Before you start

A Colombian visa valid for more than three months, which entitles you to a cédula
The physical cédula de extranjería — the paper contraseña is often refused at branches
A Colombian mobile number on a local SIM for app enrolment and one-time codes
Proof of a Cartagena address (lease or a recent Afinia or Aguas de Cartagena bill) and, at several banks, a RUT from DIAN

Step-by-step

1
Before the cédula: a foreign card, Wise and cash
Tourists cannot open a normal Colombian account. Bring a low-fee foreign debit card, use Wise to move money at close to the mid-market rate, and keep cash for the many businesses outside Bocagrande that prefer it. At every ATM and terminal, decline the machine's offer to convert and choose to be charged in pesos — accepting costs several percent every time.
OnlineWho: YouImmediately on arrivalWise typically well under 1%; Colombian ATM surcharge on foreign cards commonly COP 20,000–30,000 per withdrawal
2
Get the visa, register it, collect the cédula
Visa from the Cancillería, registration at Cartagena's Migración Colombia office within fifteen calendar days, then the physical cédula. Do not book a bank appointment against the paper contraseña: some branches accept it and many do not, and you will find out only at the desk.
In personWho: You, via the Cancillería and Migración ColombiaWeeks; card a few days to weeks after registrationCédula around COP 294,000 (~US$70–80)
3
Get a free RUT from DIAN before the bank appointment
The RUT is your tax registration, it is free, and several banks now fold it into foreigner onboarding even where no tax is due. With a cédula you can often complete it online through DIAN's MUISCA portal; otherwise DIAN's Cartagena office handles it by appointment. Having it in hand saves a second bank visit.
OnlineWho: You, with DIANSame day to about a weekFree
4
Open the account in person
Bancolombia has the deepest branch network; Davivienda, BBVA, Banco de Bogotá and Scotiabank Colpatria all work. Bring cédula, visa, RUT, proof of address and, at some banks, evidence of income. Foreigner accounts generally cannot be opened online, and outcomes vary more with the individual adviser's familiarity than with written policy — if one branch says no, another may not.
In personWho: You, at a branchAccount same visit; debit card 1–2 weeksOften free; some accounts carry COP 10,000–20,000 a month
5
Register your Bre-B llaves and add a wallet
Bre-B is the central bank's instant-payments scheme, live since 2025 with hundreds of participating banks, cooperatives and wallets, and interoperability is a legal requirement. Register a llave — phone number, ID number, email or a chosen code — against one account and anyone in the system can pay it instantly. Nequi and Daviplata remain the everyday wallets; they now simply talk to everything else.
Mobile appWho: You, in your bank or wallet appMinutesFree
6
For a property purchase, channel the money through the exchange market
Foreign currency brought in to buy real estate must be sold through an authorised exchange-market intermediary — your Colombian bank — and declared so that the purchase is registered as foreign investment with the Banco de la República. That registration is what later entitles you to remit sale proceeds, rental income and gains abroad, and it is also part of the evidence an investor visa rests on. Do it at the time of the transfer; retrofitting it is difficult.
In personWho: You, with your Colombian bank as exchange-market intermediaryAt the time of the transfer, before completion

Documents you’ll need

Cédula de extranjería (physical card)
Valid Colombian visa with more than three months' validity
RUT certificate from DIAN
Proof of a Cartagena address — lease or a recent Afinia or Aguas de Cartagena bill showing the estrato
For a purchase: the exchange declaration and the Banco de la República foreign-investment registration

Things most newcomers don’t know

Money brought in to buy Cartagena property has to move through the formal exchange market and be registered as foreign investment with the Banco de la República — otherwise you cannot lawfully take the proceeds out.

Buyers routinely wire funds informally or through a friend's Colombian account because it is faster and looks cheaper. Colombia's exchange regime treats registered foreign investment as the basis for remitting capital, rental income and sale gains abroad, so the shortcut turns a liquid asset into a trapped one, and it also undermines an investor-visa application.

Source: Banco de la República — régimen cambiario and foreign investment registration

The 4x1000 applies to large one-off movements too, which on a property completion is a real number rather than a rounding error.

At 0.4%, a transfer covering a purchase price costs meaningfully more than people expect, and the exemption available on a nominated account is capped monthly in UVT and will not absorb it. Ask your bank in advance how the transaction will be treated and whether any exemption applies to the specific movement, rather than discovering it on the statement.

Source: DIAN — Gravamen a los Movimientos Financieros

One account can be nominated as exempt from the 4x1000 for everyday life, but the bank will not do it unless you ask.

The exemption covers a single account across the entire financial system up to a monthly ceiling set in UVT, so the trick is nominating the account you genuinely spend from rather than a savings account you rarely touch. Foreigners pay 0.4% on every rent transfer and card top-up for years without ever making the request.

Source: DIAN — Gravamen a los Movimientos Financieros

Always choose to be billed in pesos at a Cartagena ATM or card terminal, and refuse the machine's own conversion.

Dynamic currency conversion lets the terminal set the rate and it is consistently three to seven percent worse than your card issuer's. In a tourist city the prompt is everywhere and is worded to look helpful. Over a year of restaurants, rent and withdrawals that single habit outweighs any account fee you could negotiate.

Source: Superintendencia Financiera consumer guidance; Wise

Common mistakes to avoid

Wiring purchase money outside the formal exchange market, which blocks lawful repatriation later and weakens an investor visa.
Trying to open an account on a passport as a tourist — anti-money-laundering rules key on the cédula.
Never asking for a cuenta exenta and paying the 4x1000 on every transfer for years.
Accepting the ATM's or terminal's own currency conversion instead of paying in pesos.
Assuming cards work everywhere because they work in Bocagrande and the walled city — much of Cartagena is still cash or wallet.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.