Open a bank account in Bolivia as a foreigner

Residence and cédula first

Under the rules of ASFI, the banking regulator, a person identifies with a Bolivian identity card, the cédula de identidad de extranjero or a diplomatic document. To open a savings account, a caja de ahorro, banks generally ask for the foreigner’s card; some also ask for a NIT or proof of address, and each bank sets its own list. In practice the residence and the card come first, then the account: the chapter on the cédula at SEGIP prepares that visit.

The passport and the carnet de extranjero are two different documents, which a bank may treat differently depending on the account and your status: ask “¿Qué documentos necesito según mi caso?” and have the list written down. Some banks and offices ask for a croquis, a small hand-drawn map from a main street to your door, especially in La Paz; it is a possible proof of address, so ask whether your bank accepts one.

Sources: ASFI rules (Infoleyes)

At the branch

In many banks the guard hands you a ficha at the door: say you have come to open an account and ask which button is for it. Accounts are opened at the plataforma, the service desks, not at the caja where people deposit cash, by an ejecutivo de plataforma who keeps usted both ways; many people address the officer as licenciada or licenciado. In the Prado banks of La Paz the wait grows towards noon, and in Sucre ask whether the branch keeps horario continuo, open through lunch.

At the desk, ask about the account type, maintenance costs, limits, the debit card and mobile banking, and ask for a written summary before you sign. Every bank has a public list of its fees, the tarifario, and ASFI publishes the banks’ fee schedules so you can compare them before choosing.

QR, the everyday payment

Bolivia’s banking QR code has worked since 2019 and is interoperable: you scan the code in your bank’s app, enter the exact amount, transfer, and often show the comprobante. It became a mass payment method in 2025, about 36 % of payments against 64 % in cash according to the central bank, so cash still matters. Paying by QR needs a Bolivian bank’s app, which is one reason newcomers pay cash at first.

Activate the debit card and the app del banco through the bank’s official channel only, and never share a PIN, a password, an SMS code or a clave temporal. Before you pay someone, check the account holder’s name and the amount: “Quiero confirmar el titular y el monto”.

Sources: Los Tiempos

Dollars and the exchange rate

Dollars have been scarce in Bolivia since 2023, and 2026 brought changes. Card purchases abroad were re-enabled in April; remittances normalised and, from 15 July, deposits held in the banks began to be returned in stages. The fixed rate of Bs 6.96 per dollar has ended: since 29 June 2026 the official rate floats, and the Banco Central de Bolivia publishes it on its site. Prices are moving, so look up the day’s rate rather than trusting an old figure.

Property and some rents are often priced in dollars, written $us, while daily life runs in bolivianos: asking which currency governs a price is normal. Both your bank and the central bank publish the official rate, and before moving money for a large payment, people ask their own bank first.

Sources: Banco Central de Bolivia, Ministerio de Economía

Cash, ATMs and problems

A cajero is both the ATM and the teller, so ask if the context is unclear. Before you rely on a card, ask the daily withdrawal limit, and keep the receipt of an operation that failed. Carry some cash anyway: many market stalls take QR, but not all.

If a card is lost or a transfer fails, have it blocked or report it through the bank’s official channel only. A complaint, a reclamo, goes first to the bank’s Punto de Reclamo, then, if needed, to ASFI’s Defensoría del Consumidor Financiero, on the free line 800 103 103. Pay and transfer only through official channels, and share no codes or account data with anyone who contacts you.