Sending money from the United States to the Dominican Republic: the payments stack
Sending USD 200 from the United States to the Dominican Republic cost 5.11% of the amount on average in Q3 2025, across 27 services in the World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide survey. Payouts in Dominican Republic typically run over Pagos al Instante BCRD, LBTR (Sistema de Liquidación Bruta en Tiempo Real); between now and the end of 2027 there are 10 weekdays when banks in the United States are closed but Dominican Republic keeps paying out, so the payout balance has to be funded before them.
| Average cost to send | 5.11% of USD 200 (Q3 2025, World Bank RPW) source |
| Money transfer operators | 4.04% across 23 services |
| Banks | 11.25% across 4 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 Dominican Republic | Pagos al Instante BCRD, LBTR (Sistema de Liquidación Bruta en Tiempo Real), ACH transfers, SIPA (Sistema de Interconexión de Pagos) |
What it costs to send USD 200
The World Bank surveyed 27 services sending from the United States to the Dominican Republic from 22 July 2025 to 20 August 2025. The average total cost, fees plus the FX margin, was 5.11% of the amount sent; money transfer operators averaged 4.04% and banks 11.25%. 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: the Dominican Republic
| Payout partner | What it does in Dominican Republic | Source |
|---|---|---|
| dLocal · our guide | Pays out in the Dominican Republic by bank transfer in DOP, or in USD when currency_to_pay is USD, for B2C, B2B and P2P flows; beneficiary IDs are 11 digits and RNC numbers are validated against the DGII. | source |
| Nium · our guide | Lists DOP to bank accounts by ACH (same day), DOP by Visa Direct (instant) and foreign currency wires in 10 currencies (T1). | source |
| Localpayment | Pays out DOP to local bank accounts over ACH (13:00 cut-off) and LBTR (14:00 cut-off), both T+1, with documented limits of up to the equivalent of USD 10,000; its page lists a company registration with the Cámara de Comercio y Producción de Santo Domingo. | source |
| Vimenca | Western Union agent with more than 300 offices nationwide; pays remittances in cash, at home, through its Vimencash app or directly to bank accounts. | source |
| Caribe Express | Remittance agent that delivers remittances at branches, by free home delivery nationwide or as deposits to Dominican bank accounts, generally available the same day; branches open on Sundays and holidays. | source |
Licensing, local banks, stablecoin ramps, FX and KYC in Dominican Republic: launching payments in Dominican Republic.
Payout rails in Dominican Republic
| Rail | Operator | What matters for payouts | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pagos al Instante BCRD | Banco Central de la República Dominicana (on the LBTR system) | Real-time transfers in pesos, US dollars and euros, credited within eight minutes, 07:00 to 23:00 every day with a pause from 16:00 to 18:30 Monday to Friday and continuous hours at weekends and on holidays; payments ordered after 23:00 take effect at 07:00 the next day; fees must be a fixed amount, not a percentage. | source |
| LBTR (Sistema de Liquidación Bruta en Tiempo Real) | Banco Central de la República Dominicana | Runs on business days for regular operations and on calendar days for Pagos al Instante; transfers above RD$15,800,000 (or the foreign currency equivalent) must settle in LBTR, and FX trades on the Plataforma Cambiaria BCRD settle there, including payment-versus-payment (instructivo of April 2026). | source |
| ACH transfers | ACH processor | Monday to Friday in bank working hours: transfers made from 08:00 to 13:00 are credited from 14:00 the same day, later ones from 08:00 the next working day, and an ACH transfer can take up to 24 hours (Superintendencia de Bancos ProUsuario guidance). | source |
| SIPA (Sistema de Interconexión de Pagos) | Banco Central de la República Dominicana as institutional manager since 2011 | Transfers funds between clients of financial institutions in the Consejo Monetario Centroamericano countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. | source |
Holiday gaps to plan for, to December 2027
Weekdays when one side of the corridor is closed. On the 10 dates when the United States is closed and the Dominican Republic is open, the payout balance has to already hold enough to cover them. On the 8 dates when Dominican Republic is closed, instant rails may still pay out.
| Date | United States | Dominican Republic | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 9 Nov 2026 | Open | Constitution Day (moved from Friday 6 November) | Dominican Republic banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Wed 11 Nov 2026 | Veterans Day | Open | Prefund Dominican Republic the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Thu 26 Nov 2026 | Thanksgiving Day | Open | Prefund Dominican Republic the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Fri 25 Dec 2026 | Christmas Day | Christmas Day | Both closed |
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | New Year's Day | New Year's Day | Both closed |
| Mon 4 Jan 2027 | Open | Epiphany (moved from Wednesday 6 January) | Dominican Republic banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 18 Jan 2027 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Open | Prefund Dominican Republic the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Thu 21 Jan 2027 | Open | Our Lady of Altagracia | Dominican Republic banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 25 Jan 2027 | Open | Duarte Day (moved from Tuesday 26 January) | Dominican Republic banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 15 Feb 2027 | Washington's Birthday (Presidents Day) | Open | Prefund Dominican Republic the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Fri 26 Mar 2027 | Open | Good Friday | Dominican Republic banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Thu 27 May 2027 | Open | Corpus Christi | Dominican Republic banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 31 May 2027 | Memorial Day | Open | Prefund Dominican Republic the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 5 Jul 2027 | Independence Day (observed) | Open | Prefund Dominican Republic the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Mon 16 Aug 2027 | Open | Restoration Day | Dominican Republic banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 6 Sep 2027 | Labor Day | Open | Prefund Dominican Republic the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Fri 24 Sep 2027 | Open | Our Lady of Mercedes | Dominican Republic banks closed: only always-on rails pay out |
| Mon 11 Oct 2027 | Columbus Day | Open | Prefund Dominican Republic the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Thu 11 Nov 2027 | Veterans Day | Open | Prefund Dominican Republic the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
| Thu 25 Nov 2027 | Thanksgiving Day | Open | Prefund Dominican Republic the day before: no funding from the United States, payouts continue |
Full calendars: United States and Dominican Republic. 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
- Pagos al Instante BCRD pauses from 16:00 to 18:30 on weekdays and closes at 23:00; payments ordered after 23:00 take effect at 07:00 the next day. source
- ACH transfers instructed after 13:00 are credited from 08:00 the next working day, and ACH runs Monday to Friday only. source
- Transfers above RD$15,800,000 must go through LBTR, which runs regular operations on business days only. 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 Dominican Republic and any stablecoin in between. It warns before the Dominican Republic 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 the Dominican Republic?
The World Bank's survey put the average total cost of sending USD 200 at 5.11% in Q3 2025, across 27 services. Money transfer operators averaged 4.04%.
Which rails pay out in Dominican Republic?
Local payouts run over Pagos al Instante BCRD, LBTR (Sistema de Liquidación Bruta en Tiempo Real), ACH transfers, SIPA (Sistema de Interconexión de Pagos).
When do I need to prefund Dominican Republic payouts ahead of holidays?
Between now and December 2027 there are 10 weekdays when the United States is closed and the Dominican Republic 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
- Ministerio de Trabajo informa dias feriados correspondientes al ano 2026 · Ministerio de Trabajo
- Calendario de dias feriados 2026 (notice) · Ministerio de Trabajo
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.