Currency Exchange in El Poblado, Medellín: Verified Casas de Cambio
Every address and phone number below was checked against the company’s own website in September 2026. Several widely circulated guides — including an earlier version of this page — list them wrongly, which matters more here than in a restaurant guide: you are carrying cash.
First: how to tell a legal operator from an illegal one
“Casas de cambio” do not exist as a legal category in Colombia. What exists is the profesional de cambio de divisas, registered with and supervised by the DIAN. There are 1,047 authorised exchange operators in the country (Semana).
Authorised operators must comply with exchange-control regulation and SARLAFT anti-money-laundering rules, and a DIAN resolution requires them to display their registration information visibly in the premises. That is the check to make: look for the registration on the wall, or ask for the resolution number.
Using the informal market is not just risky, it can make you the offender. The documented risks are counterfeit notes, notes of dubious origin, robbery and deception — and, separately, committing an exchange-control infraction yourself (Semana).
The five, as their own websites list them
| Operator | Address | Phone | Hours | DIAN number published? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambios El Poblado | Calle 10 #41-24, two blocks from Parque El Poblado | +57 320 655 1900 / +57 604 580 4301 | not listed | Yes — Res. 1-90-238-423-6154-3740 |
| Global de Divisas | Calle 20 Sur #27-55, Mall San Lucas Plaza, Local 109 | +57 604 401 7735 / +57 314 632 6596 | Mon–Fri 9–18, Sat 9–13 | Yes — Res. 00765 |
| Surcambios | Cra. 43A #18 Sur-174, Local 248, Mall La Frontera | +57 311 607 4045 / +57 604 448 2537 | Mon–Fri 8–18, Sat 9–15 | Certification shown, no number given |
| One FX | Carulla El Tesoro, Cra. 25 #1A Sur-145 — behind the checkouts | +57 305 473 3636 | not listed | Not published |
| Lleras Cambios | Carrera 41 #9-67 | +57 301 729 0621 | Mon–Fri 9–20, Sat–Sun 9–17 | Not published |
Sources: Cambios El Poblado, Global de Divisas, Surcambios, One FX, Lleras Cambios.
Notes on each
Cambios El Poblado is the only one of the five that is both squarely inside El Poblado and publishes a full DIAN resolution number alongside its commercial registration (Matrícula 21-569308-01 de 2016). It lists rates for eight currencies: USD, EUR, CAD, MXN, BRL, AUD and PEN, plus traveller’s cheques.
Global de Divisas describes its location as sitting on the boundary between El Poblado and Envigado, not in El Poblado proper — it is in Mall San Lucas Plaza. Legally constituted since 20 March 2009 and authorised under DIAN Resolución 00765.
Surcambios is in Mall La Frontera, which the company itself labels “Mall La Frontera / El Poblado”. It displays a DIAN certification image without printing the resolution number.
One FX operates a counter inside Carulla El Tesoro, behind the supermarket checkouts, and lists rates for USD, EUR, GBP, MXN and CAD. Its site references no Santafé branch.
Lleras Cambios has the longest hours of the five, including Saturday and Sunday 9:00–17:00, which is the reason to use it. It deals in USD and EUR, including €200 notes.
Practical advice
- Compare rates the same morning. Rates move daily and the spread between operators is real. Several of these publish live buy/sell rates on their websites.
- Take your passport. ID is required for exchange transactions.
- Look for the DIAN registration on the wall before handing over cash, and ask if you cannot see it.
- Request unusual currencies in advance. Only USD and EUR are reliably held; GBP, CAD, MXN, BRL, AUD and PEN depend on the operator.
- Never exchange on the street, regardless of the rate offered.
- Check weekend hours before travelling across the city. Only Lleras Cambios lists Sunday opening.
A note on this guide
Rechecked in September 2026 against each company’s own website. Three of the five entries had a wrong address or a wrong phone number, which on a page about where to carry cash is the defect that matters most. Google-style claims about which offers “the best rates” were removed — no rate comparison was ever carried out, and rates change daily. The DIAN registration section is new; the previous version advised readers to “use official and well-established exchange houses” without saying how to tell one.