Bre-B in Colombia: What Instant Payments Change for Businesses

A finance team that pays or collects in Colombia has long dealt with transfers that arrive late, depend on bank hours and carry account details typed by hand. Bre-B, the instant payment system run by the Banco de la República, changes part of that: funds move in seconds, at any hour, and the payer uses a key instead of an account number. It does not change everything.

At Soulbit Academy we explain what Bre-B does, what official data exists one year after full operation, and which treasury decisions remain with the CFO. This article is informational: Bre-B is public infrastructure run by the central bank and is not a Soulbit product.

What Bre-B is and how a business uses it

Bre-B is the interoperable instant payment system of the Banco de la República. It lets money move between different institutions at any hour on any day, and the central bank states that funds reach the recipient in seconds. It has been in full operation since October 6, 2025.

The core element is the key. A key is an identifier, such as a mobile number or a merchant code, linked to an account or wallet at a financial institution. The payer enters or scans the key, and the system finds the destination regardless of where the account is held.

For a business this brings three operational changes:

• The first is the collection detail: the company shares a key, not an account number or a bank certificate.
• The second is timing: settlement no longer depends on institution business hours.
• The third is interoperability: the customer can pay from the institution it already uses, without opening a new account.

The Banco de la República says any person or merchant can use Bre-B through the digital channels of its institution. Which business features each institution offers, and under what conditions, is set by that institution, so ask yours before redesigning a collection process.

Bre-B in numbers: what the Banco de la República reports as of March 2026

As of March 2026, the Banco de la República reports 12.68 million active keys and 34.59 million registered users, of whom 91.4% are individuals. In under six months of operation the system processed more than 670 million transactions and about COP 1.2 trillion per day, according to the official Bre-B portal and its February 2026 technical document.

Two readings help a CFO. The first is scale: with more than 12 million active keys, many individual customers in Colombia probably already know how to pay with a key. The second is composition: if 91.4% of users are individuals, the remaining 8.6%, about 3 million by our own calculation on the official figure, groups companies and other users; the Banco de la República does not break out how many are companies, so business adoption cannot be measured from this figure.

According to press reports, the second stage of the system targets payroll and company-to-company payments, as Forbes Colombia reported. Do not plan around that stage until your institution confirms the date and conditions.

How companies collect with Bre-B: keys, merchant code and QR

A company collects with Bre-B by sharing a key, or a QR code tied to it, and the payment reaches its account or wallet in seconds. There are five key types: mobile number, ID document, email, alphanumeric and merchant code. The table below summarizes when each may fit.

Key type	What it is	Likely business use
Mobile number	Mobile phone number linked to the account	Low-volume collections; not advisable as a permanent corporate identifier
ID document	Identification number of the account holder	Collections in the name of an individual; check with the institution how it works for a legal entity
Email	Email address linked to the account	Digital collections, for example on an invoice sent by email
Alphanumeric	Code chosen by the holder	Brand, team or business line: one key per line makes it easier to match receipts to invoices
Merchant code	Identifier of a merchant	In-store or online collection, together with the merchant QR

How does a customer pay a merchant QR code?

The customer scans the QR in the app of their institution, confirms the amount and the payment reaches the merchant in seconds. The central bank states that merchants have QR codes and a merchant-code key. For internal control, a separate code per branch or sales channel helps.

A good practice is to assign one alphanumeric key per business line. Each receipt then arrives with an identifier that narrows down the invoice or unit it belongs to. The Banco de la República states that registering keys has no cost; what a company pays to send or receive payments is set by each institution in its fee schedule and should be requested in writing.

If your customers are outside Colombia, a Bre-B QR is not the tool: a foreign customer does not hold a Colombian account. Other routes exist for that case, such as a payment link to collect internationally, covered below.

How companies pay with Bre-B: suppliers, payroll and the per-transaction limit

A company pays with Bre-B by transferring to the beneficiary's key from its institution's channels, up to 1,000 UVB per transaction, which equals COP 12,110,000 in 2026. That is the limit set by the Banco de la República, according to its official Bre-B page. Each institution may apply lower limits.

The cap has practical effects on treasury. A payment above that amount does not fit in a single Bre-B operation, and splitting it to get around the limit is not a decision the company should make alone: ask the institution. Consider this case, with every figure an illustrative assumption:

• A foreign company with a Colombian subsidiary must pay a local supplier an invoice of COP 18,500,000, an assumed amount.
• That amount exceeds the COP 12,110,000 per-transaction cap.
• Treasury uses another regular channel of its institution for that payment and reserves Bre-B for smaller items such as rent, utilities and recurring low-value suppliers.

For payroll, caution is needed. Colombian payroll has its own structure, with PILA social security contributions, accruals and supporting documents that an instant transfer does not settle. Payroll through Bre-B depends on what the company's institution offers for bulk payments, and the second stage, according to press reports, is meant for that. It should not be assumed available today.

Does Bre-B change the financial transactions tax?

This article does not claim that Bre-B changes the treatment of the tax on financial movements, the 4x1000. If a company moves more payments through Bre-B, the volume of taxable movements may change, which is worth reviewing with your accountant and institution. The guide to the 4x1000 financial transaction tax for companies in Colombia explains which operations trigger it and which exemptions exist.

What changes in treasury: reconciliation, controls and available cash

Bre-B changes three treasury routines: reconciliation, payment control and cash forecasting. The reason is that money moves in seconds at any hour, so an account balance can change on a Saturday or a holiday, with no bank close to put the movements in order.

The first is reconciliation. With more instant receipts, the daily statement carries more lines with less uniform references. The company must decide which data point identifies each receipt and who matches it to the invoice. The principles of multi-currency bank reconciliation also apply to an account that only operates in pesos.

The second is payment control. An instant payment settles in seconds and any refund depends on each institution's claims process, so prior approval matters more. Internal controls for payment approval should define who can register a destination key, who approves the amount and what daily limit each user has, before using Bre-B at volume.

The third is cash forecasting. An instant receipt shortens the time between invoicing and available cash, but only if the customer pays through Bre-B. The company should measure what share of its receipts arrives through that channel before reducing its liquidity buffer.

There is also a fraud risk: a third party that impersonates a destination key can receive an instant payment. The company should check the holder name shown in the app before confirming and document that procedure.

Bre-B versus cross-border payments: what each tool solves

Bre-B solves the movement of pesos between Colombian institutions and does not solve cross-border payments. A collection from the United States or a payment to a supplier in Europe needs a different route, with its own currency, timing, foreign exchange controls and documentation. The table below separates what Bre-B covers from what still needs another solution.

Company need	What Bre-B covers	What still needs another solution
Collect from a Colombian customer in pesos	Instant collection with a key or QR, at any hour	Reconcile with the electronic invoice and confirm conditions with the institution
Pay a Colombian supplier in pesos	Instant transfer up to COP 12,110,000 per transaction in 2026	Larger amounts, internal approval and tax documentation
Collect from a customer abroad in dollars	Not applicable: the customer does not hold a Colombian account	International route, foreign exchange regime and transaction support
Pay a supplier or contractor abroad	Not applicable: the system operates in pesos inside the country	International payment, withholding tax and foreign exchange filing where required
Pay bulk payroll	According to press reports, part of a second stage; not confirmed as available	Batch dispersion, PILA and electronic payroll

What does a company do if it collects in dollars and pays in pesos?

A company that invoices customers abroad in dollars needs one route to receive those funds and another to convert them and pay in pesos. Bre-B can take part at the end, once the money is in a Colombian account and a local supplier is paid. The applicable regime is explained in Colombia's foreign exchange regime for companies.

For a foreign company the picture is similar. If your company is based in another country and pays contractors or suppliers in Colombia, the beneficiary receives pesos at a local institution. The payment leaving your company for Colombia still needs an international route, with its own cost and timing.

What Soulbit delivers today and what it does not do

Soulbit V1 delivers company balances in stablecoins (USDC and USDT) and in fiat (USD, EUR and GBP), with institutional custody, a local banking rail in Colombia only, payment links, collection QR codes, recurring or batch payroll and conversion by eOTC quote on request. It is a complement for international collections and payments, not a substitute for local payment tools.

For a company that collects from abroad and pays in Colombia, this means receiving the payment through a payment link or a collection QR, holding the balance in a stable currency and, when needed, converting it and dispersing pesos to Colombian accounts. The procedure is covered in COP and USD payment dispersion in Colombia with Soulbit.

What Soulbit does not do: it does not provide banking services or open bank accounts, issue cards, pay yield on balances or offer an API for the company's accounting software in V1. Which channel suits each payment depends on the amount, the destination and the cost, and that decision belongs to your treasury team.