Colombia's services exports in 2026: which sectors are growing
Business services grew 15.1% year over year in July 2026 and IT services 7.7%, per DANE. Which categories drive growth and what it means for dollar collections.
A Colombian services company bills clients in the United States or Spain every month and sees sales rising, yet it cannot tell whether its whole sector is growing or it is simply having a good run. Headlines talk about a services boom without separating technology, call centers, consulting and transport, and each moves at a different pace.
At Soulbit Academy we read the official bulletins to separate signal from noise. This analysis uses only figures from DANE and the Banco de la República, each with its period and publication date, and explains what they mean for the cash flow of a company that gets paid in dollars.
Colombia's services exports in 2026: what DANE measures and what it does not
DANE, Colombia's national statistics office, measures services exports through the Monthly Survey of Foreign Trade in Services (EMCES in Spanish). Its latest technical bulletin, published on October 2, 2026, covers July 2026 with provisional figures. Although the editorial calendar and much of the press refer to quarterly data, the current statistical source for services is monthly and uses the Extended Balance of Payments Services Classification (CABPS).
One limitation deserves to be stated up front. The July 2026 bulletin says it presents no information for the travel grouping, in either exports or imports, because the source data is missing. It also withholds construction for statistical reserve reasons. Inbound tourism therefore does not appear in these figures, and any DANE ranking must be read without it.
The second pillar is the Banco de la República, Colombia's central bank, which compiles the balance of payments. Its second-quarter 2026 report, published on September 1, 2026, estimates a current account deficit of USD 4,702 million, equal to 3.5% of quarterly GDP, and inside it a services trade deficit of USD 631 million. The detail by category sits in its statistical series.
The official sources are these:
- EMCES technical bulletin for July 2026 (DANE), with detail by grouping, destination country and department.
- Balance of payments report for the second quarter of 2026 (Banco de la República), with the aggregate services balance. It is published in Spanish.
Three categories concentrate services exports in July 2026
DANE reports that in July 2026 the largest exported amounts came from other business services, transport services and telecommunications, computer and information services. All three grew against July 2025, while the small categories, which add little volume, fell.
Table 1 gathers the values and annual changes from the bulletin, all provisional.
| CABPS grouping | July 2026 (USD million) | Annual change | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other business services | 310.8 | 15.1% | Largest amount; driven by business consulting and engineering |
| Transport services | 307.4 | 13.1% | Dominated by passenger air transport (60.1%) |
| Telecommunications, computer and information services | 205.4 | 7.7% | Computer services are 90.9% of the category |
| Personal, cultural and recreational services | 20.0 | -15.7% | Small volume and annual decline |
| Charges for the use of intellectual property | 17.5 | -19.6% | Small volume and annual decline |
| Maintenance and repair services | 10.6 | -24.1% | Small volume and annual decline |
Is one month enough to call a trend?
No. A single month mixes seasonality and calendar effects. In the bulletin's own series, other business services went from USD 287.3 million in November 2025 to USD 363.1 million in December, then back to USD 262.8 million in January 2026. Looking at the annual change across several months before adjusting a budget is the safer habit.
Other business services: consulting up, call centers down
Other business services are the category with the largest exported amount and grew 15.1% year over year in July 2026. Within it, call center services have the largest share, at 38.0%, but they fell 4.0% against July 2025.
The growth comes from other lines. According to DANE, business and management consulting and public relations services, together with architectural, engineering and other technical services, contributed 11.5 percentage points of the change. Research and development grew 37.8% year over year in the same month and holds 4.9% of the category.
In July 2026 call centers, at 38.0% of the category, fell 4.0% year over year, while business consulting and engineering added 11.5 percentage points to the change (DANE, provisional figures). It is a one-month snapshot: confirm it across several bulletins before adjusting a budget.
IT services and software exports: the category that matters most for a tech SME
Telecommunications, computer and information services exported USD 205.4 million in July 2026, against USD 190.8 million in July 2025, an increase of 7.7%. Within the category, computer services hold 90.9% and added 8.6 percentage points to growth, while telecommunications fell 18.0%.
The product detail DANE publishes under the Central Product Classification shows that not all software grows at the same rate:
- IT consulting services grew 18.5% year over year in July 2026.
- Application provision services grew 46.9% year over year.
- Application design and development grew 3.8% year over year.
- IT support services fell 1.8% year over year.
For a development company, the reading is that value is shifting toward consulting and applications as a service, while support stagnates. The July monthly change was -6.6% against June, which confirms that an isolated month settles nothing.
If you export software, the practical case of how a Colombian vendor invoices and collects is in the case of a Colombian software factory collecting from US clients. This analysis does not repeat it.
Transport, destinations and regions: where growth comes from
Transport services exported USD 307.4 million in July 2026, against USD 271.9 million a year earlier. DANE specifies that passenger air transport is 60.1% of the category and air cargo 22.4%. For a professional services SME, this category is a macro reference, not a market to sell into.
On destinations, the July 2026 bulletin says that the United States, Spain and El Salvador recorded the highest levels of services exports, with annual changes of 6.4%, 9.4% and 27.5%. Brazil (16.6%), Mexico (11.5%), Uruguay (15.4%), Chile (12.8%) and the United Kingdom (2.2%) complete the list of main destinations DANE publishes.
By department, the largest amounts came from Bogotá D.C., Antioquia and Bolívar, with changes of 9.5%, 25.2% and 7.0%. Valle del Cauca grew 18.5% and Atlántico fell 21.0%.
The United States, Spain and El Salvador recorded the highest export levels in July 2026, but the United States grew 6.4%, below Spain (9.4%), Brazil (16.6%) or El Salvador (27.5%). To see how that corridor breaks down, including collections, suppliers and payroll, read the Colombia-United States corridor.
What this means for the treasury of an exporting services SME
Growth in exported services does not by itself improve an SME's cash, because the effect arrives through three channels: the dollar price, the collection term and the exchange rate. Each calls for a different treasury decision.
The first is the invoicing currency. The second is the term: a consulting contract that pays at 45 or 60 days ties up working capital, and the logic of an exporter's cash cycle is in the cash conversion cycle for exporters. The third is the exchange rate: what matters is the rate on the date the collection is booked and converted, as the guide to the TRM and DIAN explains.
An illustrative, fully hypothetical example helps. Assumption: a call center operation bills USD 25,000 a month to a foreign client with payment at 30 days. If it collects and converts to pesos when the money arrives, its peso income depends on that day's rate, not on the invoice date's. The USD 25,000 is an assumption of the example, not market data and not a Soulbit rate.
Table 2 summarizes the decisions and what conditions them.
| Treasury decision | What the official data says | What the company must decide |
|---|---|---|
| Invoicing currency | The exported categories grow in current dollars in the DANE bulletin | Agree the currency in the contract and review the foreign exchange regime |
| Collection term | DANE does not publish collection terms by category | Measure its own days to collect from each client |
| Exchange rate | Official data do not set an optimal moment to convert | Decide when to convert and how much to keep in dollars |
| Destination concentration | The United States and Spain lead in July 2026 | Avoid depending on a single client or market |
Should the whole collection be converted to pesos immediately?
Not necessarily. Immediate conversion gives certainty about the pesos that arrive, and keeping part in dollars lets the company pay suppliers or payroll in that currency without intermediate conversions. It is a treasury policy decision that depends on the company's costs in each currency and its tolerance for exchange rate risk.
The treatment of value added tax on these sales has its own analysis in the VAT exemption on service exports, which is not repeated here. A cross-border collection can also be handled with a payment link for international collections.
What Soulbit V1 delivers and what it does not
Soulbit V1 helps an exporting company collect, hold a balance and convert, but it does not replace foreign exchange channelling, electronic invoicing or the judgment of its adviser. Soulbit is a custodial platform with institutional custody, and this section is the honest limit of what exists today.
What exists in V1: balances in USDC and USDT, fiat in USD, EUR and GBP, a local banking rail only in Colombia, KYB verification, recurring and batch payroll, payment links, collection QR codes, OTC conversion by quote and AML/KYT controls.
Soulbit does not promise yield on balances, a proprietary token or EURC balances. Check official channels for card and mobile app availability. There is also no price advantage to claim, because Soulbit has not published a rate card.
Soulbit does not provide foreign exchange, tax or accounting advice. Which CABPS category matches your service, how the currency is channelled and which taxes apply are decisions for you, your advisers and the DIAN.
Frequently asked questions
Which sector exports the most services in Colombia?
In DANE's July 2026 bulletin, the largest amounts came from other business services (USD 310.8 million), transport (USD 307.4 million) and telecommunications, computer and information services (USD 205.4 million). These are provisional single-month figures, so the order of the first two can change from one month to the next.
Does the DANE survey cover tourism and travel?
No. The July 2026 bulletin states that it presents no data for the travel services grouping, in either exports or imports, because the source information is not available. For the full picture of travel, a reader has to turn to the balance of payments published by the Banco de la República.
What does the Banco de la República say about the services balance?
Its balance of payments report for the second quarter of 2026, published on September 1, 2026, records a services trade deficit of USD 631 million inside a current account deficit of USD 4,702 million. In other words, Colombia still imports more services than it exports, even though exports are growing.
Does an exporting SME have to invoice in dollars?
No. The invoice currency is agreed with the client, and Colombia's foreign exchange regime governs how the currency is channelled. Invoicing in dollars protects the agreed price but leaves the company exposed to the exchange rate when it converts to pesos, so treasury should decide it together with its adviser.
Can a company use Soulbit to collect from foreign clients?
Soulbit lets a company collect through payment links and collection QR codes, hold balances in USDC or USDT and convert to USD, EUR or GBP, with a local banking rail only in Colombia. It is a custodial service and it does not replace foreign exchange channelling or the company's tax obligations.
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