In September 2025, Colombia will be joining its Latin American (LatAm) neighbours in the digital payments world, as the Central Bank of Colombia (Banco de la República) will make Bre-B, the new payment system for individuals and businesses, operational. Gearing up for this launch, Cobre, the business payment firm in LatAm, has revealed that it will now be able to offer instant interbank payments for businesses through the payment network.
Bre-B, Colombia’s payment network, which is anticipated to bring the same success that PIX has brought Brazil, Transferencias 3.0 has brought Argentina, and SINPE has brought Chile, will move the country away from being cash-first and into the digital era. According to the Central Bank of Colombia, digital payments currently represent less than 15 per cent of all payments across the nation, while cash is used by 70 per cent. Bre-B looks to change this.
Utilising the framework, Cobre will allow companies to use payment aliases (keys) to receive instant and interoperable transfers without altering their existing accounting flows or payment systems. This will eliminate operational friction and make it easier to adopt this new financial infrastructure. They will also be able to receive payments from corporate clients around the clock — 24/7, including weekends and holidays, which will significantly improve cash flow and accelerate accounting cycles.
Cobre plans to grant early access to its customers, a group that includes major retailers, fintechs, and logistics providers.
“At Cobre, we believe innovation should go beyond the buzzword. That’s why we’ve worked hard to bring real-time to enterprise payments in Colombia before anyone else. This benefits not only our clients, but also the country’s entire financial modernization agenda,” said José Gedeón, CEO and co-founder of Cobre.
“This has been the result of months of joint work with various ecosystem partners. This is definitely another step in our mission to provide innovative, efficient financial tools for companies.”
