Prefunding COP payouts in Colombia
Prefunding payouts in Colombia means holding COP with a payout partner or a local settlement account before transfers are paid, so recipients are paid without waiting for funds to arrive. Payouts run over Bre-B (instant payments) and ACH Colombia. There are 18 weekday bank closures in Colombia in the next 12 months to fund around. The rules and timings below are the ones that decide how much to hold and when to top up.
Funding rules and timing in Colombia
- On Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and days when Banco de la Republica does not provide CUD services, the TRM in force is the one for the next business day, and the TRM is not calculated from trades made on US Federal Reserve bank holidays. source
- Bancolombia negotiates USD rates for company international transfers Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., not on Colombian or US holidays, and same-day settlement needs the request and supporting documents before 4:00 p.m. source
- Under Ley 51 de 1983 (Ley Emiliani) many Colombian holidays that do not fall on a Monday move to the following Monday, creating frequent three-day weekends. source
- Nium's ACH payouts to Colombian bank accounts get same-day credit only for instructions before 18:00 UTC (13:00 Bogota), while its Bre-B proxy payouts are instant. source
The rails that spend the prefund
| Rail | What matters for payouts | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Bre-B (instant payments) | Settlement mechanism launched on 23 September 2025 and running 24/7; controlled operation from 23 September to 5 October 2025 and full operation from 6 October 2025, interoperating five instant payment systems and 227 financial institutions at launch. Payments are capped at 1,000 UVB per transaction. | source |
| ACH Colombia | Interbank transfer network launched in 1997 with Colombian financial institutions; ACH Colombia also runs PSE, which debits savings, current or electronic deposit accounts for online purchases and payments. | source |
| CUD (Sistema de Cuentas de Deposito) | High-value system of accounts at the central bank; funds transfers can be made between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Bogota time. | source |
Where the prefund sits
Money for Colombia payouts is usually held with one or more of these, each a balance to watch. The full shortlist, with sources, is on the Colombia payments stack page.
| Payout partners | Thunes, Nium, dLocal, EBANX, TerraPay with Bancolombia, Cobre |
| Local banking and settlement accounts | Bancolombia, Cobre |
| Stablecoin ramps | Cobre |
Bank closures to fund around
Weekdays in the next 12 months when banks in Colombia are closed. Top up before each one.
| Date | Holiday | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 2 Nov 2026 | All Saints' Day (moved to Monday) | confirmed |
| Mon 16 Nov 2026 | Independence of Cartagena (moved to Monday) | confirmed |
| Tue 8 Dec 2026 | Immaculate Conception | confirmed |
| Fri 25 Dec 2026 | Christmas Day | confirmed |
| Thu 31 Dec 2026 | New Year's Eve (no ACH cycles) | expected |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | New Year's Day | confirmed |
| Mon 11 Jan 2027 | Epiphany (moved to Monday) | confirmed |
| Mon 22 Mar 2027 | Saint Joseph's Day (moved to Monday) | confirmed |
| Thu 25 Mar 2027 | Holy Thursday | confirmed |
| Fri 26 Mar 2027 | Good Friday | confirmed |
| Mon 10 May 2027 | Ascension Day (moved to Monday) | confirmed |
| Mon 31 May 2027 | Corpus Christi (moved to Monday) | confirmed |
| Mon 7 Jun 2027 | Sacred Heart (moved to Monday) | confirmed |
| Mon 5 Jul 2027 | Saints Peter and Paul (moved to Monday) | confirmed |
| Mon 12 Jul 2027 | Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquira (moved to Monday) | expected |
| Tue 20 Jul 2027 | Independence Day | confirmed |
| Mon 16 Aug 2027 | Assumption of Mary (moved to Monday) | confirmed |
| Mon 18 Oct 2027 | Dia de la Raza (moved to Monday) | confirmed |
Full list and notes: Colombia bank holidays.
Corridors into Colombia
| Corridor | Average cost to send | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Spain to Colombia | 5.48% | Q3 2025 |
| United States to Colombia | 4.96% | Q3 2025 |
Costs are World Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide averages for sending the equivalent of US$200.
Size the prefund
Hold enough COP to cover payouts for your lead time plus every closure in that window, then top up when runway drops below target. The corridor runway calculator does the arithmetic; the glossary explains prefunding, corridor runway and liquidity buffers.
Where Polynopsis fits
Polynopsis shows the COP balance at every partner and account that funds Colombia payouts, next to the payouts expected against it and the top-ups already in flight, and warns before the corridor runs dry, including ahead of Colombia bank holidays.
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.
About Polynopsis
Polynopsis is liquidity management software for cross-border payment companies. The name joins poly, many, and synopsis, a seeing together: one live view of money spread across many banks, payout partners, exchanges and stablecoin wallets, including money in flight, with a warning before any corridor runs dry.
Why it is called Polynopsis · About Polynopsis · Glossary · Corridor runway calculator