How to save in US dollars from Mexico, Brazil, or Argentina
Four ways to hold dollars without a US bank account, what each one really is, what it costs to get in and out, and how to do it step by step in Lex.
Lex Team
The Lex Team is the author named on the Lex guides to payments, currencies, and investing.
The team behind Lex
Lex is a small team focused on making assets easier to understand and transactions easier to review.
How the guides are made
Lex prepares the guides with the help of AI tools from the primary sources linked in each guide, and checks product descriptions against the app. A person’s name appears on a guide only after that person has read it and agreed to be named.
Guides published
Stablecoins: what backs the dollars, euros, and pesos you hold
What a stablecoin is, who issues USDC and currency stablecoins, why they are not bank deposits, and how to use them for money you will need soon.
Ripio’s local-currency stablecoins
What wARS and the broader wFIAT family do, how backing and redemption differ from market prices, and what Lex supports.
How DeFi can improve currency exchange
Understand Aerodrome, Uniswap v4, liquidity, price impact, and the amount you actually receive from a currency conversion.
How to start investing with little money
What to put in place first, why small regular amounts work, how fees hit small purchases hardest, and how to make a first purchase from $5 in Lex.
Before you invest: what you own, what it costs, and how to access your money
Five questions before investing: the instrument, who stands behind it, who can move it, every cost, and how you access your money. Applied step by step to Lex.
How to invest in US companies from Mexico, Brazil, or Argentina
Compare the real routes to Apple, Microsoft, or NVIDIA from Latin America: CEDEARs, BDRs, Mexico’s SIC, a US brokerage account, and tokenized stocks in Lex.
How to invest in government bonds: CETES, Tesouro, US Treasuries
How government bonds pay, what can go wrong, how to buy them directly in Mexico, Brazil, and the United States, and how bond tokens work in Lex.
Tokenized stocks: what you hold and which rights you get
What stock-token buyers hold, how issuers’ products differ, why holder rights have conditions, and how dividends are handled.
Futures, perpetuals, and leverage: useful tools, poor defaults
How futures and perpetuals help sophisticated hedgers, why leverage magnifies losses, and why unleveraged equities or broad index funds are simpler defaults.
Prediction markets are a poor foundation for investing
What Kalshi and Polymarket research says about trading losses, concentrated profits, fees, and why event bets are a poor long-term investment foundation.
Memecoins and social trading: who earns from the activity?
Examine Pump.fun wallet-loss data, Fomo’s social trading features, and how transaction fees can reward platforms even when traders lose money.
Sending money home with Lex
Compare Lex, Western Union, and MoneyGram by total cost, usable money received, timing, and cash-pickup needs.
International wires—and the Lex alternative
Understand correspondent banks, conversion costs, and how local transfers plus stablecoins can offer another route.
Pix: Brazil’s everyday payment system
Understand Pix keys, QR codes, timing, and how a local payment in Brazilian reais fits into a supported Lex transfer.
SPEI: moving money in Mexico
A practical guide to CLABE numbers, SPEI references, tracking keys, payment receipts, and Mexican peso transfers with Lex.
Argentina’s bank and wallet transfers
CBU, CVU, aliases, immediate transfers, and the difference between receiving pesos in an account and holding a peso stablecoin.
ACH: understanding US bank transfers
Why an ACH transfer can stay pending, how business days and bank holidays affect it, and what to check when funding Lex.
US wire transfers: when speed matters
Understand domestic US wires: the account details to enter, bank cutoffs, and the tradeoff between speed and total cost.
FedNow: instant payments in the US
What FedNow means for everyday payments, which questions to ask your bank, and why it does not imply instant Lex funding.
SEPA: sending euros across Europe
Understand IBANs, ordinary and instant euro transfers, what they cost, and how to check the SEPA route available in Lex.
Faster Payments: sending pounds in the UK
Sort codes, account numbers, bank limits, how long a payment takes, and the role of a UK pound transfer in a supported Lex journey.
QR payments with stablecoins
What a payment QR contains, why a Pix QR is not a stablecoin QR, and how to request, scan, review, and send supported assets with Lex.
Self-custodial wallets: your assets, your control
Compare self-custodial wallets and custodial platforms. Learn how Lex uses Turnkey for user control, separate wallets, and supported asset transfers.
Self-custody and taxes: simpler with the right records
Learn how tax software imports wallet activity, why cost basis matters, and how to organize Lex records without giving anyone control of your assets.