USD to COP: funding and paying out in Colombia
Dollars from the US must be received and converted by a Colombian foreign exchange market intermediary (a bank, SICSFE, SEDPE or other IMC), which credits pesos to bank accounts and wallets through ACH Colombia or instantly through Bre-B, live since October 2025 and running 24/7. The main prefunding constraint is the calendar: ACH and the CUD high-value system run only on business days, and Colombia's many Monday holidays create long weekends that peso balances must cover in advance.
| Origin | United States (USD) |
| Destination | Colombia (COP) |
| Instant rails in Colombia | Bre-B (instant payments) |
| Holiday calendar | Colombia bank holidays 2026 and 2027 |
The market
- Colombia received US$13,098 million in workers' remittances in 2025, up 10.6% (US$1,250 million) on 2024, equal to 2.9% of GDP and 13.2% of balance of payments current receipts. source
- The United States and Spain provide about two thirds of Colombia's remittance inflows; in 2025 remittances from Spain grew by US$362 million and from the United States by US$157 million. source
- The United States sent US$6,298 million to Colombia in 2024, and Banco de la Republica reports that remittances from the United States grew by a further US$157 million in 2025. source
- December 2025 inflows of US$1,173 million were the highest month of 2025; monthly inflows in 2026 have run higher, reaching US$1,225 million in May 2026. source
How recipients get paid
| Method | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| bank account | Nium pays COP to bank accounts at all banks in Colombia over ACH with same-day credit for instructions received by 18:00 UTC (13:00 Bogota), and also pays to Bre-B keys. | source |
| bank account | dLocal supports payouts in Colombia via bank transfers. | source |
| mobile wallet | Bre-B moves money instantly, 24/7, between accounts at banks, cooperatives, digital wallets and fintechs. | source |
Payout rails in Colombia
| Rail | Operator | Hours | Runs on holidays | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bre-B (instant payments) | Banco de la Republica | 24 hours a day, every day, including holidays (full operation since 6 October 2025). | yes | source |
| ACH Colombia (interbank ACH transfers and PSE clearing) | ACH Colombia S.A. | Several clearing cycles on business days; payments after the last cycle roll to the first cycle of the next business day. In December 2025 the last cycle closed at 17:00 on 24 December and no cycles ran on 31 December. | no | source |
| CUD (Sistema de Cuentas de Deposito), high-value RTGS | Banco de la Republica | Funds transfers 07:00 to 20:00 Bogota time on business days. | no | source |
Funding from United States
| Rail | Operator | Hours and cut-offs | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fedwire Funds Service | Federal Reserve Banks | Business day opens 9:00 p.m. ET on the previous calendar day and closes 7:00 p.m. ET. Customer transfer cut-off is 6:45 p.m. ET (banks set earlier cut-offs for their own customers). Closed Saturdays, Sundays and Fed holidays. | source |
| FedACH (including Same Day ACH) | Federal Reserve Banks | Business days only. Same Day ACH transmission deadlines 10:30 a.m., 2:45 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. ET, settling at 1:00, 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. ET. Future-dated items settle 8:30 a.m. ET on the next business day. | source |
| FedNow Service | Federal Reserve Banks | 24 hours a day, every day, including Fed holidays; only between US institutions that have joined the service. | source |
| RTP network | The Clearing House | 24 hours a day, every day, including holidays; only between US institutions that have joined the network. | source |
FX and conversion
- The TRM is the volume-weighted average of same-day-settling USD/COP spot trades made by foreign exchange market intermediaries between 7:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Bogota time. source
- The Superintendencia Financiera calculates and certifies the TRM that applies each day from the previous day's trades; it is a reference rate, and FX deals are struck at freely agreed rates. source
- Colombia's exchange regime is set by Banco de la Republica's Resolucion Externa 1 de 2018; its article 7 lists the intermediaries of the foreign exchange market (banks, financial corporations, financing companies, cooperatives, brokers, SICSFE, SEDPE and others). source
Who pays out in Colombia
| Provider | What they offer here | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Thunes | Launched real-time cross-border payments to and from Colombia through Bre-B in October 2025. | source |
| Nium | Pays COP to bank accounts at all banks in Colombia (ACH, same day subject to an 18:00 UTC cut-off) and to Bre-B proxies. | source |
| dLocal | Supports payouts in Colombia via bank transfers. | source |
| TerraPay with Bancolombia | Signed a contract in 2023 with Bancolombia, which the announcement describes as Colombia's largest remittance player, for cross-border transfers into Colombia. | source |
| TerraPay with Nequi | Partnered with Nequi by Bancolombia in 2023 so Nequi's 17.5 million customers can receive remittances in the app. | source |
| TerraPay with Banco de Bogota | Partnered with Banco de Bogota in 2024 for customers receiving remittances. | source |
Stablecoin routes
| Provider | Route | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bitso Business | Runs Latin American mass payouts from a single balance to bank accounts in major LatAm countries, with currency conversion handled automatically; its seller payouts guide lists Bre-B (to a Bre-B key) or ACH (to a bank account) as Colombia's local rails. | source |
Prefunding this corridor
- Fedwire and FedACH do not run on Saturdays, Sundays or Federal Reserve holidays, so USD funding of a foreign payout partner by wire stops on those days. source
- Under Ley 51 de 1983 (Ley Emiliani) most Colombian public holidays move to the following Monday, creating frequent three-day weekends on which ACH Colombia and the CUD do not run. source
- Bre-B settles 24/7 including holidays, so COP instant payouts continue through long weekends while ACH payouts wait for the next business day. source
- December 2025 inflows (US$1,173 million) were the strongest month of 2025, but 2026 months have run higher, with a peak of US$1,225 million in May 2026, so peso balances need sizing to current monthly volumes rather than a single December peak. source
Size the balance you hold in Colombia for payouts during your top-up lead time plus local closures. Check this corridor's runway and the Colombia holiday calendar.
Regulators
- Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (SFC): States that international transfers (giros) to or from Colombia can only be made through foreign exchange market intermediaries: banks, financing companies, financial cooperatives, brokers, SICSFE, SEDPE and others. source
- Banco de la Republica: Sets the exchange regime (Resolucion Externa 1 de 2018), defines who is a foreign exchange market intermediary, and operates Bre-B and the CUD. source
- US state money transmission regulators (origin side): Sending money from the US needs a money transmitter licence in each state that requires one. At the end of 2024, 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico managed money services licences through NMLS. source
Seeing this corridor in Polynopsis
Polynopsis shows the balance at each Colombia payout partner, bank and wallet next to your USD funding accounts and the transfers in flight between them, and warns before the USD to COP corridor runs dry.
Frequently asked questions
Who can pay out an international transfer in Colombia?
Only foreign exchange market intermediaries (IMC), such as banks, financing companies, financial cooperatives, SICSFE and SEDPE, supervised by the Superintendencia Financiera. A foreign sender works through one of them, directly or via a payout network.
Can COP payouts run on weekends and holidays?
Yes, through Bre-B, which has run 24/7 since 6 October 2025. ACH Colombia and the CUD run only on business days, so ACH payouts and the funding of positions wait for the next business day.
When is the TRM set?
The Superintendencia Financiera certifies each day's TRM from the previous day's same-day-settling spot trades between 7:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Bogota time.
How seasonal is the corridor?
December 2025 was the strongest month of 2025 at US$1,173 million, in a year that totalled US$13,098 million. Monthly inflows in 2026 have run higher, reaching US$1,225 million in May 2026.
Other corridors
Sources
- Informe de la evolucion de la balanza de pagos, IV trimestre de 2025 · Banco de la Republica
- Colombia recibio 13.098 millones de dolares en remesas en 2025 · Migracion Colombia
- Remesas volvieron a superar la inversion extranjera en Colombia por segundo ano consecutivo · El Colombiano
- Payouts to Colombia · Nium Atlas
- Colombia payouts · dLocal
- Thunes launches instant cross-border payments in Colombia (Bre-B) · Thunes
- Bre-B launch announcement · Banco de la Republica
- Horarios fin de ano ACH (participant notice, Dec 2025) · Banco Itau Colombia
- Tarifas y horario de operacion del Sistema de Cuentas de Deposito (CUD) · Banco de la Republica
- Fedwire Funds Service and National Settlement Service Operating Hours · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- FedACH Processing Schedule · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- About the FedNow Service · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- RTP network · The Clearing House
- Antecedentes normativos TRM · Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia
- Tasa de cambio representativa del mercado (TRM) · Banco de la Republica
- Regulacion y operaciones cambiarias: conceptos basicos · Banco de la Republica
- Preguntas frecuentes: remesas y giros · Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia
- 2024 NMLS Money Services Businesses Report · Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS)
- Bancolombia and TerraPay sign contract to strengthen cross-border remittances across Colombia · TerraPay
- TerraPay and Nequi partner to transform remittances in Colombia · TerraPay
- TerraPay partners with Banco de Bogota · TerraPay
- Stablecoins for business payments: seller payouts · Bitso Business
- Holiday Schedules · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- Ley 51 de 1983 (Ley Emiliani), compiled text · Colpensiones normograma
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.