Send money to Colombia
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Today's best rates to Colombia
As of 23 August 2026, sending £1,000 to Colombia, your recipient gets the most with Currencies Direct: 4,150,999.90 COP, the best of 5 providers compared.
| Provider | Rate | Fee | Recipient gets | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4151.00 0.07% better | £0 | 4,150,999.90 COP | 1–3 days | Send | |
4151.00 0.07% better | £0 | 4,150,999.90 COP | 1–3 days | Send | |
4150.00 0.05% better | £0 | 4,150,000.00 COP | Within 2 days | Send | |
4105.99 1.01% worse | £0 | 4,105,992.11 COP | Within 2 days | Send | |
4156.28 0.20% better | £15.23 | 4,092,979.86 COP | Within 2 days | Send |
When you send money home to Colombia, the cheapest route is almost always a specialist money-transfer app or company rather than your bank. The cost that matters most is hidden in the exchange rate: a bank typically keeps 2% to 4% in the rate, on top of any fee — so always judge a provider by the amount that actually arrives, not by a "no fee" claim. Below is exactly how the money reaches Colombia, what it really costs, and how to sidestep the most expensive mistakes.
Colombia is one of Latin America's biggest remittance receivers — money from family abroad is a real part of millions of household budgets. That also means the busiest, costliest days to send are utterly predictable: the run-up to Christmas and Mother's Day. Plan around them and you keep more pesos in your family's hands.
How the money reaches Colombia
How your recipient gets paid
Colombia does not use an IBAN. You need the recipient's bank account number and their bank name.
Since Banco de la República switched on Bre-B (the national interoperable instant-payment system) on 6 October 2025, many payouts now travel in seconds using a 'llave' — a registered key tied to a phone number, cédula (ID), email or @alphanumeric alias — across Transfiya, or land straight in a Nequi or Daviplata mobile wallet.
How the money is delivered
Once your pounds are converted, the money is delivered locally inside Colombia. You don't choose the network — the provider does — but here is what is used.
Ways your recipient can receive it
Most providers can pay into a bank account (account number) via Bre-B / Transfiya or ACH Colombia, mobile wallet (Nequi, Daviplata) by phone-number 'llave' or cash pickup (e.g. Éxito, Carulla, Bancolombia branches). The right choice is usually whichever is cheapest and fastest for your recipient. Cash pickup is the fallback where a bank account or wallet isn't available.
What you actually pay to send money to Colombia
Most of what a transfer to Colombia really costs is the exchange-rate margin, not the upfront fee. A couple of Colombia-specific things move the needle too.
The exchange-rate mark-up
The big one. Banks and some apps quote a rate a little worse than the real mid-market rate and keep the difference — often 2% to 4%. Because it is a slice of the whole amount, it usually dwarfs any upfront fee.
Correspondent-bank fees
An ordinary bank wire can pass through one or two intermediary banks, each able to take a small cut before the money arrives. Specialists using local payment networks usually avoid this entirely.
"No fee" hiding a poor rate
A headline "zero fee" means little if the rate is weak. Judge an offer by the money that actually arrives, not by whether a fee is shown — the comparison above ranks providers exactly that way.
Cash pickup usually costs more than a wallet or bank payout
Out of habit, many senders pick cash pickup at a shop or branch. But paying into a Nequi or Daviplata wallet, or straight to a bank account over Bre-B, is normally cheaper and lands in seconds.
Cash-pickup networks build their margin into the rate. Unless your recipient genuinely has no account, a wallet or account payout keeps more pesos in their pocket.
A floating peso makes the day you send matter
The peso moves with the oil price and the US dollar, so the same provider can give you a noticeably different rate one week to the next. That is not a fee, but it changes how many pesos arrive.
For a known, fixed payment it can be worth locking a rate so a bad day in the market does not shrink what your family receives.
Watch the '4x1000' tax when the money is withdrawn
Watch the '4x1000' tax when the money is withdrawn
The transfer you send to family in Colombia is tax-free for them to receive — receiving a remittance is not income for the recipient. The catch is Colombia's long-standing financial-transactions tax, nicknamed the '4x1000' (officially the GMF, Gravamen a los Movimientos Financieros).
It charges 4 pesos for every 1,000 pesos — 0.4% — when money is withdrawn from or moved out of many bank accounts. It is NOT a tax on your remittance; it can simply bite when your recipient later takes the money out or pays it onward.
The relief: for 2026 the DIAN sets the UVT at COP 52,374, and each person gets one savings account where the first 350 UVT a month — about COP 18.3 million — moves GMF-free; for digital wallets like Nequi and Daviplata the monthly exempt cap is lower, 65 UVT (about COP 3.4 million).
So an ordinary family remittance usually sits well within the exemption. This is general information, not tax advice — your recipient should confirm their own bank's and wallet's terms.
How to avoid fraud when sending money to Colombia
On any large transfer the biggest risk is rarely the exchange rate — it is criminals getting between you and the money. These simple rules are worth knowing before you send.
Fake payment-confirmation scam
Rule: never act on a 'transfer received' text, email or screenshot alone — Bre-B and Transfiya confirmations can be faked. Open your own Nequi, Daviplata or banking app and confirm the pesos have actually cleared before releasing goods or sending anything back. Forged confirmations are the single most common trick.
Clave / OTP scam
Rule: never share your card PIN (clave), online-banking password or a one-time code to RECEIVE money. No legitimate Bre-B transfer, Transfiya payment or remittance needs your PIN or OTP to pay you in — those codes only ever authorise money LEAVING your account.
"Wrong transfer, please refund" scam
Rule: if you genuinely need to return money, make a fresh transfer yourself to a 'llave' or account number you trust — never use a reversal link, refund button or QR a stranger sends you. Bre-B transfers are instant and effectively irreversible, which scammers exploit.
Advance-fee / "release fee" scam
Rule: no bank, wallet or operator charges a fee to 'release' an incoming remittance — Bre-B and wallet payouts are free to receive and automatic. Anyone demanding an upfront fee to free your money is a fraudster.
If you are a victim of fraud, report financial-product complaints to the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia at superfinanciera.gov.co; if you are in the UK, report the fraud to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.
Is money sent to Colombia taxed?
What the rules say
inward remittances are tax-free for the recipient in Colombia; the separate '4x1000' (GMF) financial-transactions tax of about 0.4% can apply when money is later withdrawn or moved from an account, though for 2026 the first 350 UVT a month (roughly COP 18.3 million) in one savings account is exempt
Keep your paperwork
On a large transfer the UK firm must run a source-of-funds check — that is a compliance step, not a tax. Keep evidence of where the money came from (a sale statement, pension or investment paperwork, or bank statements) and a big transfer moves through far more smoothly.
When is the best time to send money to Colombia?
For a one-off transfer the rate on the day is what counts — and it moves constantly. The aim is less about guessing the perfect moment and more about removing risk on payments you already know are coming. As a guide, once the money is sent often seconds to a Nequi or Daviplata wallet or over Bre-B/Transfiya, day or night; a standard ACH Colombia bank deposit can take a few hours up to one business day.
Two dates dominate the Colombia corridor: Christmas in December and Día de la Madre (Mother's Day, the second Sunday of May), one of the single biggest remittance days in all of Latin America.
Demand spikes on both, and provider margins can quietly widen just when everyone is sending at once — so send a few days early rather than on the day. Separately, the peso floats and is unusually sensitive to the oil price and the strength of the US dollar, so the rate can swing week to week.
If you have a fixed bill to cover, locking a rate removes that guesswork.
Lock the rate for a known date. If a payment is weeks away, many specialists let you fix today's rate now (a forward contract), so a sudden market move can't blow a hole in your budget before the money is due.
Set a target with a rate alert. For flexible transfers, you can set the rate you want and be notified (or trade automatically) when the market reaches it — useful when you have time on your side and no fixed deadline.
The costliest mistakes when sending to Colombia
A handful of avoidable slips account for most of the money people lose. Each is easy to sidestep once you know to look.
Defaulting to your bank without comparing. The bank's rate mark-up usually costs far more than any fee, and it is easy to miss because it is built into the rate rather than shown separately.
Judging by the fee, not the amount delivered. A "no fee" offer can still be the worst deal if the rate is poor. Always compare on what actually arrives.
Mistyping the account or bank code. If the account details are wrong the transfer can bounce back after a delay, or reach the wrong account. Always check them against details your recipient sent in writing.
Trusting bank details that arrived by email. Payment-diversion fraud is a real risk — always confirm the receiving account by phone on a trusted number first.
Using an unregulated or cold-calling firm. Check the company on the FCA Register before you move any money, and never act on an out-of-the-blue offer.
Sending on Mother's Day or just before Christmas. Día de la Madre and the December holidays are the two biggest remittance moments in Colombia. Demand surges, and margins can widen exactly when everyone sends at once. Send a few days early — the money still arrives in time, and you avoid paying a premium for the busiest day of the year.
Getting the recipient's name wrong on the cédula. Payouts in Colombia are checked against the recipient's cédula (national ID). If the name you enter does not match their ID exactly, the transfer can be held, bounced or sent for manual review — delaying the money and sometimes triggering a return. Copy the name precisely as it appears on their cédula, including both surnames.
How do most people send money to Colombia?
For most people sending money home, the simplest and cheapest route is a specialist money-transfer app or company paying straight into the recipient's bank account (account number) via Bre-B / Transfiya or ACH Colombia. Judge every provider by the amount that actually arrives — and confirm the receiving details before you send.
Send to a wallet or bank account rather than cash pickup, dodge the Mother's Day and Christmas rush by a few days, match the recipient's name to their cédula exactly, and — because the peso floats — lock a rate when you have a fixed amount to cover.
Frequently asked questions about sending money to Colombia
No. Colombia does not use an IBAN. You need the recipient's bank account number and their bank name.
Since Banco de la República launched Bre-B — the national interoperable instant-payment system — on 6 October 2025, many providers now pay straight into the account in seconds using a 'llave' (a key tied to a phone number, cédula, email or @alias) over Transfiya, or into a Nequi or Daviplata wallet.
For the international leg, a bank's SWIFT/BIC code may be used behind the scenes.
Colombian pesos (COP). Everyday payouts to a bank account or wallet in Colombia are made in pesos — Nequi and Daviplata hold pesos only — so judge a provider on the number of pesos that actually arrives, not on a US-dollar figure.
At a rate near 1 GBP = COP 4,539, sending £500 lands roughly COP 2.27 million. If your recipient specifically needs US dollars they'd need their own FX account, and that usually costs more.
Almost always a specialist money-transfer company rather than your bank. Compare on the number of pesos that actually arrives, counting both the exchange rate and any fee.
Most of the cost hides in the spread a provider adds to the mid-market rate — typically 2% to 4% with a bank. On £500 that hidden 2–4% is roughly COP 45,000 to COP 90,000 quietly skimmed, so check the live comparison above before you send.
Often seconds. If it is paid into a Nequi or Daviplata wallet or over Bre-B/Transfiya it lands almost instantly, day or night, including weekends.
A standard deposit to a bank account through ACH Colombia can take a few hours up to one business day. The slower part is usually the identity and source-of-funds checks on the sending side before the money leaves.
Receiving a remittance is tax-free for the person in Colombia — it is not counted as their income. Separately, Colombia's '4x1000' (GMF) financial-transactions tax of about 0.4% can apply when money is withdrawn or moved from an account.
For 2026 the first 350 UVT a month (about COP 18.3 million) in one savings account is GMF-exempt, so an ordinary family transfer normally sits within the exemption. This is general information, not tax advice.
Yes, and it is one of the most popular routes. Nequi and Daviplata are Colombia's two biggest mobile wallets and many providers pay straight into them by phone number, usually in seconds.
Both are now connected to Bre-B, so a 'llave' tied to a phone number reaches them instantly. A traditional bank account at Bancolombia, Davivienda or BBVA works too, and cash pickup at chains like Éxito or Carulla is a fallback where someone has no account.
It is a national financial-transactions tax (officially the GMF) of 4 pesos per 1,000 — 0.4% — charged when money is withdrawn or moved from many accounts. It is not charged on your remittance, but your recipient may meet it when they later take the cash out.
For 2026 each person gets one savings account exempt up to 350 UVT a month (about COP 18.3 million; digital wallets are capped lower, at 65 UVT, about COP 3.4 million), and half of the GMF paid in a year is deductible on an income-tax return.
Our sources & how we keep this current
Last updated: June 2026. The live rates above refresh automatically, and we review the rest of this guide every month — updating it whenever the rules on payments, tax or regulation change.