The 'casharon': Profeco cancels 'cashless' bracelets and their commissions at Ocesa festivals and events

Will we now pay “the old-fashioned way” for that “beer” at concerts and sporting events ? César Iván Escalante Ruiz , head of the Federal Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco), announced at President Claudia Sheinbaum’s Mañanera del Pueblo a new agreement with Ocesa so that they stop selling cashless bracelets and charging commissions for reimbursement and preloading.

A few days ago, Escalante explained that there was a “gap in the law” with these bracelets used to avoid the use of cash at events through a pre-loading system, since it implied “ paying to consume ”: “it has a price, it is branded with the event logo, you are giving it promotion... plus they charge you to return your money.”

According to the head of Profeco , “at festivals and events they cannot charge you to exercise the right to consume.”

Escalante Ruíz mentioned this morning that, after reviewing the situation with the cashless bracelets , they saw that the bank that gives the brand to this system only acts as a sponsor, so they contacted the company Ocesa : “we reached an agreement that at the events and festivals in which they operate they will no longer sell the device .” The commission for preloading the bracelets or refunding the money will not be charged either.

So these bracelets will no longer be at events such as the Mexico City Grand Prix , NASCAR CUP 2025 , Vive Latino , Tecate Emblema, Arre, Corona Capital , Flow Fest and EDC Mexico 2025 .

Escalante explained that the agreement began with the EDC 2025 festival , which took place from February 21 to 23 in Mexico City: “What they told us was that they were already gradually removing some fees. While three or four years ago they charged for charges, pre-loading and refunds, they had already removed some of them.”

In addition, Profeco also asked Ocesa to shorten the waiting time for refunds, which can even reach more than 10 days.