Currency exchange in Peru: what can they ask you for, and how much cash can you carry when you travel?

Every exchange house must be registered with the SBS

Changing dollars feels like a small errand, but an exchange house (casa de cambio) is part of Peru’s anti-money-laundering system. Ley 27693, which created the Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF-Perú), says:

“La inscripción en el referido Registro es obligatoria para: a) Las personas naturales o jurídicas dedicadas a la compra y venta de divisas o moneda extranjera. b) Las empresas de créditos, préstamos y empeño.”

(Registration is mandatory for individuals or companies that buy and sell foreign currency, and for credit, lending and pawn businesses.)

That registry is now governed by Resolución SBS 00650-2024, which replaced the older Resolución SBS 6338-2012 (the new rule says that from its entry into force “queda sin efecto la Resolución SBS N°6338-2012”). It defines an exchange house:

“Casa de cambio: persona natural con negocio o persona jurídica constituida en el Perú dedicada a la compraventa de divisas o moneda extranjera de curso legal, de manera: i) presencial, en un establecimiento con licencia de funcionamiento vigente […] o ii) electrónica, a través de una plataforma tecnológica […]. No incluye a los criptoactivos o criptomonedas.”

(An exchange house is a business that buys and sells legal-tender foreign currency either in person, at premises with a municipal operating licence, or electronically, through a technology platform. It does not include crypto-assets.)

Two things follow. Online exchange platforms are exchange houses too, and must register. And exchanging cryptocurrency is outside this definition.

The registry is “único, obligatorio, público y es administrado por la SBS” (single, mandatory, public and run by the SBS), and registration must come before the business starts operating (article 3). If an exchange house operates without registering, the SBS orders it to stop, with a warning that it will close the premises until it registers (article 9). The law adds that the municipality cancels its operating licence.

What they can ask you for, by amount

Article 39 of Resolución SBS 789-2018 sets the “know your customer” rules for businesses that buy and sell foreign currency. What you are asked for depends on the amount:

The rule for smaller amounts says:

“Cuando el cliente realice operaciones por montos inferiores a US$ 5,000.00 (cinco mil y 00/100 dólares americanos) o su equivalente en moneda nacional u otras monedas, el sujeto obligado debe solicitar la presentación del documento de identidad del ejecutante.”

(For transactions under US$ 5,000 or the equivalent in soles or other currencies, the business must ask for the ID document of the person making the transaction.)

And for very small ones:

“Cuando el cliente realice operaciones menores a US$ 200.00 (doscientos y 00/100 dólares americanos) […] para efectos de esta Norma no será exigible la presentación de documento alguno, sin perjuicio de las demás obligaciones exigidas por las normas vigentes.”

(For transactions under US$ 200, no document is required under this rule, without prejudice to other rules.)

The amounts also apply to their equivalent in soles or other currencies.

Where your money comes from

The general-regime list of minimum information (article 16 of the same resolution) includes, when the transaction is in your own favour:

“el origen de los fondos/activos involucrados en la operación, cuando esta se realice en efectivo e iguale o supere el umbral para efectos del RO.”

(The origin of the funds, when the transaction is in cash and equals or exceeds the recording threshold.)

That is why an exchange house may ask where the money comes from when you change a large amount in cash. It is not an accusation. It is information the rule requires it to collect.

The Registro de Operaciones: when your exchange gets recorded

Ley 27693 requires obliged businesses to record certain transactions, including “compraventa en efectivo de moneda extranjera” (cash purchase and sale of foreign currency) and “giros o transferencias emitidos y recibidos (interno y externo)” (money transfers sent and received, domestic and international) (article 9.2). The amount is set by each sector’s regulation.

For exchange houses, article 39 of Resolución SBS 789-2018 says:

“Son materia del RO, las operaciones individuales de compraventa de divisas por parte del cliente. […] El sujeto obligado debe registrar las operaciones individuales de sus clientes, por montos iguales o superiores a US$ 5,000.00 (cinco mil y 00/100 dólares americanos) o su equivalente en moneda nacional u otras monedas, de ser el caso.”

(The record covers the customer’s individual currency transactions. The business must record individual transactions of US$ 5,000 or more, or the equivalent.)

Recording is not reporting. The Registro de Operaciones (RO) is a log the exchange house keeps and makes available to the UIF-Perú. It is different from a suspicious transaction report, which this page does not cover.

One more detail: the exchange house “puede establecer internamente umbrales menores para el RO” (may set lower internal thresholds), based on the risk of its operations or the customer’s profile. If you are asked for details or recorded below the general threshold, that may be an internal policy the rule allows.

They will not tell you if you were reported

Article 35 of Resolución SBS 789-2018 imposes a duty of confidentiality:

“Las comunicaciones, operaciones, registros y demás información a que se refiere esta norma tienen carácter confidencial y todos los involucrados están impedidos de poner en conocimiento de alguna persona, entidad u organismo, bajo cualquier medio o modalidad, que dicha información ha sido solicitada y/o proporcionada a la UIF-Perú, salvo órgano jurisdiccional o autoridad competente de acuerdo a Ley”

(Everyone involved is barred from telling any person or body that the information was requested by or given to the UIF-Perú, except a court or competent authority.)

If you ask whether your transaction was passed to the UIF, the exchange house cannot answer.

Travelling with cash: when to declare it, and the cap

Entering or leaving Peru with cash falls under a different rule, D.S. 195-2013-EF. Its article 2 says:

“Toda persona que ingrese o salga del país por algún aeropuerto internacional, puerto o puesto de control fronterizo de la SUNAT, está obligada a presentar una declaración bajo juramento si porta consigo IFN y/o dinero en efectivo, por sumas superiores a US$ 10,000.00 […]. Se encuentra prohibido para toda persona que ingrese o salga del país, llevar consigo IFN y/o dinero en efectivo por montos superiores a US$ 30,000.00 […]. El ingreso o salida del país de dichos montos deberá efectuarse necesariamente a través de empresas legalmente autorizadas por la SBS para realizar este tipo de operaciones.”

(Anyone entering or leaving through an airport, port or SUNAT border post must file a sworn declaration if carrying cash or bearer instruments above US$ 10,000. Carrying more than US$ 30,000 is prohibited; those amounts must move through companies authorised by the SBS.)

“IFN” means bearer negotiable instruments, such as traveller’s cheques. In short:

• More than US$ 10,000: declare it to SUNAT when you enter or leave.
• More than US$ 30,000: you cannot carry it yourself; it must go through a company authorised by the SBS.

The declaration asks for, among other things, your identity, the amount, the owner and the “origen y destino del dinero en efectivo” (origin and destination of the cash) (article 3).

If you do not declare, or declare falsely, SUNAT retains the full amount (article 8) and applies a penalty of 30% of the undeclared value, charged “independientemente de que se demuestre la licitud” (even if you prove the money is lawful) (article 7). From the retention, you have 72 hours to prove to the UIF-Perú that the money is lawful. If you declared everything but went over the cap, SUNAT retains the excess.

And remittances

The law lists money transfers among the transactions that get recorded. But when you send or receive money from abroad, you usually do it through a bank, a money transfer company or a money-order service, and each has its own anti-money-laundering rule. We did not verify the thresholds in those rules, so this page gives no amount for remittances.

What this page does not cover

We do not cover the thresholds or information required by banks, money transfer companies or postal money-order services. We do not explain multiple transactions, suspicious transaction reports or penalties on an exchange house that breaks the anti-money-laundering rules. We also do not cover cryptocurrency exchange or the criminal consequences of carrying undeclared cash.