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Cash in Panama: the B/.10,000 traveler declaration and the bank cash and quasi cash reports

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Last verified: 2026-10-29 · Status: Stable

There is no limit on bringing dollars into or out of Panama, but any traveler carrying money, securities, negotiable documents or goods worth B/.10,000 or more must file the customs Declaración Jurada de Viajero, on paper or online. Customs sends these declarations and any seized undeclared cash to the Financial Analysis Unit daily. Inside the country, banks and other reporting entities report cash and quasi cash deposits, withdrawals, payments and currency exchanges of B/.10,000 or more, including structured amounts that reach that total in a day or a week.

Panama's currency, the balboa (B/.), is at par with the US dollar, which circulates freely; the Superintendencia de Bancos states that the balboa's value is on a par with the US dollar and that the dollar circulates without restrictions in commercial and financial transactions (checked 29 October 2026). USD figures therefore equal the balboa figures.

Key facts

Cash and negotiable instruments that travelers must declare at the border	10000 PABANA Resolución 013 de 2025 art. 1, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Limit on carrying cash into or out of the country	None; declaration only textANA Resolución 013 de 2025 art. 1, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Cash and quasi cash transactions that reporting entities must report	10000 PABLey 23 de 2015 art. 53, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Days to file a suspicious transaction report with the UAF	15 daysLey 23 de 2015 art. 54, as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Maximum general fine on reporting entities for AML breaches	5000000 PABLey 23 de 2015 art. 60 (Ley 254 de 2021), as of 2026-10-29 · in force
Exchange rate used for USD conversions	1 PAB per USDBalboa at par with the US dollar (Superintendencia de Bancos); Ley 84 de 1904 art. 1, as of 2026-10-29 · in force

The rule

1. Every traveler entering or leaving the national territory must complete the Declaración Jurada de Viajero, on the physical or electronic form set by the Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas, whenever carrying money, securities, negotiable documents and goods on the person or in luggage for an amount equal to or above B/.10,000 (art. 1). For a family group, the person responsible may file one digital declaration and answers for its tax, customs or criminal consequences (art. 2). Carriers may print or link to the official digital form (art. 3). The resolution took effect two months after its publication in the Gaceta Oficial on 21 January 2025 (art. 5).
Cost to do it: Resolución 013 sets no fee for the declaration.
Example: A traveler arriving with B/.12,000 in cash must declare it; one with B/.9,500 need not. / US$12,000 declared; US$9,500 not required.Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas, Resolución 013 de 8 de enero de 2025, arts. 1, 2, 3 and 5, 2025-01-08 official text · verified 2026-10-29 · changed: Resolución 013 of 2025 added the electronic form and the single family declaration, with effect two months after publication on 21 January 2025.

2. Customs sends the Financial Analysis Unit (UAF) a daily report of the sworn traveler declarations of money or its equivalent in other currencies, traveler's checks, bonds, securities or other negotiable documents or means of payment above B/.10,000, and a daily report of such money and instruments seized because travelers did not declare them.Ley 23 de 27 de abril de 2015, art. 75, 2015-04-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

3. Financial and non financial reporting entities must report: (1) cash or quasi cash deposits or withdrawals of B/.10,000 or more, or successive smaller ones that add up to B/.10,000 or more by the end of the day or week; (2) exchanges of small for large bills, or the reverse, on the same thresholds; (3) cashing of manager's checks, traveler's checks and bearer payment orders issued on the same or close dates by the same drawer; (4) purchases and sales of currency other than Panama's legal tender of B/.10,000 or more, or that sum in a week; and (5) cash or quasi cash payments or collections of B/.10,000 or more, or that sum in a week, by the same client or a third party acting for the client.
Example: Three cash deposits of B/.4,000 in one week by the same client: B/.12,000, reported. / US$12,000 in one week, reported.Ley 23 de 2015, art. 53, 2015-04-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

4. Quasi cash means manager's checks, traveler's checks and payment orders issued to bearer, with multiple endorsements or endorsed in blank, and other negotiable documents that the supervisors add by regulation (art. 4 numeral 7). The National Commission against money laundering may vary the cash and quasi cash amounts that trigger the declaration duty (art. 5 numeral 6).Ley 23 de 2015, art. 4 numeral 7 and art. 5 numeral 6, 2015-04-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

5. Reporting entities must report any suspicious fact, transaction or operation, regardless of amount, directly to the UAF within fifteen calendar days of detection, extendable by fifteen calendar days for supporting documents in complex cases.Ley 23 de 2015, art. 54, 2015-04-27 official text · verified 2026-10-29

6. Breaches of Ley 23 de 2015 or of the supervisors' rules without a specific penalty are fined from B/.5,000 to B/.5,000,000, graded by seriousness, repetition, harm and the size of the reporting entity, including for late or incorrect reports.
Cost to do it: Fines on reporting entities of B/.5,000 to B/.5,000,000 (US$5,000 to US$5,000,000).Ley 23 de 2015 art. 60 as worded by Ley 254 de 2021 art. 12, art. 60, 2021-11-11 official text · verified 2026-10-29

Situation	Who acts	Trigger	Rule
Entering or leaving Panama with money or negotiable instruments	The traveler (Declaración Jurada de Viajero)	B/.10,000 or more	ANA Resolución 013 de 2025 art. 1
Customs passes declarations and seizures to the UAF	Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas	Daily	Ley 23 de 2015 art. 75
Cash or quasi cash deposits and withdrawals	Bank or reporting entity	B/.10,000 or more in one or in a day or week	Ley 23 de 2015 art. 53 num. 1
Buying or selling foreign currency other than the dollar	Bank or exchange business	B/.10,000 or more, or that sum in a week	Ley 23 de 2015 art. 53 num. 4
Cash payments or collections	Reporting entity (for example a real estate or car dealer)	B/.10,000 or more, or that sum in a week	Ley 23 de 2015 art. 53 num. 5
Suspicious activity of any amount	Reporting entity	Within 15 calendar days	Ley 23 de 2015 art. 54

Cash thresholds in Panama, all at B/.10,000 (US$10,000).

Worked example

An executive relocating to Panama arrives with US$15,000 in cash and a US$20,000 manager's check: the total, B/.35,000, is above B/.10,000, so the executive files the Declaración Jurada de Viajero online before landing.
Customs includes the declaration in its daily report to the UAF. When the executive deposits the US$15,000 at a Panamanian bank, the bank files a cash report under art. 53 and will ask for the source of the funds.
Had the cash not been declared, customs could seize it and report the seizure to the UAF under art. 75.

Step by step

Before travel, total all cash, checks, securities and negotiable documents carried by you and your family group.
If the total is B/.10,000 or more, fill the customs Declaración Jurada de Viajero, on paper or electronically, and keep proof of filing.
Carry documents showing the origin of the funds; the bank will ask for them on deposit.
For business receipts, prefer bank transfers: cash collections of B/.10,000 or more are reported by the receiving business.

Common traps

The threshold is equal to or above B/.10,000, and it adds money, securities, negotiable documents and goods together.
Splitting deposits does not avoid reporting: amounts that reach B/.10,000 in a day or a week are reported.
A family group's single declaration makes the responsible person liable for all members' cash.
Panamanian bank cash reports are not a tax filing; a resident's income still has to be declared to the DGI.

Sources

Related: Panama 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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