How to Pay Your CFE Bill Online Outside of Mexico
We have seen this question pop up so often in expat forums that we thought we would share two different methods to pay your CFE bill when you are not at your Mexico home. Actually, you may find you use these methods while in Mexico just out of convenience.
METHOD 1: Pay via the CFE website.
Paying on the CFE website is doable even without a Mexican bank account but not all credit cards work. We have found American Express to work thus far.
• Log in to the Mi CFE client area of the CFE site to pay your bill. Google translate can help you if your Spanish is no bueno.
• Your log in info will be your CFE account number and a password you create when you register for the website.
• If you have more than one meter and bill you will need to log out and repeat the steps for each bill payment. You can download your bill on the site as a PDF or sign up for paperless bills to be emailed every two-month billing cycle. (Again, you may need to create a different log in profile for each bill.)
• Choose the pay bill option and follow the onscreen steps making sure to not click away while any payment processes. Use your Mexico property address in the appropriate fields when prompted.
• Keep all receipts that should arrive in your email confirming your payment was successful.
• If your credit card is not accepted by CFE move on to method #2 below …
METHOD 2: Use Xoom (a PayPal product). This is a good “go-to option” if all else fails.
If you have a PayPal account you can pay via Xoom.com quite easily as long as you have your current bill handy. Xoom is also a convenient way to transfer money to people in Mexico when the need arises.
• Follow the instructions once logged into Xoom for paying a bill. They’re quite intuitive. But, the number one tip here is that in order to pay you will need to input the 30 digits above the bar code at the bottom of your bill. Yes…all 30 digits! This contains your account information but also your amount due to CFE. Therefore, you will need to essentially start from scratch each time you pay, as the number will always differ from your last bill. (If you have more than one bill—due to extra meters—you will need to repeat the process.)
• If you do not have access to your paper bill you can log in with your account number on the CFE website and download a PDF or sign up for ebills to be sent to you via the site or the CFE Contigo app. The CFE app can be useful for viewing your balance or emailing bill PDFs to yourself or others.
We hope you find these hints helpful. Once you have discovered the method that works for you we suggest writing it down for next time to make paying your bills easier.
Find more of our lifestyle and leisure tips here.
