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 Blog
Money, explained.
Practical guides to payments, currencies, and investing. Understand what happens to your money, at home and across borders.
Currencies
Dollar accounts: your options and how they differ
A dollar account can be a local deposit, a bank abroad, an app with a partner bank, or a stablecoin. Who holds the money and what protects it.
Digital dollars in Brazil: what they are and buying with Pix
What a digital dollar is, why it is not Drex, what Brazil’s 2026 rules changed, and how to buy one with Pix in Lex, including the full cost in and out.
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.
Crypto, MEP, and blue dollars in Argentina, compared
What the crypto dollar is, how it differs from the official, MEP, and blue dollars, what you actually hold on each route, and how to buy with Lex.
What Drex is, and how it differs from a stablecoin
Drex is the Banco Central do Brasil’s digital real project: where the pilot stands, how it differs from Pix and a dollar stablecoin, and a scam to avoid.
Investing
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.
How to check your Afore balance and what it may pay
Find out which Afore you are in, check your balance in minutes, read your statement, and estimate how much you could have when you retire in Mexico.
Voluntary contributions to your Afore, explained
The types of voluntary Afore contributions, how much you can deduct from your taxes, how to make them, and how to test the amount before you start.
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.
Payments
Sending money home with Lex
Compare Lex, Western Union, and MoneyGram by total cost, usable money received, timing, and cash-pickup needs.
How to get paid in dollars by clients abroad
The three ways to receive dollars from foreign clients, what to put on the invoice, Form W-8BEN, and how to receive client payments with Lex.
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.
Pix scams: how to spot them and ask for your money back
The most common Pix scams, what to do with a Pix sent to you by mistake, how the MED refund mechanism works, and the first steps if you were scammed.
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.
Bre-B: what it is, how keys work, and how fast it is
What Colombia’s Bre-B instant payment system is, how to create and choose a key, its limits and fees, common scams, and how it works with Lex.
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.
Your wallet
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.
Which network to send USDC on, and how not to lose it
Why USDC exists on many blockchains, why addresses that look alike can mislead, a checklist before you send, and what to do after a mistake.
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.