Your QA team in Montevideo closes the sprint and invoices in pesos. Your dollar wire arrives days later, converted at the bank’s rate and short of the invoice.
Local bank transfer payouts to Uruguay with stablecoin settlement fix that. You fund in USDC or USD, lock a quote, and your recipient gets Uruguayan pesos (UYU) in their own bank account.
Uruguay sells a lot to the world. Its goods exports reached US$13.493 billion in 2025, the highest level in a decade, according to Uruguay XXI. Services exports added US$7.325 billion in the 12 months to September 2025, led by knowledge-intensive global services.
This guide covers why Uruguayan payouts get messy, how the stablecoin-funded flow works, and which recipient details you need. It then walks through your first UYU payout by dashboard and by API.
Why Paying Out in Uruguay Is Harder Than It Should Be
Uruguay has a stable, well-run banking system. The friction sits at the border, where a foreign payment meets a heavily dollarized market, currency conversion and correspondent banks.
Small cross-border transfers are expensive. Sending small amounts abroad costs an average of 6.36% of the amount sent, according to the World Bank. On a US$20,000 monthly contractor payroll, that average would cost you US$1,272 every month. We break down more of these costs in the hidden costs of international payments.
Dollars and pesos live side by side. About 73% of private-sector deposits in Uruguayan banks were in foreign currency at the end of 2025, according to CPA Ferrere’s analysis of BCU data. Paying the wrong account means an extra conversion for your recipient.
The peso moves. The Uruguayan peso appreciated 11.2% in 2025, so an invoice priced in pesos can cost noticeably more dollars from one quarter to the next. Locking a rate at payout time removes that guesswork.
The details have to be exact. A wrong account number, bank or cédula is the fastest route to a rejected payout and a week of emails.
Local Bank Transfer Payouts to Uruguay with a Stablecoin Layer: How It Works
Yativo is payment infrastructure, not a bank. We use stablecoins as the settlement layer between your balance and Uruguay. A licensed local payout partner then delivers the pesos on the ground.
- You fund your Yativo float balance with a fiat or stablecoin deposit, such as USDC.
- Yativo converts the payout value to USDC and settles it on-chain.
- A licensed local payout partner in Uruguay receives the stablecoin settlement.
- The partner converts USDC to UYU and sends a domestic bank transfer to the recipient’s account.
- Your recipient receives pesos in their normal bank account.
Your recipient does not need a crypto wallet. They never see or touch stablecoins. On their side, the payment looks like any domestic transfer from a local sender.
The local rails are busy. Uruguayans made 56 million instant interbank transfers in 2025, up 121% on 2024, and pesos made up 83% of interbank transfers in the second half of the year. For more on the settlement layer, read how to receive international payments in stablecoins.
Supported Payout Rails for Uruguay
Yativo’s active UYU payout method for this guide is Bank Transfer, which pays pesos into an account at a Uruguayan bank. Our Uruguay list also includes a POBO (Local) method in UYU and SWIFT for dollars.
Bank Transfer (UYU)
Interbank transfers in pesos run through the Sistema de Pagos Interbancarios. Instant transfers work 24/7 at 14 institutions, including local banks and electronic money issuers, and made up 65% of interbank operations in late 2025.
Required details: the fields returned by the Uruguay payout form, gateway ID 504. Expect the holder’s name and ID, the bank, the account type and the account number.
Settlement time: payouts via Bank Transfer (UYU) settle in under 30 minutes.
Best for: software and services contractors, suppliers and payroll recipients with a peso account in Uruguay.
POBO (Local) in UYU
POBO (Local), gateway ID 1392, also pays UYU. It needs the Collection/Payment-on-behalf-of endorsement on your customer, so check with your account executive before you use it.
USD alternatives
Bank Transfer (UYU) delivers pesos only. If your recipient wants dollars, use SWIFT, gateway ID 744, which pays USD. Availability depends on your account, so check the live list before you build.
Recipient Details to Collect Before Your First UYU Payout
The Uruguay payout form in our API is the authoritative field list. Our API documentation does not publish that form yet, so read it from your dashboard or from the form endpoint shown below. Collect these details during onboarding so you can fill it without a round of emails.
- Holder type: individual or company.
- Legal name: full name as it appears on the cédula de identidad, or the registered company name.
- ID number: the cédula for individuals, or the RUT (taxpayer number) for companies.
- Bank: the recipient’s bank, for example BROU, Itaú or Santander.
- Account type: savings (caja de ahorro) or checking (cuenta corriente).
- Account number: the full number, copied from a bank statement or the bank’s app.
- Account currency: confirm the account holds Uruguayan pesos, not dollars.
Ask for a screenshot of the peso account details from the bank’s app during onboarding. It confirms the currency and removes most typing errors before the first payout.
How to Send a UYU Payout via Yativo
Option 1: Dashboard (for manual payouts)
- Fund your Yativo float balance with either a fiat or a stablecoin deposit.
- Go to Transfer in your Yativo dashboard.
- Select the float wallet you are paying with, for example USD, EUR, MXN or whichever balance you funded.
- Choose the customer you are paying on behalf of. This step is necessary for fintechs that run payouts on behalf of their customers.
- Choose Uruguay as the destination country and the Bank Transfer payout method.
- Enter the recipient details the payout form asks for, such as the holder’s name, cédula or RUT, bank, account type and account number.
- Enter the amount in USD or UYU.
- Review the quote: exchange rate, fees, delivery time and the exact UYU amount your recipient receives.
- Confirm with your PIN and 2FA.
- Track the payout in real time and download the receipt for your records.
Option 2: API (for automated and bulk payouts)
Every endpoint below is in the Yativo API documentation. Production calls go to https://api.yativo.com/api/v1, and the sandbox runs at https://smtp.yativo.com/api/v1.
Authenticate every request with the X-Api-Key and X-Api-Secret headers. Each key only works from the server IPs listed on it. These API keys replaced bearer tokens, and login tokens stop working from servers on October 15, 2026, as covered in our October update. Every POST request also needs a unique Idempotency-Key header.
Step 1. Generate a USDC funding address on Solana to top up your USD balance:
POST https://api.yativo.com/api/v1/crypto/create-wallet
X-Api-Key: $YATIVO_API_KEY
X-Api-Secret: $YATIVO_API_SECRET
Idempotency-Key: 9d0e1f2a-3b4c-4d5e-8f6a-7b8c9d0e1f11
Content-Type: application/json
{
"currency": "USDC_SOL"
}Step 2. List the payout methods available for Uruguay:
curl "https://api.yativo.com/api/v1/payment-methods/payout?country=URY" \
-H "X-Api-Key: $YATIVO_API_KEY" \
-H "X-Api-Secret: $YATIVO_API_SECRET" \
-H "Accept: application/json"Bank Transfer (UYU) is active and carries gateway ID 504. Always read the ID from the live response instead of hardcoding it.
Step 3. Fetch the required fields for that gateway:
GET https://api.yativo.com/api/v1/beneficiary/form/show/504
X-Api-Key: $YATIVO_API_KEY
X-Api-Secret: $YATIVO_API_SECRETThe response lists every required field and the accepted values for each one. Build your payment_data object from it. For field details, see API documentation.
Step 4. Create the beneficiary. Replace the placeholder with the fields the form returned:
POST https://api.yativo.com/api/v1/beneficiaries/payment-methods/
X-Api-Key: $YATIVO_API_KEY
X-Api-Secret: $YATIVO_API_SECRET
Idempotency-Key: 5d6e7f8a-9b0c-4d1e-9f2a-3b4c5d6e7f11
Content-Type: application/json
{
"gateway_id": 504,
"nickname": "Estudio Pocitos SRL",
"currency": "UYU",
"customer_id": "e8caa491-57b6-4c39-9e3a-d2c97e47fbf0",
"payment_data": {
"{field_from_form}": "{value}"
}
}Step 5. Optionally, lock your rate. Quotes hold for 5 minutes:
POST https://api.yativo.com/api/v1/exchange-rate
X-Api-Key: $YATIVO_API_KEY
X-Api-Secret: $YATIVO_API_SECRET
Idempotency-Key: 2f3a4b5c-6d7e-4f8a-9b0c-1d2e3f4a5b11
Content-Type: application/json
{
"from_currency": "USD",
"to_currency": "UYU",
"method_id": 504,
"method_type": "payout",
"amount": 3500
}Step 6. Initiate the payout from your USD balance:
POST https://api.yativo.com/api/v1/wallet/payout
X-Api-Key: $YATIVO_API_KEY
X-Api-Secret: $YATIVO_API_SECRET
Idempotency-Key: 7a8b9c0d-1e2f-4a3b-8c4d-5e6f7a8b9c11
Content-Type: application/json
{
"debit_wallet": "USD",
"amount": 3500,
"payment_method_id": 7041,
"customer_id": "e8caa491-57b6-4c39-9e3a-d2c97e47fbf0",
"quote_id": "4a72ecf8-6c8a-4e38-9971-8aabe9f785ed"
}Use the id from the beneficiary response as payment_method_id. Leave out quote_id if you did not lock a rate. For bulk runs, repeat the call per beneficiary, as described on our payouts page.
Which Uruguay Payout Option Should You Use?
| Bank transfer (UYU) | POBO (Local) (UYU) | USD via SWIFT | |
| Settlement speed | Under 30 minutes | Under 30 minutes | Depends on correspondent banks |
| Required details | Name, ID, bank, account (see API documentation) | See API documentation | See API documentation |
| Best for | Suppliers, contractors, payroll | Customers with the POBO endorsement | Recipients who want USD |
| Availability | Active | Active, endorsement required | Active |
| Currency received | UYU | UYU | USD |
Best Practices for Uruguay Payouts
Ask for the peso account explicitly. Most Uruguayans with a dollar account also have a peso account at the same bank. Request the peso account number by name so the money is not converted twice.
Match the ID to the account holder. Make sure the cédula or RUT belongs to the person or company that owns the account. Mismatches are a common reason for returns.
Agree on the invoice currency. Uruguayan contractors often quote in dollars and spend in pesos. Decide up front whether you pay in UYU by bank transfer or in USD by SWIFT.
Lock the rate on large payouts. Exchange-rate quotes hold for 5 minutes, so lock one for payroll runs and large invoices. You then know the exact peso amount before you confirm.
Read gateway IDs at runtime. Payout methods change over time, so call the payout methods endpoint before each run instead of hardcoding IDs.
Run one playbook across LATAM. The same flow works in neighboring markets. See our guide to local payouts to Argentina via bank transfer and our breakdown of LATAM payout rails.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my recipient in Uruguay need a crypto wallet?
No. Your recipient gets Uruguayan pesos in their normal bank account. They never interact with stablecoins, and the payment arrives as a domestic transfer.
Is it legal and compliant to pay Uruguayan recipients this way?
Yes, when the payout runs through regulated infrastructure. Yativo is registered with FinCEN as a Money Services Business, registration number 31000270723339. A licensed local payout partner makes the domestic transfer, so your recipient sees a normal local payment. Your own tax and reporting duties still apply, so confirm them with your compliance advisor.
How long does a UYU payout take?
Payouts via Yativo settle in under 30 minutes. Locally, Uruguay’s instant interbank transfers have run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year since June 2023, according to BCU data reported by El Observador.
Most Uruguayan accounts I see are in dollars. Can I still pay in pesos?
Yes, as long as the recipient has a peso account. Many Uruguayans hold both, so ask for the peso account details when you onboard them. If they only have a dollar account, use SWIFT for USD instead.
Can I pay a Uruguayan company, not just a person?
Yes. Bank Transfer pays into accounts held by individuals or companies. For a company, collect its registered legal name and RUT along with the account details.
Can my recipient receive US dollars instead of pesos?
Not through this rail, which delivers UYU. For dollars, use SWIFT, gateway ID 744, which pays USD. Check GET /payment-methods/payout?country=URY for the methods enabled on your account, or ask your account executive.
Start Paying Out in Uruguay in Pesos
Uruguay moved 56 million instant interbank transfers in 2025, so your recipients already expect local money to arrive fast. Yativo lets you fund in USDC or USD and deliver UYU to Uruguayan bank accounts through a licensed local payout partner. Your recipients get a domestic transfer in under 30 minutes, and you get one API for every payout. Book a demo to set up your first Uruguay payout.
Sources
- Uruguay XXI: Informe Anual de Comercio Exterior de Uruguay – 2025
- El Observador: Plata rápida: se realizaron más de 150 mil transferencias instantáneas por día en 2025
- CPA Ferrere: Sistema bancario en 2025: desempeño, tendencias y claves para el 2026
- World Bank: Remittance Prices Worldwide
- Yativo: Yativo API Documentation
- Yativo: Safer API access, three new virtual accounts and new payment links