How Colombian exporters receive USD from US buyers

The rule: export proceeds go through the exchange market

Colombia's central bank, the Banco de la República (Banrep), sets the foreign exchange rules for exporters in Resolución Externa 1 de 2018 and in its operating manual, Circular Reglamentaria Externa DCIP-83. Chapter 4 of DCIP-83 says that residents must channel through the exchange market (mercado cambiario) the foreign currency from their exports of goods, including currency received in cash directly from the foreign buyer, within six months of receiving it. The rule covers both completed exports and advance payments for future exports (Banrep, DCIP-83, Chapter 4).

Channeling means one of two things:

• Through an IMC. An IMC (intermediario del mercado cambiario) is a financial institution authorized to deal in foreign exchange, such as a Colombian bank. The exporter brings the dollars to the IMC, usually by selling them for pesos, and gives the IMC the declaración de cambio.
• Through a cuenta de compensación. This is a foreign currency bank account at a financial institution abroad that the exporter has registered with Banrep. Its monthly movement report takes the place of the declaración de cambio.

The declaración de cambio (exchange declaration) is the set of minimum data about each foreign exchange operation that the exporter gives to the IMC: who exported, the currency, the amounts and an exchange code called a numeral cambiario. Banrep calls it "la información de los datos mínimos" of the operation.

Source: Banco de la República, DCIP-83, Chapter 4: Exportaciones de bienes, as read on 21 October 2026.

These Chapter 4 rules apply to exports of goods. Chapter 10 of DCIP-83 covers services, transfers and other items separately: residents may buy and sell foreign currency for those operations through an IMC, giving the matching declaration (Banrep, DCIP-83, Chapter 10). A company that sells both goods and services should treat the two flows separately.

Where a Colombian exporter can hold US dollars

Most Colombian exporters cannot keep a dollar balance at a Colombian bank. DCIP-83 Chapter 10 lists who authorized IMCs may take foreign currency deposits from: non-residents; diplomatic missions and their staff; multilateral organizations and their staff; entities running international technical cooperation programs with the government; international transport companies, travel and tourism agencies, free-zone warehouses and port and airport service providers; certain trust companies; and liquidity providers to foreign exchange settlement systems (Banrep, DCIP-83, Chapter 10.4.1). A manufacturer or farm exporter is not on that list.

That leaves three practical setups.

Source: Banrep DCIP-83, Chapter 4, Chapter 8 and Chapter 10, as read on 21 October 2026.

Cuentas de compensación

Chapter 8 lets residents run operations that must be channeled through the exchange market via foreign currency bank accounts at financial institutions abroad, provided the account is registered with Banrep under the compensation mechanism. The rules are strict on timing (Banrep, DCIP-83, Chapter 8):

• Register the account directly with Banrep no later than the calendar month after the first operation that had to be channeled.
• Send the Informe de Movimientos de Cuenta de Compensación (monthly movement report) for each month within the following calendar month, through Banrep's Sistema de Información Cambiaria, even when the account had no movements.
• A report sent after the monthly deadline counts as late. If no report is sent for six consecutive calendar months, the reports are treated as not filed.
• Only the holder's own operations may pass through the account, with a few listed exceptions.

USD account details in the United States, in the company's own name, let a US buyer pay by ACH or Fedwire as a domestic payment. Helm provides such details, with a routing and account number that receive ACH, Fedwire and SWIFT payments; funds can be held in dollars or converted. Helm is a financial technology company, not a bank, and accounts are held with regulated partner institutions. A Colombian company that uses any account abroad for goods export proceeds should follow the Chapter 8 registration and reporting rules above. See USD account details for Colombian exporters.

Payment aggregators

Chapter 4 has its own rules for proveedores de servicios de pago agregadores (payment aggregators). If a resident aggregator handles the export payment, it channels the dollars through an IMC and files a daily aggregated declaration on the exporter's behalf. If a non-resident aggregator pays the exporter, the credit to the exporter's peso account counts as the declaración de cambio, and a credit to a compensation account is covered by the monthly report (Banrep, DCIP-83, Chapter 4.6). Ask any provider which of these rules it operates under before you rely on it.

The declaración de cambio, field by field

When you sell export dollars to your bank, the bank captures the declaración de cambio in its own format and transmits it to Banrep. The date of the declaration is the day you sell the currency to the IMC. The table shows the main fields Chapter 4.7 requires (Banrep, DCIP-83, Chapter 4.7).

Source: Banco de la República, DCIP-83, Chapter 4.7, as read on 21 October 2026.

Numerales you will meet most

• 1040: "Reintegro por exportaciones de bienes diferentes de café, carbón, ferroníquel, petróleo y sus derivados, pagadas con divisas", reimbursement of goods exports other than coffee, coal, ferronickel and oil, paid in foreign currency.
• 1043: reimbursement more than 12 months after the date of the final export declaration, financed by the exporter.
• 1060: payment of goods exports in Colombian pesos. If a foreign buyer pays in pesos from its own peso account, the exporter must give the declaration to the IMC within five business days of the credit.
• 1046: reimbursement of goods exports paid in foreign currency through payment aggregators.

Exporters may give buyers credit terms. Where reimbursement takes place within 12 months of the final export declaration, the exporter uses the numeral that matches the goods in Annex 1; after 12 months, numeral 1043 applies. Export credit given to buyers does not have to be reported to Banrep.

What account details to put on an invoice

Colombian banks do not use IBAN numbers. A US buyer paying a Colombian bank needs the bank's SWIFT code, the account number and the account holder's full name; Bancolombia, for example, asks customers to give senders its SWIFT code COLOCOBM, their full name and their account number (Bancolombia). SWIFT is the global messaging network banks use for cross-border payments.

Source: Bancolombia, recibir giros del exterior; Bancolombia Empresas, giros internacionales; as published on 21 October 2026.

The charges instruction decides who pays bank fees on a SWIFT wire. Bancolombia describes three options: the beneficiary bears all intermediary bank costs, which are deducted from the payment; the sender pays the commission, which covers Bancolombia's correspondent abroad, while charges from other banks may still be deducted; or the sender pays and insures the charges, which guarantees the beneficiary's bank receives the full amount (Bancolombia). In SWIFT terms these are BEN, SHA and OUR.

Worked example

A flower grower in Rionegro, Antioquia ships 36,000 US dollars of cut flowers FOB to an importer in Miami on 30-day terms. The account number is a placeholder.

Field rules from Banrep DCIP-83, Chapter 4; bank details from Bancolombia; as read on 21 October 2026.

Arrival times, cut-offs and holidays

A dollar payment from the United States crosses two calendars. On the US side, the Fedwire Funds Service day opens at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the previous calendar day and closes at 7:00 p.m. ET, with a 6:45 p.m. ET cut-off for customer transfers (Federal Reserve Financial Services). On the Colombian side, Bancolombia's business clients can negotiate the rate to sell or buy US dollars through its Sucursal Virtual Empresas from Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., for 1 to 249,999 US dollars per transaction, except on Colombian or US holidays (Bancolombia). A wire that lands on a US holiday may be credited, but you cannot convert it online that day.

Source: Federal Reserve Financial Services; Bancolombia Empresas; Banrep DCIP-83, Chapter 4; Chapter 8; as published on 21 October 2026.

Holidays

Colombia's public holidays are set by Ley 51 de 1983. Several holidays move to the following Monday when they do not fall on a Monday, including 6 January, 1 November and 11 November; if they fall on a Sunday, the rest day also moves to Monday (Ley 51 de 1983). US payment systems follow the Federal Reserve schedule; when a holiday falls on a Sunday, the Federal Reserve Banks close the following Monday (Federal Reserve K.8).

Source: Ley 51 de 1983, dates calculated from its rules; Federal Reserve holiday schedule K.8; as read on 21 October 2026.

Fees as published by the main options

The cost of collecting from a US buyer has three parts: fees to receive, the margin when dollars are sold for pesos, and deductions by intermediary banks on SWIFT wires. The table lists only figures each provider publishes on its own site for Colombian businesses or for all customers.

Source: providers' own pages, as published on 21 October 2026: Bancolombia Empresas, Wise Business Colombia, Payoneer pricing, Airwallex eligible countries.

The TRM (tasa representativa del mercado) is the daily representative market rate for the peso against the dollar. Compare the rate your bank gives you with the TRM on the same day to see the margin you pay. Helm's fees are agreed with your account manager; speak to the team.

Documents a Colombian exporter needs

Keep these documents for each shipment and payment. Banrep's rules make the exporter responsible for holding the evidence, and the control authorities can ask for it.

Source: Banrep DCIP-83, Chapter 4; Chapter 8; Bancolombia Empresas; as read on 21 October 2026.

To open accounts, banks and providers also ask for the company's registration and tax documents, including its NIT, and identification for its legal representative and owners.

Exporters that also import can use the same dollars to pay suppliers abroad. See how exporters use Helm for collections and supplier payments, and how to pay suppliers in Colombia for the US buyer's side. Mexican peers face different rules; compare them in the Mexico country guide.

Questions

References

1. Banco de la República: Circular Reglamentaria Externa DCIP-83, Chapter 4, Exportaciones de bienes
2. Banco de la República: Circular Reglamentaria Externa DCIP-83, Chapter 8, Cuentas de compensación
3. Banco de la República: Circular Reglamentaria Externa DCIP-83, Chapter 10, Generalidades del mercado cambiario
4. Ley 51 de 1983, días de descanso remunerado (festivos)
5. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System: Holidays Observed (K.8)
6. Federal Reserve Financial Services: Fedwire Funds Service operating hours
7. Bancolombia Empresas: Giros internacionales
8. Wise Business: Fees for getting paid, businesses in Colombia

This guide is general information for businesses, not financial, legal or tax advice. Rules, fees and timings were checked against the sources listed on the review date and may change.