Track your spending in Mexico, in pesos and in dollars

Earning in dollars, spending in pesos

Every expense is saved in the currency you paid in: rent stays in pesos, a software subscription stays in dollars. Separately, you choose a display currency for totals and budgets, and you can switch it any time without touching a single expense.

• To convert, Kesef uses an international exchange rate from the day you log the expense, and keeps it fixed. A closed month doesn't change size when the peso moves.
• In English the app writes both currencies with "$", so it's worth glancing at the currency code when you mix them; in this page's examples they're labeled MXN and USD.
• If your phone's region is Mexico, Kesef starts with the peso as your main currency; with your region set to the US, it starts with the dollar. Either can be changed from your Profile.

"Meses sin intereses", explained for newcomers

Mexican credit cards let you split many purchases into equal monthly payments with no interest, known as MSI (meses sin intereses): a TV over 12 months, a flight over 3. They're convenient, and they add up quietly, because each new plan starts charging alongside the old ones.

In Kesef you log the purchase once, with the full price, your credit card and the number of months. It creates every monthly payment right away, one per month, splits the total to the cent and reminds you the day before each one at 10 a.m. If you upload your card statement as a PDF with Kesef Pro, a line like "3 de 12" adds that payment and the ones still to come.

infoKesef doesn't know your card's statement closing date and doesn't calculate interest: it shows how much of the coming months is already committed.

OXXO, SPEI and cash: what to log by hand

A lot of everyday money in Mexico moves outside cards: cash at the market, a payment at OXXO, a SPEI transfer to your landlord or roommate. Kesef can't see your bank, so those go in by voice or by hand, and it takes seconds: "groceries, 850" with a peso account is MXN 850.

When you share a flat, a group is easier than tracking transfers: you each log what you paid, and Kesef keeps the balance of who owes whom.

Mercado Pago, logged on its own with Kesef Pro

Mercado Pago works in Mexico and it's the one account Kesef can bring in on its own. With Kesef Pro you connect it once, and your QR payments, purchases and transfers show up with the merchant and a suggested category. Kesef can't pay, transfer or move your money, and an installment purchase made through Mercado Pago comes in as one movement for the total.

Examples in pesos and dollars

• ExampleA phone on 6 interest-free months at LiverpoolYou buy a MXN 9,000 phone at Liverpool on 6 MSI with your credit card. You log it once, and Kesef puts MXN 1,500 in this month and in each of the next five.
• ExampleYour share of the CFE bill, by SPEIYou send your roommate MXN 640 by SPEI for half the CFE bill. Log it in your shared group and Kesef keeps track of who owes whom.
• ExampleA snack paid at OXXOYou pay MXN 89 at OXXO with your Spin by OXXO account. Spin is on the list of payment methods Kesef suggests in Mexico, so adding it takes one tap.
• ExampleA tool billed in dollarsA design tool charges you USD 20 a month. You add it as a recurring expense in dollars, and your monthly total in pesos includes it converted at that day's rate.

Mexican banks and bills, already on the list

When Kesef sees you're in Mexico, from your currency or your phone's time zone, it suggests local payment methods with their logos, including Mercado Pago, Spin by OXXO, Nu, BBVA and Banorte, plus Visa, Mastercard and American Express. For recurring bills it offers Telcel, izzi and CFE, among others; you add the amount and the category.

infoChoosing BBVA or Nu only names how you paid. Kesef has no access to those accounts.

Everything else Kesef does

• Category budgets that tell you how much you can spend per day until the period ends.
• Savings goals with their contributions.
• Groups to split expenses with an invite link, free for everyone who joins.
• Recurring expenses, like a subscription, that repeat on their own.
• A calendar with what you spent each day and what's coming.
• A Chat you can ask about your own spending.

Downloading and using Kesef is free, on iPhone and Android. Kesef Pro is an optional subscription that removes ads and limits, and you see its price in the store before subscribing.

More on these features

• Track spending across currencies without doing the maths yourselfHow Kesef handles several currencies.
• Track your card instalments: each one in its monthInstallments in Kesef, from purchase to last payment.
• Your Mercado Pago spending, logged on its ownThe Mercado Pago connection, in detail.
• Import your card statement and log the whole month at onceWhat Kesef reads from a card statement.