios, figures, or example values are didactic constructions rather than sourced facts; every such use carries a simplifications disclosure. All people, companies, banks, and list entries in examples are fictional.