Can I open a bank account in Peru without a carné de extranjería?

What changed in 2025

Until 2025, the SBS basic-account regulation identified a foreigner by the carné de extranjería. That left out anyone who had just arrived, anyone whose carné was still being processed, and anyone holding another valid document.

Resolución SBS 00908-2025, published on 18 March 2025 and in force since 16 June 2025, changed that. According to the official El Peruano news item, a foreigner may open a cuenta básica with «carné de identidad, pasaporte o documento legalmente reconocido». The resolution also amends the electronic-money regulation the same way.

We read the text of Resolución SBS 00908-2025 in its official publication in El Peruano (not on the SBS’s own portal, which did not show it). The text speaks of «requisitos mínimos» — minimum requirements — for identification, and that word matters: it suggests a floor below which no bank can demand more documents than the rule sets, but it does not say expressly whether a bank can, on its own policy, ask for additional documentation beyond that floor. We did not find that point settled anywhere.

What a cuenta básica is, and what its caps are

A simplified savings account with operating caps instead of paperwork, designed for financial inclusion. Since March 2026, Resolución SBS 00704-2026 sets those caps as multiples of the UIT (a Peruvian tax unit that is adjusted yearly): up to 0.6 UIT per transaction, a maximum consolidated balance of 1.9 UIT at a single institution, and up to 2.8 UIT in accumulated monthly operations. With the 2026 UIT at S/ 5,500, that is roughly S/ 3,300 per transaction, S/ 10,450 in maximum balance, and S/ 15,400 a month — figures that rise each year with the UIT, so confirm the exact amount with your bank when you open the account. For a migrant who needs to receive a salary or send money home, it is usually enough. If you need more, once the basic account is open and you have a history with the bank, moving to a regular account is simpler.

Regular accounts: each bank decides

For accounts that are not basic, the SBS rule we read does not oblige banks to accept any particular document. Each bank sets its policy. What a bank cannot do is treat opening an account as a favour: the Civil Code says civil rights are common to Peruvians and foreigners, and a refusal should have a reason they can explain to you.

Keep the other side in view too: since DL 1582, every private entity must verify that you are in regular migration status. A bank asking for a valid carné is not discriminating; it is complying with that duty.

How to complain

The complaint goes to the bank first. Resolución SBS 04036-2022, article 7.1, is clear: «Los reclamos deben ser resueltos por las empresas en un plazo no mayor a quince (15) días hábiles». Keep the complaint number and the date. If they do not answer in time or the answer resolves nothing, the next step is Indecopi, which is free.

What remains open

Whether a bank may, on its own policy, demand documentation beyond the «minimum requirements» the rule sets for the cuenta básica — the text does not say so expressly, though the word «minimum» suggests it could. If a bank tells you the rule does not exist, ask for that in writing and ask the SBS.