Countries › Colombia › Guide › 5. FX and capital controls › The FX market and the exchange rate in Colombia: who may deal in foreign currency, how the TRM is set, residence for exchange purposes, pesos between residents and cash rules

The FX market and the exchange rate in Colombia: who may deal in foreign currency, how the TRM is set, residence for exchange purposes, pesos between residents and cash rules

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Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

The peso floats: banks and other FX market intermediaries buy and sell currency at freely agreed rates, and the reference rate (TRM) is the volume weighted average of same day dollar trades between intermediaries, certified daily by the Superintendencia Financiera. For exchange purposes a foreign individual becomes a resident after more than 183 days in Colombia within 365 consecutive days, companies domiciled in Colombia and branches of foreign companies are residents, and contracts between residents must be paid in pesos unless a specific rule allows foreign currency. Only registered intermediaries and DIAN registered professional dealers may trade currency as a business, and cash above US$10,000 crossing the border must be declared to customs, with fines of 30 percent inbound and 40 percent outbound on undeclared amounts.

USD figures use the TRM (tasa representativa del mercado) of COP 3,158.43 per US dollar, valid 24 to 26 October 2026, from the official TRM series certified by the Superintendencia Financiera and published on the national open data portal. Amounts in UVT use the 2026 UVT of COP 52,374 (DIAN Resolución 000238 de 2025). Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Exchange rate regime	Market set rate; buy and sell rates freely agreed; TRM certified daily by the Superintendencia Financiera textResolución Externa 1 de 2018 art. 38 and art. 40, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
TRM (COP per US dollar), valid 24 to 26 October 2026	3158.43 COPResolución Externa 1 de 2018 art. 40, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Presence that makes a foreign individual an exchange resident	More than 183 calendar days within 365 consecutive days daysDecreto 1068 de 2015 art. 2.17.1.2, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Currency for payments between residents	Pesos, unless a specific rule authorizes foreign currency textDecreto 1068 de 2015 art. 2.17.1.3; Resolución Externa 1 de 2018 art. 83, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Cash carried across the border that must be declared to customs	10000 USDResolución Externa 1 de 2018 art. 87, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Fine for undeclared cash on entry	30 % of undeclared amountDecreto Ley 2245 de 2011 art. 3 num. 28, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Fine for undeclared cash on exit	40 % of undeclared amountDecreto Ley 2245 de 2011 art. 3 num. 28, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. FX market intermediaries are banks, financial corporations, financing companies, the Financiera de Desarrollo Nacional, Bancoldex, financial cooperatives, stock brokerage firms, foreign exchange and special financial services companies (SICSFE), electronic deposit and payment companies (SEDPE), Findeter, Finagro, ICETEX, ENTerritorio and the Fondo Nacional del Ahorro, once registered with Banco de la República. Their authorized operations depend on their type and capital. Intermediaries must collect and transmit FX declarations to Banco de la República, keep them, and report their rates daily to the Superintendencia Financiera.Resolución Externa 1 de 2018, art. 7 as amended by Resolución Externa 1 de 2020, and art. 8 and 9, Art. 7, art. 8 and art. 9, 2018-05-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. Buy and sell rates are freely agreed by the parties; intermediaries may agree spot trades for settlement within the next three business days and must publish daily the buy and sell rates they offer the public. Intermediaries may sell any currency to pay obligations agreed in another currency, and residents may channel a currency different from the one agreed.Resolución Externa 1 de 2018 of the Board of Banco de la República, Art. 38 and art. 39, 2018-05-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. The TRM is the volume weighted average of purchases and sales of US dollars against pesos agreed for same day settlement by FX intermediaries within the hours set by Banco de la República, excluding derivatives and trades with entities not supervised by the Superintendencia Financiera (other than the Ministry of Finance). It is calculated daily and certified by the Superintendencia Financiera; if it cannot be calculated, the last certified TRM applies.Resolución Externa 1 de 2018 of the Board of Banco de la República, Art. 40, 2018-05-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Banco de la República may intervene in the FX market to regulate liquidity, avoid undesired swings in the exchange rate and build or reduce reserves, by buying or selling currency at market rates, auctioning put or call options, FX swaps and non delivery forwards with authorized counterparties.Resolución Externa 1 de 2018, art. 2 as amended by Resolución Externa 24 de 2020 and art. 3 as amended by Resolución Externa 1 de 2025, Art. 2 and art. 3, 2018-05-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. For exchange purposes residents are Colombian nationals living in Colombia, foreigners who stay in the country continuously or discontinuously for more than 183 calendar days (counting arrival and departure days) within any 365 consecutive days, public entities, legal persons domiciled in Colombia and branches of foreign companies. Everyone else, including Colombians who do not meet the presence test, is a non resident.Decreto 1068 de 2015, art. 2.17.1.2 as amended by Decreto 119 de 2017, Art. 2.17.1.2, 2015-05-26 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. Unless expressly authorized, no contract between residents is an exchange operation and its obligations must be paid in pesos. Deposits and other financial operations in foreign currency, and any contract between residents in foreign currency using currency of the FX market, are not authorized save special rules (for example hydrocarbons and mining companies, international transport fuel, airport runway charges). Obligations stipulated in foreign currency that are not exchange operations are paid in pesos at the TRM of the date they were incurred unless the parties agreed another date or rate; exchange operations agreed in foreign currency are paid in that currency.Decreto 1068 de 2015 art. 2.17.1.3; Resolución Externa 1 de 2018, Decreto 1068 art. 2.17.1.3; Res. Ext. 1 de 2018 art. 83 and art. 86 (inciso 1 and 2, parágrafo 4), 2018-05-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. Residents may buy and sell currency and travellers' cheques as a business only after registering in the commercial registry and in DIAN's register of professional FX dealers. Dealers must keep an FX declaration for their trades, pay in cash or authorized instruments below US$10,000 and only by bank transfer, card or peso cheque from US$10,000 upwards, report trades and suspicious operations to the UIAF, and may not offer remittance, transfer or channelling services or call themselves SICSFE. Banks buying non channelled currency of US$10,000 or more pay by restricted cheque or account credit.Resolución Externa 1 de 2018, art. 84 as amended by Resolución Externa 7 de 2021, and art. 10, Art. 10 and art. 84, 2018-05-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

8. Travellers entering or leaving Colombia with more than US$10,000 or its equivalent in cash, in foreign currency or pesos, must declare it to customs; the threshold applies per family group. Other cross border cash movements above that amount may only go through authorized cash in transit companies or FX intermediaries, and negotiable instruments above US$10,000 must also be reported. Failing to declare is fined at 30 percent of the undeclared amount on entry and 40 percent on exit, without prejudice to retention of the cash.
Cost to do it: Undeclared US$25,000 on departure: 40 percent, COP 31,584,300 (US$10,000).Resolución Externa 1 de 2018 art. 87; Decreto Ley 2245 de 2011, Res. Ext. 1 de 2018 art. 87; Decreto Ley 2245 de 2011 art. 3 num. 28 and par. 6, 2011-06-28 official text · verified 2026-10-26

9. DIAN fines paying a contract between residents in foreign currency without authorization at 100 percent of the operation for each party involved; unauthorized deposits or financial operations in foreign currency at 100 percent for each party; and dealing in currency as a business without DIAN registration at 100 percent of the trades (or 1,000 UVT if they cannot be quantified).Decreto Ley 2245 de 2011 (DIAN exchange sanctions regime), Art. 3 num. 18, 25 and 26, 2011-06-28 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Person or entity	Exchange status
Colombian national living in Colombia	Resident
Foreigner present more than 183 days in 365 consecutive days	Resident
Company domiciled in Colombia, including one wholly foreign owned	Resident
Colombian branch of a foreign company	Resident
Foreign company without Colombian domicile	Non resident
Colombian national living abroad below the presence test	Non resident
Consortium or unión temporal	Not a resident; operates through its members

Who is a resident for exchange purposes (Decreto 1068 de 2015 art. 2.17.1.2; DCIP-83 num. 10.1)

Valid from	Valid to	COP per US$
2026-10-22	2026-10-22	3,191.47
2026-10-23	2026-10-23	3,185.01
2026-10-24	2026-10-26	3,158.43

Recent official TRM values (Superintendencia Financiera, open data portal)

Worked example

A Colombian SAS and its Colombian landlord sign a lease priced at US$5,000 a month. The obligation is not an exchange operation, so rent is paid in pesos at the TRM of the date the obligation arose unless the lease sets another date or rate (Res. Ext. 1 de 2018 art. 86). Paying in dollars to the landlord's account would expose both parties to a 100 percent fine (Decreto Ley 2245 art. 3 num. 26).
A distributor bills a local client US$100,000 payable in pesos: at the TRM of 22 October 2026 the bill is COP 319,147,000; at the TRM valid 24 to 26 October it would be COP 315,843,000. The contract should say which date's TRM applies.
An executive leaves Bogotá with US$25,000 in cash and does not declare it. The fine is 40 percent of the amount, COP 31,584,300, and the cash may be retained (Decreto Ley 2245 art. 3 num. 28).

Step by step

1. Classify each counterparty as resident or non resident under Decreto 1068 art. 2.17.1.2; for expatriate staff, track days of presence.
2. Price domestic contracts in pesos, or in foreign currency with a clear TRM date or rate clause, and settle in pesos.
3. Trade currency only with registered FX intermediaries or DIAN registered dealers; compare their published rates with the TRM.
4. Declare cash over US$10,000 at the border on the DIAN form, per family group.

Common traps

Paying a Colombian supplier into its US dollar account abroad. Unless a special rule applies, obligations between residents are paid in pesos; both parties face a 100 percent fine (Res. Ext. 1 de 2018 art. 83; Decreto Ley 2245 art. 3 num. 26).
Assuming a foreign owned subsidiary is a non resident. Companies domiciled in Colombia and branches are residents whatever their ownership (Decreto 1068 art. 2.17.1.2).
Splitting cash among travellers. The US$10,000 threshold applies per family group (Res. Ext. 1 de 2018 art. 87).
Using an unregistered money changer. Professional dealing without DIAN registration is fined at 100 percent of the trades (Decreto Ley 2245 art. 3 num. 18).

Sources

Related: Colombia country profile · live dashboard · central bank and release calendar · our posts on X · where Argentina is involved, see The Argentine Thread guide

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