How to pay suppliers in Colombia from the US

Pay in pesos or in US dollars?

Colombian suppliers that sell abroad usually invoice in US dollars (USD). Some smaller suppliers prefer Colombian pesos (COP), because their costs, payroll and taxes are in pesos and a USD invoice leaves them exposed to the exchange rate.

Colombia has no official exchange rate. The Banco de la República (Colombia's central bank) states that the market sets the rate, and a company buying or selling dollars can compare the rates offered by different intermediaries. In practice this means:

• USD invoice. You send dollars. The supplier's bank converts them to pesos at the rate it offers that day, and the supplier carries the exchange risk.
• COP invoice. You fix the peso amount and carry the exchange risk. You need a bank or payment provider that can deliver pesos, and the payment must still pass through Colombia's exchange market because it pays for exported goods.

Whichever currency you choose, write it on the purchase order with the amount and the charge terms, so the invoice, the wire and the supplier's exchange report all show the same figures.

Source: Banco de la República, basic concepts of the exchange regime, as published on 21 October 2026.

Exchange market channeling and the supplier's declaration

Colombia separates foreign exchange transactions into two groups. Some must be channeled through the exchange market (canalización obligatoria): the currency must be bought, sold or transferred through a licensed exchange market intermediary (Intermediario del Mercado Cambiario, IMC) or through a compensation account. Others belong to the free market. The Banco de la República lists imports and exports of goods first among the operations that must be channeled. Exports of services, by contrast, belong to the free market.

IMCs include banks, financial corporations, financing companies, Bancóldex, stockbrokers and specialized electronic deposit and payment companies (SEDPEs). A compensation account is a bank account abroad in the name of a Colombian resident that has been registered with the Banco de la República. Once registered, it can receive payments for exported goods.

When your payment arrives, the supplier gives its bank the minimum data of the exchange operation: who paid, how much, and for what, identified by an exchange code (numeral cambiario) for exports of goods. The Banco de la República's pages also call this report a declaración de cambio (exchange declaration). Your role is to make it easy: a clear reference with the invoice number lets the supplier match your wire to its export.

Three rules from the Banco de la República matter for a US buyer:

1. Six months to channel. Only exports of goods carry a general period of six months from receipt to channel the currency through the exchange market.
2. Discounts are allowed. If you pay less than the export declaration value for a justified reason, such as a prompt payment or volume discount, the supplier does not need to inform the central bank, but it must keep the documents that justify the difference.
3. No netting. Each operation that must be channeled has to be negotiated separately. A supplier cannot offset what you owe for goods against a loan or another obligation between you.

The central bank does not ask for supporting documents when the operation happens, but residents must keep documents proving the amount, terms and origin of funds, and present them if the authorities ask. If the supplier asks for a copy of your SWIFT confirmation, send it.

When the supplier asks to be paid in the US

Some Colombian exporters hold a dollar account in the US or in Panama and ask buyers to pay there. This is legal when the account is registered with the Banco de la República as a compensation account. The central bank gives the example of a Colombian company that receives export payments and pays its own imports through an account in Panama, which must be registered as a compensation account.

For you, paying the supplier's US account is a domestic US payment by ACH or wire rather than an international wire. Before you agree:

• Confirm the request by phone with a contact you already know. A change of bank details sent by email is the most common route for payment fraud.
• Check that the account holder is the supplier's own legal entity, not an agent or a related person.
• Keep the supplier's written instruction with your payment records.

Whether the supplier's account is registered is the supplier's responsibility under Colombian rules, not yours, but a written instruction protects you if questions come later.

Details you need to pay a Colombian bank by SWIFT

SWIFT is the network banks use to send international payment messages; each bank has a SWIFT code (BIC). Bancolombia, for example, tells its corporate clients that a sender abroad needs only their Bancolombia account number and the bank's SWIFT code, COLOCOBM, with Bancolombia S.A. named as the beneficiary bank.

The NIT (Número de Identificación Tributaria) is the Colombian tax identification number assigned by the DIAN, the national tax and customs authority. Under Decreto 2460 de 2013, a company is identified by its legal name and its NIT with an added check digit (dígito de verificación). The NIT is used for tax, customs and exchange control purposes, so include it in the beneficiary details even if the bank does not insist.

Source: Bancolombia, international transfers from abroad; Decreto 2460 de 2013, as published on 21 October 2026.

Verify each SWIFT code against the bank name with the SWIFT code lookup before the first payment.

Arrival times and cut-offs

A payment to Colombia has two stages: the dollars travel to the supplier's bank, then the supplier files its exchange data and converts or keeps the dollars. Swift reports that nearly 60% of payments sent with its tracking service (gpi) are credited to end beneficiaries within 30 minutes, and almost 100% within 24 hours. Each gpi payment carries a tracking reference, the UETR.

The second stage runs on the supplier's bank's hours. Bancolombia publishes these for corporate clients:

Source: Bancolombia, international transfers from abroad, as published on 21 October 2026. Hours are Colombian time.

Bancolombia's online exchange window closes on US holidays as well as Colombian ones. A wire sent late on a Friday before a Colombian holiday Monday may not be converted until Tuesday.

Why payments to Colombia are held or returned

• Not claimed in time. At Bancolombia, a transfer not claimed within 60 days goes back to the bank abroad, less any charges on the way. Tell the supplier the day you send.
• Name or account mismatch. The beneficiary name differs from the account holder, or the account number is wrong.
• Missing exchange data. The supplier has not filed the form and documents its bank requires, so the money waits.
• Unclear purpose. A wire with no reference forces the bank and the supplier to ask what it pays for.
• Deductions. Bancolombia warns that the amount received may be lower than the amount sent because intermediary banks deduct their own charges.
• Wrong payer. Pay from the company that is the buyer on the invoice. A payment from a related company or an owner's personal account complicates the supplier's exchange report.

If a payment stalls, ask your bank for a SWIFT trace with the UETR and send the supplier the MT103 confirmation, the standard SWIFT message for a customer transfer.

Fees as published

Costs come from your bank, any intermediary banks, and the supplier bank's exchange rate. Bancolombia states that it charges no commission for receiving international transfers, that commissions are subject to IVA (value added tax) and that it sets its exchange rate daily. The charge option on your wire decides who pays the rest:

• OUR: you pay all charges; the supplier should receive the full amount.
• SHA: you pay your bank's fee; the supplier pays the rest.
• BEN: the supplier pays all charges, deducted from the payment.

Sources: Chase, Performance Business Checking; Bank of America, Business Schedule of Fees (effective 15 November 2024); Bancolombia, as published on 21 October 2026. Exchange rate margins are not included.

A wire in pesos with no wire fee still carries a cost in the exchange rate. Compare the pesos the supplier receives across providers. Helm's international payments show the rate, the fee and the expected arrival before you send, and pay by SWIFT or by local rails in the supplier's currency where available; see fees agreed with your account manager.

Step by step: paying a Colombian supplier

1. Agree currency and charges. USD or COP, the amount, and OUR or SHA, on the purchase order.
2. Collect details on letterhead. Legal name, NIT, address, bank, SWIFT code, account number and type, and any intermediary bank.
3. Verify by phone. Use a known contact, not a number from the email that carried the details.
4. Check both calendars. Avoid Colombian and US holidays and Friday afternoons before a Colombian holiday Monday.
5. Pay from the buying entity. The payer should be the company named as buyer on the invoice.
6. Use a full reference. Invoice number and "payment for exported goods".
7. Send proof the same day. MT103 copy and UETR, so the supplier can file its exchange data before its bank's cut-off.
8. Reconcile. Confirm the amount credited and note any deductions.

The same checklist works across the region with local changes; compare how to pay suppliers in Peru and the Colombia country guide. Helm offers accounts for importers with USD, EUR and GBP details in your company's name and a named account manager.

Colombian holidays that stop payments

Colombia moves several holidays to the following Monday under Ley 51 de 1983 (the Ley Emiliani), which creates many long weekends. The holidays remaining in 2026 are:

Source: Radio Nacional de Colombia, 2026 holiday calendar, as published on 21 October 2026.

Because Bancolombia's online exchange window also closes on US holidays, add US bank holidays to the same calendar. Plan payments that release a shipment so that both countries have at least one full business day after the money arrives.

Questions

References

1. Banco de la República: Basic concepts of the exchange regime
2. Banco de la República: Foreign trade in goods and free trade zones, frequently asked questions
3. Decreto 2460 de 2013 (Registro Único Tributario and NIT)
4. Bancolombia: International transfers from abroad for companies
5. Radio Nacional de Colombia: Holidays in Colombia 2026
6. Chase: How Performance Business Checking works (wire fees)
7. Bank of America: Business Schedule of Fees
8. Swift: Fast, transparent and trackable payments (gpi)

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.