Banking and payments in Paraguay: AOW in euros, interest untaxed, declare cash from 10,000 dollars

Your AOW arrives in Paraguay in euros. The SVB transfers the amount to Citibank, which forwards it to your own bank, and charges at most € 0.48 per payment for that. What your own bank charges on top differs per bank. In Paraguay itself you pay in guaraní. A bank there must, under the money laundering law, check your identity with reliable documents and ask what you want to use the account for. The interest on a savings account with a bank in Paraguay is exempt from income tax.

What	Rule	Source
AOW to Paraguay	in euros, through Citibank, at most € 0.48 per payment	SVB
Payment date outside the SEPA countries	beginning or middle of the month	SVB
Low AOW	can be paid every three months or once a year	SVB
Interest on an account with a bank in Paraguay	exempt from IRP	Ley 6380, art. 56
Exchange gains on foreign currency	exempt from IRP	Ley 6380, art. 56
Cash or cheques on arrival	declare through the eDAV from 10,000 dollars	DNIT
Migration service fees paid by card	2 to 3 % plus VAT extra	DNM

How does your AOW come in?

To an account outside the Netherlands the SVB pays on a different day than in the Netherlands. For a country outside the SEPA zone that is at the beginning or in the middle of the month; you cannot choose. To Paraguay the SVB pays in euros; only for a handful of other countries does it pay in the local currency. Whether your bank keeps the amount in euros or converts it into guaraní depends on the account you give. Ask when you open it.

If you have only built up a few years of AOW, you can ask the SVB to pay every three months or once a year. That saves bank charges. If you want to close the account in the Netherlands, only do so once the first payment has arrived in the new account.

Keep your Dutch account for now. The SVB itself advises closing the old account only after the first payment into the new one. And outside the EU you have no right to a Dutch payment account; read keeping your bank account and DigiD.

What does a bank in Paraguay ask for?

The money laundering law, Ley 1015 as amended in 2019, obliges banks to identify their customer and verify that identity with reliable documents from an independent source. They must also understand what you want to use the account for, and keep monitoring your transactions. If a bank cannot complete that check, it does not start the relationship.

Which documents a bank wants exactly, it decides itself within those rules. Your passport is the start; with your carnet de residencia and later your cédula you also have Paraguayan documents to show. As proof that you live in Paraguay, you can ask the migration service for a certificado de radicación, for 234,154 guaraní. Also bring documents that show where your money comes from, such as your AOW statement or a pension letter. See registration and numbers.