You could get some colombian pesos in a post office in the uk if you need some cash when you land. Also when you arrive there are 2 exchange offices and 2 ATM at the terminal but always have big queues.
Edit. I tried to get 200.000 from Bancolombia but they want to charge 18.000 extra.
No fee at Colpatria Scotia bank to withdraw 250.000 pesos.
Hello Everyone! Has anyone used Monzo in Colombia so far?Is it working well to use contactless at shops, Restaurants etc? If so, please let me know
It works very well in Colombia, for both contactless payments and cash withdrawals.
2022 update:
Davivienda - no fee (but remember to reject the conversion)
BBVA - no fee
Bancolombia - 22,900 pesos fee
Banco de Bogota/Red Aval/ATH - 13,200 pesos fee
Important: you may need to enable magstripe at some Colombian ATMs (I know the Monzo alert says this for many countries, and I never switch magstripe on - but Colombia is the first country where I’ve actually had ATM withdrawals fail because of this!). The toggle is at the bottom of the “manage” tab in the app. It stays on for 7 days.
Contactless: is now almost everywhere (thanks pandemic). A couple of years ago, almost no one knew what contactless was. There are still a few strange looks when using Apple Pay (with some retailers thinking it won’t work, because they’ve never seen it - it worked every time).
Some things to watch out for when paying in a restaurant:
-They’ll ask you if they can include service (say yes, it would be very unusual not to)
-When you ask for the bill, they may ask if you need the “datafono” (emphasis on the “ta”) - that’s the card machine to you and me (alternatively, you can ask for “la cuenta y el datafono por favor” to save time)
-They’ll ask if you need “copia” - ie the card machine receipt (which is usually different to the itemised till receipt that they usually give you without asking).
Cash: Although contactless is now widespread, there are still a lot of times that you’ll need cash, so always worth carrying some.
Hi!
I just came from my trip to Colombia and I thought sharing my experience using Monzo would be useful.
Acceptance:
Wherever MasterCard was accepted, I could use Monzo with no issues. I must say my brother tried to pay using Google pay linked to its Monzo flex and it was declined in a couple of places. It could be that Google pay is still not widely accepted so it is always worth having your physical card with you.
Withdrawing cash:
I found that BBVA was the only bank with no charges to withdraw money (although I did not try Davivienda which as stated above does not have charges either).
Cash is still widely used in Colombia, especially in rural places. Some banks can have larque queues to withdraw money, so it is always worth considering taking a bit extra in case of an emergency.
If you are taking out money, you will need to select ‘cuenta ahorros’, which means savings account. Otherwise, it may be declined.
Misc:
If paying with a card, they will ask whether is credit or debit. If it’s credit, they will ask you ‘plazos’ (I think). Basically it means in how many months you want to split the payment. I always said 1 month but I don’t think it makes any difference since this is probably only for Colombian credit cards (my guess)
I’m hoping to come back soon so I will update if needed.
Great tips 
Going to Colombia 
soon and good to know Monzo will work with no problems 
Davivienda is also fine still.
No, they simply say “cuantas cuotas” and you just reply normally.