27 of the 51 operating banks in Mexico will use the CoDi digital payments platform set up by Banco de México by the end of September, the president of the banking association Luis Rivera told El Economista.

Although only two banks, Banco del Bajío SA Institución de Banca Múltiple and Banregio Grupo Financiero SA de CV, are currently testing the digital payments system, more are expected to join in the upcoming months, the report said.

Rivera also noted they were trying to bring every telephone company on board, in order to boost the distribution power of financial services to be offered through mobile channels.

The state-run initiative relies on QR and NFC technologies in an attempt to foster financial inclusion in the country, where barely 40% of adults currently hold a bank account.

While several large tech players have expressed interest in taking part, some key industry players have claimed they are being left out, as the regulator requires users to tie in a traditional bank account, and not just digital accounts as offered by fintechs.

"Technology could drive faster adoption if fintechs and virtual wallets could participate without using a bank account," MercadoPago CEO Osvaldo Giménez, a subsidiary within MercadoLibre Inc., said in a recent interview.