Banco Azteca SWIFT Code: AZTKMXMM

Banco Azteca SWIFT Code: AZTKMXMM

Banco Azteca's SWIFT code is AZTKMXMM — the identifier used by international banks to route wire transfers to Banco Azteca S.A. in Mexico.

What Is the Banco Azteca SWIFT Code?

The Banco Azteca SWIFT code is AZTKMXMM. It is the primary SWIFT/BIC code for Banco Azteca S.A. and applies to international wire transfers sent to Banco Azteca accounts from outside Mexico. You may also see it written as AZTKMXMMXXX — the XXX suffix indicates no specific branch, and both formats are accepted by international sending banks.

CLABE: Required for All Banco Azteca Wire Transfers

As with all Mexican banks, wiring to Banco Azteca requires an 18-digit CLABE — Clave Bancaria Estandarizada. An account number alone is not sufficient. Without a valid CLABE, Banco Azteca will reject the incoming wire.

How Banco Azteca CLABEs are structured:

• Digits 1–3: Bank code — Banco Azteca's is 127
• Digits 4–6: City code for the branch location
• Digits 7–17: Account number
• Digit 18: Control digit (a mathematically derived checksum)

A Banco Azteca CLABE looks like: 127 180 00123456789 4

How to get the CLABE. The recipient must provide their CLABE directly. It is available through Banco Azteca's app, at any Banco Azteca branch or Elektra store, and on account statements. Because many Banco Azteca customers are accustomed to in-person banking rather than digital banking, the recipient may need to visit a branch or Elektra location to obtain their CLABE if they don't have the app set up.

Verifying the CLABE. The 18th digit is a mathematically derived control digit. Online CLABE validators can check whether the code is structurally valid before you initiate the wire — catching transcription errors before they cause a failed transfer.

How to Wire Money from the US to Banco Azteca

To send an international wire from the U.S. to a Banco Azteca account, provide your bank with the following:

• Recipient name: Full legal name, exactly as it appears on the Banco Azteca account
• CLABE: 18-digit CLABE number (from recipient — required)
• SWIFT/BIC code: AZTKMXMM
• Bank name: Banco Azteca S.A., Institución de Banca Múltiple
• Bank address: Insurgentes Sur 3579, Tlalpan, 14430 Ciudad de México, Mexico
• Transfer currency: USD or MXN
• Purpose of transfer: Specific description of the commercial basis for the payment

Mexico's UIF (Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera) requires incoming international wires to declare a purpose. Use specific, documentable language — "contractor payment for construction services — invoice [number]" or "family support transfer" for personal remittances — rather than generic entries. A vague purpose is a reliable trigger for compliance holds before Banco Azteca releases funds.

Banco Azteca: Who Banks There and Why It Matters for Transfers

Banco Azteca is part of Grupo Elektra, the Mexican retail and financial services conglomerate founded by Ricardo Salinas Pliego. Elektra operates a nationwide chain of electronics and appliance stores across Mexico, and Banco Azteca branches are embedded within Elektra stores — giving the bank a massive physical footprint across the country, including in smaller cities and rural areas that larger commercial banks don't serve as deeply.

Banco Azteca's customer base skews toward working-class and lower-income Mexican households — the demographic that has historically been underserved by traditional commercial banks like BBVA Mexico and Banamex. For many Banco Azteca customers, the bank's Elektra store presence is the primary point of financial access.

For U.S. businesses and individuals sending money to Mexico, this matters in a few specific ways:

Remittances to family members. A significant share of U.S.-to-Mexico remittance flows go to recipients who bank with Azteca. If you're sending personal remittances to family members in Mexico who receive their money through Elektra-based financial services, Banco Azteca is likely their bank.

Paying contractors and gig workers. U.S. businesses in construction, agriculture, logistics, and other industries that work with Mexican contractors — particularly those outside major metros — may find that workers bank with Azteca rather than BBVA or Banorte. Knowing how to wire to Banco Azteca correctly prevents payment delays for workers who depend on timely transfers.

USD vs MXN Transfers to Banco Azteca

Wiring USD to a Banco Azteca MXN account. Banco Azteca converts incoming USD to Mexican pesos at its prevailing exchange rate upon receipt. The rate includes a spread above the mid-market rate. Banco Azteca's FX spread may be wider than larger commercial banks like BBVA Mexico or Banorte — it serves a customer base that is less likely to comparison-shop exchange rates. For the recipient, the MXN amount received depends entirely on the rate Azteca applies at the time of processing.

Alternatives if FX costs are high. For U.S.-to-Mexico remittances where cost matters, dedicated remittance services — Remitly, Wise, WorldRemit — often offer better all-in rates than a traditional bank wire to Banco Azteca. These services frequently have cash pickup options at Elektra locations, which may be more accessible for recipients who prefer in-person transactions over account deposits. For business payments where a formal wire record is required, the traditional SWIFT wire through AZTKMXMM remains the appropriate mechanism despite the FX spread.

Common Mistakes When Wiring to Banco Azteca

Missing the CLABE. The single most common error for all Mexican bank wires. An account number alone will not route the wire to the correct account — the 18-digit CLABE is mandatory. Always get the CLABE from the recipient before initiating.

Using the wrong bank name. The correct legal entity name is Banco Azteca S.A., Institución de Banca Múltiple. "Grupo Elektra" is the parent conglomerate — using that name instead of the bank entity can create processing friction at the correspondent bank level. Some senders also write "Azteca Bank" or "Bank Azteca" without the full legal name. Use the exact entity name listed above.

CLABE control digit error. Banco Azteca customers who are less accustomed to digital banking may transcribe their CLABE from memory or from a handwritten note rather than from an official document. A single transposed digit will fail CLABE validation. Encourage recipients to obtain their CLABE from the Banco Azteca app or at an Elektra branch, and to send it to you in writing rather than verbally.

Currency mismatch. If the recipient holds a USD-denominated account at Banco Azteca — less common but available — and you wire MXN, or vice versa, the transfer may be converted at an unfavorable rate or require manual handling. Confirm account currency with the recipient before the first transfer.

How Slash Helps

U.S. businesses paying Mexican contractors, gig workers, or vendors who bank with Banco Azteca face the same operational friction as any Mexico wire workflow — CLABE requirements, FX variability, wire fees per transfer, and UIF compliance declarations — with the additional consideration that Azteca's customer base is less likely to have digital banking access, making CLABE retrieval and communication more involved.

Slash is built for U.S. businesses managing cross-border contractor and vendor networks. For Mexican contractors who can accept card payments, Slash virtual cards let you pay directly without a wire — no CLABE needed, no MXN conversion at Azteca's spread, no multi-day processing window. For wire-dependent payments, Slash's real-time spend tracking records every transaction at initiation with vendor-level categorization, giving your finance team a current view of every Mexico payment without manual reconciliation. Transparent FX rates mean the cost of every cross-border payment is visible before you approve it — not discovered after the fact on a bank statement.