The Financial System Supervisory Authority of Bolivia (ASFI) has approved amendments to its regulation on interest rates, commissions and fees, tightening oversight of charges applied by Financial Intermediation Entities (EIF) to financial consumers. The update aligns the financial system with Central Bank of Bolivia guidelines, including a requirement that all card transactions made abroad apply exclusively the US dollar selling reference rate published daily by the central bank, to prevent arbitrary charges. ASFI also introduced tariff bands for remittances and transfers abroad. For remittances up to USD 1,000, users must pay only the international correspondent’s cost, while amounts above USD 1,000 are subject to a commission ranging from 5% to 10%; transfers in other foreign currencies above USD 1,000 may carry a commission of up to 20%. For health and education services, cash transfers are subject to a fixed 3% commission. Alongside these changes, basic financial services remain free of charge, including initial issuance and renewal of debit cards, provision of digital tokens, card blocking and access to digital account statements. EIF were notified to ensure immediate compliance, and the provisions are publicly available in the Electronic Gazette of Financial Regulation. Breaches of the limits or failures to provide transparent information to customers are subject to sanctions under Financial Services Law No. 393.
Financial System Supervisory Authority of Bolivia 2026-04-14
Financial System Supervisory Authority of Bolivia amends fees rules to mandate the Central Bank USD reference rate for overseas card transactions and set tariff bands for outbound transfers
The Financial System Supervisory Authority of Bolivia has amended its regulation on interest rates, commissions and fees to tighten oversight of charges by Financial Intermediation Entities and align practices with Central Bank of Bolivia guidelines, including mandatory use of the official US dollar selling reference rate for card transactions abroad. The update introduces tariff bands for remittances and foreign transfers, maintains free basic financial services, and subjects breaches of limits or transparency requirements to sanctions.