Countries › Colombia › Guide › 16. What is normal abroad but not here › Interest is capped by a monthly usury ceiling

Interest is capped by a monthly usury ceiling

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Changing

Abroad, commercial parties normally agree any interest rate; in Colombia every rate is tested against the current banking rate that the Superintendencia Financiera certifies each month. If no rate is agreed the current banking rate applies, unagreed late interest is 1.5 times that rate, and charging above the limits costs the creditor all its interest plus a refund penalty. Above 1.5 times the certified rate it is also the crime of usury; for October 2026 the ceiling for consumer and ordinary credit is 28.59 percent effective a year.

USD figures use the TRM (tasa representativa del mercado) of COP 3,157.94 per US dollar valid on 27 October 2026, certified by the Superintendencia Financiera and published on datos.gov.co. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Current banking rate, consumer and ordinary credit, October 2026	19.06 % effective a yearSuperintendencia Financiera Resolución 1472 de 2026, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Usury ceiling, consumer and ordinary credit, October 2026	28.59 % effective a yearCódigo Penal art. 305; Resolución 1472 de 2026, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Current banking rate, large productive credit, October 2026	27.50 % effective a yearResolución 1472 de 2026, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Late interest when not agreed	1.5 times the current banking rate textCódigo de Comercio art. 884, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Prison for usury	32 to 90 monthsCódigo Penal art. 305, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
TRM used for conversions on this page	3157.94 COP per USDTRM certified by the Superintendencia Financiera, valid 27 October 2026, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. In commercial dealings where interest on capital is owed but no rate is agreed, the interest is the current banking rate (interés bancario corriente). Where the parties did not agree late interest, it is 1.5 times the current banking rate. If the creditor charges more than either amount, it loses all the interest. The current banking rate is proven with the certificate of the financial supervisor.
Cost to do it: No fee. A clause above the limit costs the creditor all its interest, not just the excess.
Example: A COP 1,000,000,000 trade credit with no agreed rate earns the October 2026 current banking rate of 19.06 percent effective a year, about COP 190,600,000 over a year; late interest without a clause is capped at 28.59 percent. / About US$316,662 of principal and US$60,356 of interest at the current banking rate.Código de Comercio (Decreto 410 de 1971), art. 884 as amended by Ley 510 de 1999 art. 111, Art. 884, 1971-03-27 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Ley 510 de 1999 art. 111 cut unagreed late interest from double the current banking rate to 1.5 times it.

2. Where interest is charged above the limits set by law or by the monetary authority, the creditor loses all the interest charged in excess, ordinary, late or both, increased by an equal amount. The debtor may demand immediate return of the interest paid in excess plus an equal sum as a penalty.
Cost to do it: The penalty equals the excess interest charged, on top of returning it.
Example: On a COP 1,000,000,000 one year loan written at 30 percent effective a year in October 2026, the excess over the 28.59 percent ceiling is about COP 14,100,000; the borrower can claim back that amount plus another COP 14,100,000, a total of COP 28,200,000. / Excess about US$4,465; refund with penalty about US$8,930.Ley 45 de 1990, Art. 72, 1990-12-18 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. Whoever receives or charges, directly or indirectly, in exchange for a money loan or for selling goods or services on credit, a profit or advantage that exceeds by half the current banking rate certified for the period, in whatever form the operation is recorded or disguised, commits usury, punished with 32 to 90 months of prison and a fine of 66.66 to 300 monthly minimum wages.
Cost to do it: Criminal exposure: 32 to 90 months of prison and a fine of 66.66 to 300 monthly minimum wages.
Example: A seller that finances sales on credit at 30 percent effective a year in October 2026, above the 28.59 percent ceiling, is exposed to the usury offence even if the buyer agreed. / Not a fee rule; the exposure is criminal and personal.Código Penal (Ley 599 de 2000), penalties increased by Ley 890 de 2004 art. 14, Art. 305, 2000-07-24 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. The Superintendencia Financiera certifies the current banking rate every month by credit type. Resolución 1472 de 2026 certified 19.06 percent effective a year for consumer and ordinary credit for 1 to 31 October 2026, 43 basis points below September (19.49 percent). For the same period it certified 27.50 percent for large productive credit, 20.63 percent for rural productive credit, 38.26 percent for urban productive credit and 44.44 percent for low amount consumer credit.
Cost to do it: No fee. Check the certificate for each month in which interest accrues.
Example: For consumer and ordinary credit the October 2026 ceiling is 1.5 times 19.06, that is 28.59 percent effective a year, or about 2.12 percent a month compounded. / On US$100,000 of credit, a full year at the ceiling is about US$28,590 of interest.Superintendencia Financiera, Resolución 1472 de 2026, Certification of the current banking rate, in force 1 to 31 October 2026, 2026-10-01 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: The consumer and ordinary rate fell from 19.49 percent in September 2026 to 19.06 percent in October 2026.

5. Pending interest only earns interest from the date of the creditor's court claim, or under an agreement made after maturity, and in both cases only on interest owed for at least one year.
Cost to do it: No fee. Monthly compounding clauses agreed in advance are not enforceable as such.
Example: An intercompany loan that capitalises unpaid interest every quarter from signing cannot charge interest on that interest unless the conditions of art. 886 are met. / Not a fee rule.Código de Comercio, Art. 886, 1971-03-27 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Credit type	Current banking rate, % effective a year	Ceiling at 1.5 times, % effective a year
Consumer and ordinary	19.06	28.59
Large productive credit	27.50	41.25
Rural productive credit	20.63	30.95
Urban productive credit	38.26	57.39
Low amount consumer credit	44.44	66.66

Current banking rate certified for 1 to 31 October 2026 (Resolución 1472 de 2026); ceilings computed as 1.5 times the certified rate

Worked example

A Colombian subsidiary sells equipment to a local customer on 12 month credit in October 2026 and wants to charge 30 percent effective a year. The ceiling for consumer and ordinary credit is 28.59 percent. At 30 percent the seller loses all interest under Código de Comercio art. 884, the customer can claim back the excess plus an equal penalty under Ley 45 de 1990 art. 72, and the seller faces the usury offence. Pricing at 28 percent keeps the deal lawful for that month.

Step by step

Identify the credit type of the operation (consumer and ordinary, productive, low amount).
Download the Superintendencia Financiera certificate for each month in which interest will accrue.
Express any agreed rate as an effective annual rate and compare it with 1.5 times the certified rate.
Write a clause that caps ordinary and late interest at the legal maximum in force each month.
Review variable rate and fee structures: commissions and charges that are really interest count toward the cap.

Common traps

The ceiling changes every month: a rate lawful at signing can become usurious in a later month if the certified rate falls, as it did between September and October 2026.
Exceeding the limit does not just cut the rate back: the creditor loses all interest under Código de Comercio art. 884 and owes a refund penalty under Ley 45 de 1990 art. 72.
The penal test catches any profit or advantage on a loan or credit sale, however disguised, so hidden fees can push a deal over the line.
Productive and consumer credit have different certified rates; using the wrong table misstates the ceiling.

Sources

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