economy
May 9, 2026
Why do Netflix, Amazon, and Airbnb still cost more despite the historic fall of the dollar in Colombia?
Automatic conversions on traditional cards continue to affect consumers' pockets. Photo:
TL;DR
- Colombians are paying higher prices for international digital services despite the dollar's decline due to hidden conversion fees and bank commissions.
- Platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and Airbnb continue to charge extra costs through automatic conversions and financial differentials.
- E-commerce in Colombia is growing rapidly, but international payments are burdened by a chain of financial charges.
- Users paying for services like Netflix or ChatGPT monthly can end up paying significant amounts annually in international purchase commissions.
- Banks and financial networks apply exchange rate margins, leading to final prices exceeding the official TRM.
- Reservation platforms like Airbnb and e-commerce sites like Amazon also incorporate additional charges for international processing.
- Many of these extra costs are not clearly broken down for consumers, making it difficult to identify additional spending.
- Small and medium-sized businesses relying on digital advertising also face additional costs when paying platforms like Meta and Google in dollars.
- The increase in independent workers and frequent use of international digital platforms by Colombians highlights the need for better payment tools.
- Fintechs are offering Mastercard cards funded with digital dollars (USDC) to allow direct payment in the original currency, reducing conversion costs.