How do people in Colombia pay online?
PSE is the e-commerce staple. Run by ACH Colombia, PSE (Pagos Seguros en Línea) redirects the shopper from the checkout to their own bank’s online banking, where they approve a debit from their account. It works with almost every Colombian bank and is the first non-card method most shoppers look for, from utility bills to online shopping. In the CCCE’s 2025 figures, account debits such as PSE took 57.2% of online sales value, credit cards 35.9% and wallets 5.5%.
Online spending keeps growing. The Colombian e-commerce chamber CCCE counted 684.6 million online transactions worth COP 145.4 trillion in 2025, up 19.9% in number and 11.1% in value on 2024.
Wallets have grown quickly. Nequi, from the Bancolombia group, had more than 25 million users and about 20.7 million monthly active users in the first seven months of 2025, with around 550 million successful transactions a month. Daviplata, from Davivienda, is the other large wallet, and for many younger customers a wallet is their main account.
Bre-B is the newest rail. Banco de la República’s interoperable instant payment system opened in late September 2025 and passed 34 million registered users after six months. It lets people send money between any bank or wallet using an alias such as a phone number, around the clock. Cards remain important for e-commerce, with Visa and Mastercard leading and instalment payments common on credit cards, and cash networks such as Efecty serve customers without accounts. The central bank notes that cash still accounts for most daily transactions.
What rules shape online payments in Colombia?
Online shoppers can cancel. Article 47 of the Consumer Statute (Law 1480 of 2011) gives a right to cancel (retracto) on distance sales: the shopper has five business days from delivery, or from signing the contract for services, to cancel. The shopper returns the product and pays the return transport, and the merchant must refund everything paid, with no deductions, within 30 calendar days. Exceptions include services already started with the shopper’s agreement, made-to-order goods, perishable goods and goods for personal use.
Card and PSE payments can be reversed. Under Article 51, when goods are bought online, through PSE, a call centre or another remote channel and paid with a credit card, debit card or other electronic instrument, the payment participants must reverse the payment if the shopper was a victim of fraud, did not authorise the operation, never received the product, or received one that is defective or not what was ordered. The shopper must complain to the merchant within five business days, return the product where relevant and notify the card or account issuer. If a court or authority later rules for the merchant, the charge is applied again where possible. The same article lets consumers reverse pre-authorised automatic debits for recurring services for any reason, which matters for subscriptions.
Foreign sellers carry Colombian tax obligations. VAT is 19%, and non-resident companies that supply taxable services, including digital services, to customers who are not VAT-registered in Colombia must register for VAT and have filed and paid bimonthly since 1 July 2018 under Law 1819 of 2016. Since 1 January 2024, a significant economic presence rule also covers non-residents selling goods or digital services into Colombia: it applies when a seller reaches at least 300,000 Colombian customers or users, or shows prices or accepts payment in COP, and earns at least 31,300 UVT (COP 1,639,306,200 for 2026) from Colombian customers. Such sellers face 10% withholding on payments unless they register and choose to pay 3% on gross revenue instead.
How does Omno route payments in Colombia?
Omno treats Colombia as a multi-method market with fast-changing rails. You connect once and set routing rules per method, currency and customer group:
- PSE pay-ins go to the provider your rule sets for that customer segment, with cascading to the next PSE provider in the rule if one is unavailable or rejects the request.
- Nequi and other wallets are offered in the hosted checkout and Web SDK, so customers can approve payments in the app they already use.
- Cards can be routed by BIN to the acquirer your rule sets for that issuer, with instalments passed through where the provider supports them.
- Pay-outs follow PSP eligibility rules, so marketplace payouts only use providers that support COP transfers to the recipient’s bank account or wallet.
Webhooks report the final status of every transaction, which is the record your back office should trust for fulfilment. Customer groups and customer verification levels let you keep new customers on conservative routes and limits until checks are complete.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for PSE and Nequi from day one. Together with cards, they cover most Colombian online shoppers, and PSE completion rates vary by bank, so a second provider matters.
Plan for refunds and reversals. Five-day cancellations and Article 51 reversals both need a fast refund path and clear delivery records, so you can show what was shipped if a reversal is contested.
Plan for tax if you sell from abroad. Check whether you must register for VAT and whether the significant economic presence rule applies, because pricing in COP is one of its triggers.
Plan for Bre-B. The instant rail is growing quickly, and providers are adding it for both pay-ins and payouts; build your routing so new methods can be added without changing your integration, and use the routing-decision log in Omno to reconcile COP settlements by route.