2025-07-14
Added
Exchange Houses must deposit minimum founding capital, obtain authorization within ten business days, and publish certification within eight business days. They must maintain a guarantee at least double social capital, increasing it within 30 business days if daily sales exceed 50% of the threshold. Monthly financial statements and currency reports using Annex No. 3 are due within five business days, with daily operational reports sent to the Central Bank. Annual auditor reports are due within sixty business days. Failure to maintain guarantees or start operations within three months triggers sanctions or authorization revocation.
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JULY 2025
INSTRUCTION FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE
FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE HOUSES LAW
INDEX
CENTRAL BANK
OF RESERVE OF EL
SALVADOR
INSTRUCTION FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF
FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE HOUSES
DEPARTMENT OF
PAGE No.
CODE
980503
REVISED
Manager of Financial Stability and
Public Policies
APPROVED BY:
CD No. 18/2025, dated July 14, 2025
1.2. LEGAL BASIS
This Instruction is issued in accordance with the following legislation:
1.2.1. Law of Foreign Currency Exchange Houses.
1.2.2. Article 3, letter j), Article 23, letter a), and Article 66 of the Organic Law of the Central Bank of Reserve of El Salvador.
1.2.3. Article 122 of the Law for the Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System.
1.3. SCOPE OF APPLICATION
This instruction will be applied by the Superintendence of the Financial System and, where applicable, by Foreign Currency Exchange Houses authorized by the Central Bank of Reserve of El Salvador and those authorized by the Superintendence of the Financial System in accordance with what is established in the Law for the Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System.
CENTRAL BANK
OF RESERVE OF EL
SALVADOR
INSTRUCTION FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF
FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE HOUSES
DEPARTMENT OF
PAGE No.
CODE
980502
REVISED
Manager of Financial
Stability and Public Policies
APPROVED BY:
CD No. 18/2025, dated July 14, 2025
OBJECTIVE
Regulate the authorization and operations of Exchange Houses, in accordance with the provisions of the Law of Foreign Currency Exchange Houses.
DEFINITIONS
3.1. Central Bank: Central Bank of Reserve of El Salvador.
3.2. Foreign Currency Exchange House: hereinafter, Exchange Houses. Refers to a Corporation whose habitual activity is the purchase and sale of foreign currency in banknotes, bank drafts, traveler's checks, and other payment instruments expressed in foreign exchange, at prices determined by market supply and demand, authorized by the Central Bank of Reserve of El Salvador or by the Superintendence of the Financial System.
3.3. Department: Department of Public Policies and Financial Innovation
3.4. Law of Exchange Houses: Law of Foreign Currency Exchange Houses.
3.5. Superintendence: Superintendence of the Financial System
3.6. Subsidiary: Office physically separate from the head office or central office, which is an integral part of the same legal entity, which can perform the same operations as the latter, which has no assigned capital and whose accounting is not separate from the head office or central office.
GENERAL RULES
4.1. The Board of Directors of the Superintendence will be responsible for authorizing and revoking the authorizations granted to Exchange Houses for the start, modification, suspension, and closure of operations in accordance with the Law for the Supervision and Regulation of the Financial System and the Law of Exchange Houses.
4.2. The Central Bank through the Financial Operations Management will be responsible for complying with the provisions contained in this Instruction, regarding the minimum capital deposit.
4.3. The Superintendence will be responsible for complying with the provisions contained in this Instruction, regarding the safeguarding of the guarantees or bonds presented by Exchange Houses.
CENTRAL BANK
OF RESERVE OF EL
SALVADOR
INSTRUCTION FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF
FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE HOUSES
DEPARTMENT OF
PAGE No.
CODE
980502
REVISED
Manager of Financial
Stability and Public Policies
APPROVED BY:
CD No. 18/2025, dated July 14, 2025
4.4. Exchange Houses must comply with legal provisions on Money Laundering, Terrorism Financing, and Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (ML/TF/Proliferation Financing) established in the Law on Money Laundering and Assets and its Regulation, the Instruction for the Prevention, Detection, and Control of Money Laundering and Assets, Terrorism Financing, and Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and in the Technical Standards for the Management of Money Laundering and Assets, Terrorism Financing, and Financing of Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Risks (NRP-36).
CENTRAL BANK
OF RESERVE OF EL
SALVADOR
INSTRUCTION FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF
FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE HOUSES
DEPARTMENT OF
PAGE No.
CODE
980502
REVISED
Manager of Financial
Stability and Public Policies
APPROVED BY:
CD No. 18/2025, dated July 14, 2025
5.2. AUTHORIZATION
5.2.1. Interested parties wishing to constitute an exchange house, after making the minimum founding capital deposit at the Central Bank, will present to the Superintendent, a request signed by the legal representative of the Corporation, so that, within ten business days following the date of submission of the request, the corporation is authorized to operate as an Exchange House. The request must attach the following documentation:
5.2.1.1. The copy of the Deed of Constitution of the corporation, registered in the Commerce Registry.
5.2.1.2. Documents proving the nationality of the shareholders, whether Salvadoran by birth or naturalization.
5.2.1.3. Two bank references and two commercial references, for each of the shareholders.
5.2.1.4. When the shareholder is a natural person, they will present a certificate issued by the competent authority, stating that they have no criminal records in the five years prior to the submission of the aforementioned request.
5.2.1.5. When the shareholders are minors, the bank and commercial references, as well as the certificate referred to in items 5.2.1.3 and 5.2.1.4, will be required from their parents or legal representatives.
5.2.1.6. When the shareholder is a corporation, they will present the Deed of Constitution registered in the Commerce Registry, the credential of the legal representative, and that the corporation has its domicile in El Salvador. Additionally, they must present the documents established in items 5.2.1.2, 5.2.1.3, and 5.2.1.4.
5.2.2. The Superintendence will open a file with the documentation mentioned in items 5.2.1.1 to 5.2.1.6. In case of missing documents, or inconsistencies are detected, the Superintendence will notify the interested parties, so that, within a maximum period of 20 days from the date of notification, the observations noted are resolved; otherwise, the authorization process will be considered inadmissible. When the corporation intends to resume the case, it must submit a new request with all the established requirements.
CENTRAL BANK
OF RESERVE OF EL
SALVADOR
INSTRUCTION FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF
FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE HOUSES
DEPARTMENT OF
PAGE No.
CODE
980502
REVISED
Manager of Financial
Stability and Public Policies
APPROVED BY:
CD No. 18/2025, dated July 14, 2025
5.2.3. The Superintendence will rule on the quality of debtor of the shareholders in case they were debtors in the financial system.
5.2.4. The Board of Directors of the Superintendence, when authorizing the corporation to operate as an Exchange House, will certify and send said resolution for the purpose of initiating operations.
5.2.5. The corporation must publish the authorization certification to operate, in one of the most widely circulated national newspapers, within eight business days following receipt, and in the Official Gazette. The aforementioned publications must comply with the format presented in Annex No. 1.
5.3 RETURN OF MINIMUM FOUNDING CAPITAL DEPOSIT
5.3.1 The deposited amount will be returned in the following cases:
5.3.1.1 When the corporation is authorized to operate as an Exchange House,
5.3.1.2 When the corporation decides not to continue with the request processing, or
5.3.1.3 When the authorization to operate as an Exchange House is denied to the corporation.
5.3.2 In case the corporation is authorized, the Legal Representative or Attorney of the Exchange House must present to the Superintendence the request for return of the capital deposit signed by him, which must be accompanied by the guarantee and a copy of the publication of the authorization granted by the Superintendence.
5.3.3 In the case that the corporation decides not to continue with the processing, the Legal Representative or Attorney of the same must present to the Superintendence a request signed by him and registration in the Commerce Registry of the minutes of dissolution of the corporation. The Superintendence will inform the Central Bank about said minutes.
5.3.4 After reviewing the documentation mentioned in items 5.3.2 or 5.3.3, the Superintendence will deliver a certificate to the interested party so that he can present it at the Central Bank, in order to have the deposit returned.
5.3.5 In the case that the authorization is denied, the Legal Representative or Attorney of the corporation may request the return of the deposit, presenting the Board of Directors resolution.
CENTRAL BANK
OF RESERVE OF EL
SALVADOR
INSTRUCTION FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF
FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE HOUSES
DEPARTMENT OF
PAGE No.
CODE
980502
REVISED
Manager of Financial
Stability and Public Policies
APPROVED BY:
CD No. 18/2025, dated July 14, 2025
5.3.6 In the case that the Superintendence authorizes the Exchange House to return the deposited amount, said Superintendence will request the Central Bank to carry out the corresponding actions to make said return, sending it a copy of the resolution of its Board of Directors in which such authorization is recorded.
5.4 REQUIRED GUARANTEES
5.4.1 Exchange Houses are obligated to provide a guarantee of easy realization in favor of the Superintendence, which must be constituted in cash, certified check, bonds, and others that it authorizes; it will be valid at all times and may not be less than double its social capital.
5.4.2 In the case that the guarantee is a bond, it must be issued according to Annex No. 2, by banks or insurance companies domiciled in El Salvador that do not belong to the same conglomerate of which the Exchange House is a member.
5.4.3 Exchange Houses must increase the amount of the guarantee, when 50% of the average of daily sales of the three months prior to the expiration of the guarantee is greater than double its social capital. For this purpose, the Superintendence will review the amount twice a year and notify the respective Exchange House. The complement of the guarantee must be presented within 30 business days following the received notification.
5.4.4 For the calculation of the daily average mentioned in the previous item, months based on a calendar year will be used.
5.4.5 In the case that, as a result of a review, the average of sales has decreased, the Exchange House may constitute a lower guarantee as long as it is not less than double its social capital.
5.4.6 The Superintendence will keep the documents granted by Exchange Houses to guarantee operations until they prescribe. In the case that the guarantee is a bond, it will be returned to the corporation that issued it, notifying the Exchange House of the corresponding delivery.
5.4.7 If Exchange Houses fail to keep the guarantee valid at all times, they will be subject to the procedure for imposing sanctions regulated in Chapter I of Title III of the Law of Exchange Houses.
CENTRAL BANK
OF RESERVE OF EL
SALVADOR
INSTRUCTION FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF
FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE HOUSES
DEPARTMENT OF
PAGE No.
CODE
980502
REVISED
Manager of Financial
Stability and Public Policies
APPROVED BY:
CD No. 18/2025, dated July 14, 2025
5.5 START OF OPERATIONS
5.5.1 After a corporation is authorized to operate as an Exchange House and that the Superintendence authorizes its accounting system, a maximum period of three months will be granted for the start of its operations; otherwise, the granted authorization will be revoked, in accordance with what is established in Chapter I of Title III of the Law of Exchange Houses.
5.6 REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PURCHASE AND SALE OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE
5.6.1 Exchange Houses are obligated to comply with the following requirements:
5.6.1.1 Inform about their operations in accordance with what is established in the Law of Exchange Houses and other resolutions and guidelines issued for that purpose by the Central Bank.
5.6.1.2 Be up to date with their accounting.
5.6.1.3 Appoint an External Auditor annually and notify the Superintendence.
5.6.1.4 That the respective guarantee is valid and complies with the requirements of the Superintendence.
5.6.1.5 Inform the Superintendence promptly about any change in its Board of Directors, administrators, or sole administrator.
5.6.1.6 Send to the Superintendence their Financial Statements monthly.
5.6.1.7 Have resolved the observations made by the Superintendence, as a result of conducted reviews.
5.6.1.8 Inform the Superintendence about the opening or closing of foreign currency accounts to carry out operations, which must be in the exclusive name of the Exchange House.
5.6.2 Failure to comply with the aforementioned requirements will result in the application of sanctions in accordance with what is established in Chapter I of Title III of the Law of Exchange Houses.
CENTRAL BANK
OF RESERVE OF EL
SALVADOR
INSTRUCTION FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF
FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE HOUSES
DEPARTMENT OF
PAGE No.
CODE
980502
REVISED
Manager of Financial
Stability and Public Policies
APPROVED BY:
CD No. 18/2025, dated July 14, 2025
5.7 SUBSIDIARIES
5.7.1 Subsidiaries may be established throughout the national territory and must be identified with the name of the head Exchange House.
5.7.2 To establish subsidiaries, Exchange Houses must submit a request to the Superintendent, signed by the Legal Representative or Attorney of the corporation, which must include the following information:
5.7.2.1 Address and exact location of the place where it will be installed.
5.7.2.2 Name and signature of its Manager or Administrator.
5.7.2.3 Date of start of operations.
5.7.2.4 The Superintendence will inform the Exchange House about any observation that has not been resolved.
5.7.3 The Superintendence will authorize or deny the establishment of a subsidiary in accordance with the analysis performed.
5.7.4 Exchange Houses must notify the Superintendence of any change of address or managers that they make to their head office or subsidiary.
5.8 AGENTS
5.8.1 Exchange Houses may carry out their foreign currency purchase operations through natural persons, to whom they will be referred to as agents.
5.8.2 Exchange Houses must send to the Superintendence the list of agents belonging to each of them. Such list will include the name and identity document number of each agent, and must be updated when the Exchange House hires the services of a new agent or when an agent ceases to act as such.
5.8.3 Agents may purchase foreign currency anywhere in the national territory. Exchange Houses will be responsible for ensuring that their agents carry out their activities duly identified.
5.8.4 A person cannot be an agent of more than one Exchange House.
5.8.5 Exchange Houses will be liable when their agents fail to comply with what is established in the Law of Exchange Houses, this Instruction, and other applicable legal and regulatory framework.
BANCO CENTRAL
DE RESERVA DE EL
SALVADOR
INSTRUCTIVO PARA LA APLICACIÓN DE LA LEY DE
CASAS DE CAMBIO DE MONEDA EXTRANJERA
DEPARTAMENTO DE
POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS E
INNOVACIÓN
FINANCIERA
PÁGINA No.
9 de 12
CÓDIGO
980502
REVISADO
Gerente de Estabilidad
Financiera y Políticas Públicas
APROBADO POR:
CD No. 18/2025, del 14 de julio de 2025
5.9 MODIFICATION OF THE SOCIAL PACT
5.9.1 To modify its social pact, the Exchange House must request authorization from the Superintendence, applying what is appropriate the provisions of numeral 5.2.
5.9.2 In the case of transfer of shares to new shareholders, these must comply with and prove the requirements that are requested of the interested parties for the opening of an Exchange House, listed in numerals 5.2.1.1 to 5.2.1.6, for which it will attach to the application the respective documentation.
5.9.3 In the event that the Superintendence authorizes the modification to its social pact, the Exchange House must present a copy of the Board of Directors agreement where said modification is documented. In the case of share transfer, it must also present a copy of the respective transfer certificate.
5.10 ADVERTISEMENTS AND REPORTS
5.10.1 Exchange Houses and their branches must permanently display visibly:
5.10.1.1 A sign with the name of the Company, placed on the exterior of the establishment that identifies it as an Exchange House.
5.10.1.2 Certification that authorizes it to conduct operations.
5.10.1.3 The prices offered for the purchase and sale of foreign currency.
5.10.1.4 Other publications that the current legal framework specifies.
5.10.2 Exchange Houses must send daily to the Central Bank, specifically to the External Sector Department of the Management of Economic Studies and Statistics, the Reports of the operations carried out on the previous business day.
5.10.3 Exchange Houses must inform the Superintendence in the first five business days of each month the amounts equivalent in dollars of the purchases and sales made in the different currencies in the previous month, using the format presented in Annex No. 3.
BANCO CENTRAL
DE RESERVA DE EL
SALVADOR
INSTRUCTIVO PARA LA APLICACIÓN DE LA LEY DE
CASAS DE CAMBIO DE MONEDA EXTRANJERA
DEPARTAMENTO DE
POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS E
INNOVACIÓN
FINANCIERA
PÁGINA No.
10 de 12
CÓDIGO
980502
REVISADO
Gerente de Estabilidad
Financiera y Políticas Públicas
APROBADO POR:
CD No. 18/2025, del 14 de julio de 2025
5.10.4 Exchange Houses must send to the Superintendence, a copy of the annual report of the External Auditor, within the first sixty business days of the following fiscal year.
5.11 SUSPENSION OF OPERATIONS
5.11.1 When an Exchange House suspends operations temporarily or definitively, it will communicate this to the Superintendence indicating the date it will cease to operate.
5.11.2 Temporary Suspension of Operations:
5.11.2.1 The Exchange House will submit a request to the Superintendent, 30 days prior to the date of suspension of operations, indicating the cause or circumstance that motivates the temporary closure and the date of the resumption of operations.
5.11.2.2 Any authorization for the suspension of operations of a temporary nature will be granted by the Superintendence, which may not exceed six months, a period during which the guarantee provided must remain valid at all times.
5.11.2.3 In the event that the term of the temporary suspension expires and the Exchange House does not resume operations, the granted authorization will be revoked, in accordance with what is established in Chapter I of Title III of the Exchange Houses Law.
5.11.3 Definitive Suspension.
5.11.3.1 The Exchange House must submit to the Superintendence, a request accompanied by the agreement to dissolve the Anonymous Company, taken in an Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, registered in the Commerce Registry and will deliver a copy to the Superintendence of the aforementioned documentation.
5.11.3.2 The Superintendence, according to the corresponding process and after reviewing the documentation presented by the Exchange House requesting the definitive suspension, will revoke the granted authorization.
5.11.3.3 The Exchange House will guarantee its operations for up to one year after the dissolution to operate as such.
BANCO CENTRAL
DE RESERVA DE EL
SALVADOR
INSTRUCTIVO PARA LA APLICACIÓN DE LA LEY DE
CASAS DE CAMBIO DE MONEDA EXTRANJERA
DEPARTAMENTO DE
POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS E
INNOVACIÓN
FINANCIERA
PÁGINA No.
11 de 12
CÓDIGO
980502
REVISADO
Gerente de Estabilidad
Financiera y Políticas Públicas
APROBADO POR:
CD No. 18/2025, del 14 de julio de 2025
SPECIAL PROVISIONS
6.1 The guarantees that are constituted on the date of entry into force of this Instruction will have the treatment contemplated in numeral 5.4 of this instruction.
6.2 The operational and contingency difficulties that arise in the execution of this Instruction will be resolved by the Superintendence.
6.3 The aspects not contemplated in this Instruction will be resolved by the Board of Directors of the Central Bank.
VALIDITY, DISTRIBUTION AND DISSEMINATION
7.1 This instruction will enter into force from July 15, 2025, and will render ineffective the Instruction for the Application of the Foreign Currency Exchange Houses Law approved by the Board of Directors of the Central Bank in Session No. CD No. 15/2023 of June 30, 2023.
7.2 The Board of Directors will keep a copy of this Instruction as support for the approval minutes and will deliver the original to the Risk and Strategic Management Management. Likewise, it will deliver an electronic copy to the Department and authorizes it to distribute electronic copies to the following Units:
7.2.1 Presidency
7.2.2 Financial Stability and Public Policies Management
7.2.3 Legal Management
7.2.4 Financial Operations Management
7.3 The Financial Stability and Public Policies Management, through the Department of Public Policies and Financial Innovation, will disseminate this Instruction to the involved Units.
7.4 The Risk and Strategic Management Management is authorized to publish this Instruction in the Administrative Instruments System, for general consultation.
7.5 This Instruction will be published in its entirety on the Central Bank's Website, for the knowledge of the general public.
BANCO CENTRAL
DE RESERVA DE EL
SALVADOR
INSTRUCTIVO PARA LA APLICACIÓN DE LA LEY DE
CASAS DE CAMBIO DE MONEDA EXTRANJERA
DEPARTAMENTO DE
POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS E
INNOVACIÓN
FINANCIERA
PÁGINA No.
12 de 12
CÓDIGO
980502
REVISADO
Gerente de Estabilidad
Financiera y Políticas Públicas
APROBADO POR:
CD No. 18/2025, del 14 de julio de 2025
MODIFICATION CONTROL TABLE
N°
Revision
Previous Version
Approved Version
Approver and
Date
Date of validity: July 15, 2025
Annex No.1
Cód. 980502-01
FORMAT TO PUBLISH CERTIFICATION OF AUTHORIZATION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE SUPERINTENDENCE.
EXCHANGE HOUSE AUTHORIZATION
It is made known to the public that on day ____ of ________ of ______ the following certification from the Superintendence of the Financial System was received:
“The Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Superintendence of the Financial System”, CERTIFIES:
That in session minutes number ________ of date ____________ there is point number _______ that, in its dispositive part, literally says: The Board of Directors after analyzing the documentation presented; agrees to authorize the Company:
____________________________ to operate as an Exchange House. Said Company has been constituted in PUBLIC DEED GRANTED BEFORE THE OFFICES OF THE NOTARY __________________ ON THE DAY _____________________ AND REGISTERED IN THE COMMERCE REGISTRY UNDER NUMBER _______ PAGES ----------------- OF DATE----------------- WHOSE PAID CAPITAL AMOUNTS TO _____________________, BEING ITS DIRECTORS AND ADMINISTRATORS ________________________.” Legal Representative
Date of validity: July 15, 2025
Annex No. 2
Cód. 980502-02
MAIN ASPECTS TO INCLUDE IN THE BOND FOR ACCOUNT OF EXCHANGE HOUSES TO SUPPORT THEIR OPERATIONS
Date of validity: July 15, 2025
Annex No. 3
Cód. 980502-03
MONTHLY REPORT OF PURCHASES AND SALES OF FOREIGN CURRENCY NAME OF THE EXCHANGE HOUSE:
OPERATIONS OF THE MONTH OF:
DATE:
CURRENCY INCOMES EXPENSES EQUIVALENT
IN US$
EQUIVALENT
IN US$
DOLLARS
QUETZALES
LEMPIRAS
EUROS
MEXICAN
PESOS
OTHERS (Detail)
TOTALS US$ US$
SIGNATURE ____________________________
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Source: Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador — original document · Summary generated with machine assistance and reviewed before publication; the authoritative text is the regulator's original document. How RegAlert works
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