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Cash payment limits: UI 200,000 per deal, also for capital and dividends

Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Changing

Large cash settlements are not allowed: in any transaction, cash (Uruguayan or foreign notes and coins) may cover only up to UI 200,000, or 5 percent of the deal if that does not exceed UI 450,000, and the balance must go by transfer or another traceable means. Since Ley 20.469 (March 2026) the limit expressly covers company capital contributions, capital refunds, dividends, redemptions and similar corporate flows; Decreto 238/026 applies it to payments from 20 April 2026. Breaches are fined 25 percent of the cash used (minimum UI 1,000), payer and payee are jointly liable, and public registries will not definitively register non compliant deeds.

USD figures use UYU 40.210 per US dollar, the BCU quotation for DLS. USA BILLETE on 27 October 2026; UI amounts use UYU 6.6803 per UI (BCU, 28 October 2026), except cash limits, which the law converts at the first day of the month: UYU 6.6516 per UI on 1 October 2026 (BCU). Retrieved from the BCU quotations service on 2026-10-28; conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Cash payment ceiling per operation	200000 UILey 19.210 art. 35 (Ley 20.469 art. 3), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Alternative cash ceiling (if not above UI 450,000)	5 % of operationLey 19.210 art. 35 (Ley 20.469 art. 3), as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Upper cap for the 5 percent alternative	450000 UILey 19.210 art. 35, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Cash payment ceiling in pesos, October 2026	1330320 UYULey 19.210 art. 35; UI on 1 Oct 2026, as of 2026-10-01 · in force
Fine for paying or receiving above the cash limit	25 % of amountDecreto 238/026 art. 9, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minimum fine (UI 10,000 for repeat offenders)	1000 UIDecreto 238/026 art. 9, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Cash allowed up to UI 200,000, or 5 percent up to UI 450,000. Payment in any operation, whoever the parties are, may be made in cash up to UI 200,000, or up to 5 percent of the total value of the operation if that amount does not exceed UI 450,000; cash is valid if either condition is met and the balance must be paid by other means. The limit also applies in commercial companies to capital contributions (with or without premium), irrevocable contributions, advances, capital refunds, profit distributions, payments for exclusion, withdrawal, reduction, redemption or amortisation of shares and similar operations. UI amounts are converted at the UI value on the first day of each month.
Cost to do it: Bank transfer charges only. In October 2026 UI 200,000 is UYU 1,330,320 (US$33,084) and UI 450,000 is UYU 2,993,220 (US$74,440).
Example: On a UYU 40,210,000 property purchase in October 2026, cash may cover at most UYU 2,010,500 (5 percent, under the UI 450,000 limit); the remaining UYU 38,199,500 goes by transfer. / On a US$1,000,000 deal, at most US$50,000 in cash.Ley Nº 19.210 (Financial Inclusion Law), as reworded by Ley Nº 20.469 of 19 March 2026, art. 35 (text given by Ley 20.469 art. 3), 2026-03-19 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Ley Nº 20.469 of 19 March 2026 art. 3 gave art. 35 its current wording, extending it to corporate capital and profit flows; Decreto 238/026 of 1 October 2026 regulates it for payments from 20 April 2026.

2. Split payments are added up; documents must identify the means of payment. All payments into which an operation is split are added together to test the limits; for recurring services documented monthly, each document is tested separately. Deeds and contracts must identify the payment instruments used (number, amount, originating institution, and payer and payee if different from the parties) for operations at or above UI 200,000. Loans and money given to create or perfect a covered operation are also subject to the limit, and amounts a notary retains to cancel taxes or liens do not count towards it.
Cost to do it: Drafting cost; the notary must describe each transfer in the deed.
Example: Paying a UYU 3,000,000 price in four cash instalments of UYU 750,000 counts as UYU 3,000,000 of cash and breaches the limit. / Four payments of about US$18,652 each still count as about US$74,608 in cash.Ley Nº 19.210 art. 37; Decreto Nº 238/026 of 1 October 2026, Ley 19.210 art. 37; Decreto 238/026 art. 2, 3 and 4, 2026-10-01 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Exemptions for banks and some public sales. The limit does not apply when one party is a financial intermediary, an electronic money issuer or a BCU regulated exchange, credit or transfer firm (or a related lending company), to licensed casinos with their clients, to expropriations or to sales by the housing ministry within its programmes.
Cost to do it: None.
Example: Cash deposited at a bank counter to repay a bank loan is outside the limit. / Not applicable.Ley Nº 19.210 art. 38; Decreto Nº 238/026, Ley 19.210 art. 38; Decreto 238/026 art. 5, 2026-10-01 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. Fines of 25 percent and blocked registration. Paying or receiving by means other than those allowed is fined 25 percent of the amount paid or received improperly, with a minimum of UI 1,000 (UI 10,000 for repeat offenders); payer and payee are jointly liable, the tax administration (DGI) imposes the fine and the infraction prescribes after five years. Public registries do not definitively register deeds that breach the limit or omit the payment details until the fine is paid or the omission is cured by notarial certificate.
Cost to do it: 25 percent of the excess cash, minimum UI 1,000 (UYU 6,652, about US$165 in October 2026); UI 10,000 (UYU 66,516, about US$1,654) for repeat offenders.
Example: If UYU 3,000,000 of a price is paid in cash instead of UYU 2,010,500, buyer and seller are jointly liable for a fine of 25 percent of the amount paid by means not allowed; counting only the UYU 989,500 excess, that is at least UYU 247,375. / At least about US$6,152 on about US$24,608 of excess cash.Decreto Nº 238/026, art. 6 and 9, 2026-10-01 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Transition: older deals and payments before 20 April 2026. The rule applies to payments from 20 April 2026 on operations entered into from that date. Payments for operations with a certain date before 20 April 2026 are not covered; payments made before that date that exceed the limits must obtain a certain date before 31 December 2026.
Cost to do it: Notarial cost of giving a certain date to earlier payments.
Example: A buyer who paid UYU 2,500,000 in cash under a 2025 purchase promise must give that payment a certain date before 31 December 2026. / About US$62,174.Decreto Nº 238/026, art. 7 and 8, 2026-10-01 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Limit	UI	UYU	USD
Absolute cash limit	200,000	1,330,320	33,084
Cap on the 5% alternative	450,000	2,993,220	74,440
Minimum fine	1,000	6,652	165
Minimum fine, repeat offender	10,000	66,516	1,654

Cash limits in October 2026 (UI on 1 October 2026: UYU 6.6516)

Worked example

A foreign investor capitalises a new Uruguayan S.A. with UYU 4,021,000 (US$100,000) in October 2026. Cash is limited to UI 200,000 (UYU 1,330,320) under the first test, since 5 percent (UYU 201,050) is lower; in practice the whole contribution goes by bank transfer so the deed and the BCU ownership filings show a clean trail.
Paying a US$40,000 dividend to a shareholder in cash in October 2026 breaches the limit (US$33,084): the fine is 25 percent of the cash paid by means not allowed, at least about US$1,729 if only the US$6,916 excess counts, with payer and payee jointly liable.

Step by step

Convert the UI limits using the UI value on the first day of the month of the operation.
For each closing, plan the payment waterfall: cash only within the limit, the rest by transfer, cheque or other traceable means.
Ask the notary to describe every instrument (number, amount, bank, payer and payee) in the deed and in the registry minute.
Pay capital contributions, refunds and dividends by bank transfer.
For pre April 2026 promises paid partly in cash, obtain a certain date for those payments before 31 December 2026.

Common traps

Assuming only property deals are covered: the limit applies to any operation and to corporate capital and profit flows (Ley 19.210 art. 35).
Splitting a price into several cash payments: all are added together (Ley 19.210 art. 37; Decreto 238/026 art. 3).
Forgetting that the recipient is also liable for the fine (Decreto 238/026 art. 9).
Leaving payment details out of the deed: the registry will not register it definitively (Decreto 238/026 art. 6).

Sources

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