Sending money from the United States to Colombia: the payments stack
Sending USD 200 from the United States to Colombia cost 4.96% of the amount on average in Q3 2025, across 39 services in the World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide survey. Payouts in Colombia typically run over Bre-B (instant payments), ACH Colombia; between now and the end of 2027 there are 8 weekdays when banks in the United States are closed but Colombia keeps paying out, so the payout balance has to be funded before them.
| Average cost to send | 4.96% of USD 200 (Q3 2025, World Bank RPW) source |
| Money transfer operators | 4.7% across 34 services |
| Banks | 6.71% across 5 services |
| Collect in United States | FedNow Service, FedNow network limit, RTP network, Fedwire Funds Service, FedACH and Same Day ACH, Same Day ACH limit |
| Pay out in Colombia | Bre-B (instant payments), ACH Colombia, CUD (Sistema de Cuentas de Deposito) |
| Corridor playbook | USD to COP: funding and prefunding |
What it costs to send USD 200
The World Bank surveyed 39 services sending from the United States to Colombia from 13 August 2025 to 26 August 2025. The average total cost, fees plus the FX margin, was 4.96% of the amount sent; money transfer operators averaged 4.7% and banks 6.71%. source
Bank and operator averages are worked out from the survey's provider types.
The send side: the United States
- With few exceptions, each money services business must register with the US Treasury through FinCEN by filing FinCEN Form 107 within 180 days of being established, and must renew the registration every two years; a business that is an MSB only because it acts as agent of another MSB does not register. source
- Money transmission is also licensed state by state. As of September 2026, 31 states have enacted the CSBS Money Transmission Modernization Act in full or in part, and money transmitters licensed in at least one adopting state account for 99% of reported money transmission activity. source
- The Money Transmission Modernization Act sets a minimum tangible net worth of the greater of US$100,000 or 3% of total assets for the first US$100 million, 2% of assets from US$100 million to US$1 billion and 0.5% of assets above US$1 billion, and encourages states to run licensing, surety bonds and reporting through NMLS. source
Licences, sponsor banks, collections, ramps and KYC providers: sending from the United States.
The payout side: Colombia
| Payout partner | What it does in Colombia | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Thunes · our guide | Launched real-time cross-border payments to and from Colombia through Bre-B in October 2025, as part of its Direct Global Network. | source |
| Nium · our guide | Pays COP to bank accounts at all banks in Colombia over ACH, with same-day credit subject to an 18:00 UTC cut-off, and instantly to Bre-B proxies. | source |
| dLocal · our guide | Supports payouts in Colombia in COP via bank transfers. | source |
| EBANX | Pays out in Colombia to Nequi and by Bre-B (published SLA under 2 minutes each) and by bank transfer (up to 3 days), as cross-border operations. | source |
| TerraPay with Bancolombia | Signed a contract with Bancolombia (announced in 2023) for cross-border transfers into Colombia; the announcement describes Bancolombia as the largest payer of remittances in Colombia, paying US$5,692 million of the US$9,429 million that arrived in 2022. | source |
| Cobre | Colombian business payments platform that sends dispersals to any bank account or digital wallet in Colombia through Fast Pay (credit in 6 minutes or less in business hours) and Bre-B (24/7, 365 days a year). | source |
Licensing, local banks, stablecoin ramps, FX and KYC in Colombia: launching payments in Colombia.
Payout rails in Colombia
| Rail | Operator | What matters for payouts | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bre-B (instant payments) | Banco de la Republica | 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 | ACH Colombia S.A. | 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) | Banco de la Republica | 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 |
Holiday gaps to plan for, to December 2027
Weekdays when one side of the corridor is closed. On the 8 dates when the United States is closed and Colombia is open, the payout balance has to already hold enough to cover them. On the 18 dates when Colombia is closed, instant rails may still pay out.
| Date | United States | Colombia | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 2 Nov 2026 | Open | All Saints' Day (moved to Monday) | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Wed 11 Nov 2026 | Veterans Day | Open | Prefund Colombia the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 16 Nov 2026 | Open | Independence of Cartagena (moved to Monday) | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Thu 26 Nov 2026 | Thanksgiving Day | Open | Prefund Colombia the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Tue 8 Dec 2026 | Open | Immaculate Conception | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 25 Dec 2026 | Christmas Day | Christmas Day | Both closed |
| Thu 31 Dec 2026 | Open | New Year's Eve (no ACH cycles) | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | New Year's Day | New Year's Day | Both closed |
| Mon 11 Jan 2027 | Open | Epiphany (moved to Monday) | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 18 Jan 2027 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Open | Prefund Colombia the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 15 Feb 2027 | Washington's Birthday (Presidents Day) | Open | Prefund Colombia the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 22 Mar 2027 | Open | Saint Joseph's Day (moved to Monday) | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Thu 25 Mar 2027 | Open | Holy Thursday | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 26 Mar 2027 | Open | Good Friday | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 10 May 2027 | Open | Ascension Day (moved to Monday) | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 31 May 2027 | Memorial Day | Corpus Christi (moved to Monday) | Both closed |
| Mon 7 Jun 2027 | Open | Sacred Heart (moved to Monday) | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 5 Jul 2027 | Independence Day (observed) | Saints Peter and Paul (moved to Monday) | Both closed |
| Mon 12 Jul 2027 | Open | Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquira (moved to Monday) | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Tue 20 Jul 2027 | Open | Independence Day | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 16 Aug 2027 | Open | Assumption of Mary (moved to Monday) | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 6 Sep 2027 | Labor Day | Open | Prefund Colombia the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 11 Oct 2027 | Columbus Day | Open | Prefund Colombia the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 18 Oct 2027 | Open | Dia de la Raza (moved to Monday) | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 1 Nov 2027 | Open | All Saints' Day | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Thu 11 Nov 2027 | Veterans Day | Open | Prefund Colombia the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 15 Nov 2027 | Open | Independence of Cartagena (moved to Monday) | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Thu 25 Nov 2027 | Thanksgiving Day | Open | Prefund Colombia the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Wed 8 Dec 2027 | Open | Immaculate Conception | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Fri 31 Dec 2027 | Open | New Year's Eve (no ACH cycles) | Colombia banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
Full calendars: United States and Colombia. Size the buffer with the corridor runway calculator.
Funding the corridor
- Fedwire does not run on Saturdays, Sundays or Federal Reserve holidays; the Monday business day opens at 9:00 p.m. ET on Sunday and every business day closes at 7:00 p.m. ET, with customer transfers cut off at 6:45 p.m. ET. source
- Federal Reserve holidays in the rest of 2026 are Veterans Day (11 November), Thanksgiving (26 November) and Christmas (Friday 25 December); in 2027, Juneteenth (19 June) and Christmas (25 December) fall on Saturdays, so the Reserve Banks open on the Friday before. source
- 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
Running the corridor
Polynopsis shows every balance on both sides of this corridor in one live position: the collection accounts in United States, the payout partners and banks in Colombia and any stablecoin in between. It warns before the Colombia balance runs dry, holidays included. See how it works.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to send money from the United States to Colombia?
The World Bank's survey put the average total cost of sending USD 200 at 4.96% in Q3 2025, across 39 services. Money transfer operators averaged 4.7%.
Which rails pay out in Colombia?
Local payouts run over Bre-B (instant payments), ACH Colombia, CUD (Sistema de Cuentas de Deposito).
When do I need to prefund Colombia payouts ahead of holidays?
Between now and December 2027 there are 8 weekdays when the United States is closed and Colombia is open, the first on Wed 11 Nov 2026. The payout balance has to cover those days before they start.
Related corridors
Sources
- World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide dataset · World Bank
- Holiday Schedules (Federal Reserve Banks, 2026 to 2030, plus FedACH holiday processing) · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- Fedwire Funds Service and National Settlement Service Operating Hours · Federal Reserve Financial Services
- Ley 51 de 1983 (Ley Emiliani), compiled text · Colpensiones normograma (official compilation)
- Tarifas y horario de operacion del Sistema de Cuentas de Deposito (CUD) · Banco de la Republica
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.