ACH Xpress
ACH Xpress is Panama's instant transfer between banks. It is run by Telered [8]. You send from your bank's online or mobile banking to an account at another member bank, and the money is available to the receiver straight away, 24 hours a day, every day of the year [1] [3]. Banco General joined in May 2025, bringing the network to 21 banks [1]. Since March 2025 a phone-number version, Xpress, has been switching on bank by bank [10].
This page used to be called "Multi-bank". It isn't about Multibank, the Panamanian bank of that name, which is one of the members of ACH Xpress [1].
| Country | Panama (PA) |
| What it is | Instant bank-to-bank transfer, by account number; by phone number with Xpress |
| Run by | Telered [8] |
| Banks | 21 in May 2025: BAC, Banco Aliado, Banco Delta, Banco General, Banco LAFISE, Banco Nacional de Panamá, Banco Pichincha, Banisi, Banistmo, BCT Bank, Bi Bank, Caja de Ahorros, Canalbank, Davivienda, Mercantil Panamá, Metrobank, Multibank, Scotiabank, St. Georges Bank, Towerbank, Unibank [1] |
| Since | September 2022 (BAC and Multibank) [3]; Xpress by phone number since March 2025 [10] |
| Hours | 24/7, 365 days a year [1] [9] |
| Cost | Set by each bank: Banco General charges $0.50 (May 2025) [2]; BAC's Xpress has no extra charge (Oct 2026) [12] |
| Typical limit | $5,000 per transfer since September 2024 [8]; BAC's Xpress by phone number: up to $1,000 [12] |
| Reaches | Accounts at member banks in Panama only |
| Code on paper? | No. ACH Xpress pays an account or a phone number |
How ACH Xpress came to Panama
Before ACH Xpress, a transfer to another Panamanian bank went through ordinary ACH. La Prensa wrote in May 2024 that such a transfer takes 24 to 48 hours, and that one sent on a Friday lands on Monday [13]. Telered runs a central system that checks each ACH Xpress transfer and hands it to the receiving bank, which makes the money available to its customer at once [3].
| Date | What happened | Banks |
|---|---|---|
| Sept 2022 | Service starts at BAC Credomatic and Multibank, approved by the Superintendency of Banks, up to $500 per transfer [3] | 2 |
| Dec 2022 | Banistmo, Banco Nacional de Panamá, Banco General, Scotiabank, Banco Aliado and Canal Bank announced [4] [5] | 8 |
| Nov 2023 | 16 banks listed, Towerbank and Caja de Ahorros the newest; Banco General is not on the list. Telered planned 13 more for 2024 [6] | 16 |
| Sept 2024 | Limit raised to $5,000 per transfer [8] | 18 |
| Dec 2024 | 19 banks named, Bi Bank, Davivienda and Mercantil Panamá among them [9] | 19 |
| Mar 2025 | Xpress by phone number goes live at Banco Nacional de Panamá and BAC [10] | 21 [11] |
| May 2025 | Banco General joins, with Banco Delta also on the list [1] [2] | 21 |
The sources disagree on Banco General. In December 2022 both La Prensa and Panamá América named it among the first eight banks [4] [5]. It is missing from the lists of November 2023 and December 2024 [6] [9], and in May 2025 Telered announced it as a new member [1]. We found no source that explains the gap. The March 2025 count of 21 also came before Banco General's entry; we found no list behind it [11].
Usage. Telered's yearly figures, as Telemetro reported them in December 2024 [9] and La Estrella in May 2025 [1]:
| Period | Transfers | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 18,044 | Not given |
| 2023 | 751,342 | $104 million |
| 2024 (to November) | 1,722,590 | $287 million |
| 2024 (full year) | More than 1.9 million | More than $346 million |
| Q1 2025 | More than 816,000 | More than $165.8 million |
La Prensa gave different 2023 figures in May 2024: 1.4 million transactions worth $18 million [13]. Telered said 52% of transfers happened outside banking hours in 2023 [6]. In 2024 the busiest time was 9 to 11 a.m., and 80% of transfers were made on working days [9]. In September 2024 Telered put the service's reach at more than 2 million customers [8]. We found no figures after the first quarter of 2025.
How to use it
You need a savings or current account at a member bank and access to its online or mobile banking [7]. Both you and the receiver must bank with a member: Global Bank, Banesco and MMG Bank, for example, are not on the May 2025 list [1].
To an account number (ACH Xpress):
- Open a transfer to another bank in your online or mobile banking.
- Choose the instant option. At Banco General, for example, you pick between ordinary ACH, free and processed within hours or the next day, and ACH Xpress, which is instant and costs $0.50 [2].
- Enter the receiver's bank and account. The money arrives in seconds, at any hour: in 2022 Telered's head said a transfer made at 4 a.m. on a Saturday would arrive in a few seconds [4].
To a phone number (Xpress):
- Register. Sign up for Xpress inside your bank's app and link your account to your mobile number. One number can be linked to accounts at up to 3 banks [10]. Update the app first: banks switch Xpress on gradually, on Android and iOS [11].
- Send. In your bank's mobile banking or e-wallet, select Xpress, enter the receiver's mobile number and choose the account to pay from [11].
- Receive. The receiver must have registered their number with Xpress at their own bank [10].
Banco Nacional de Panamá and BAC went first, in March 2025. Banistmo, Banisi, Metrobank, Multibank, Unibank and Banco Aliado were to follow [11]. By October 2026 Banistmo offered Xpress in its app [15]. We found no current list of banks with Xpress; ask yours.
Limits and fees
| Limit per transfer | Fee | |
|---|---|---|
| ACH Xpress (network) | $500 at launch (Sept 2022) [3]; $5,000 since Sept 2024 [8] | Set by each bank |
| Banco General | Not published in our sources | $0.50 per ACH Xpress transfer; ordinary ACH free (May 2025) [2] |
| BAC (Xpress by phone) | Up to $1,000 (read Oct 2026) [12] | No extra charge [12] |
The limit history has a gap. La Estrella still gave $500 in December 2023 [7], while Telered said in September 2024 that the limit rose "from $1,000" to $5,000 [8]. We found no date for the step from $500 to $1,000. Your bank may set a lower daily limit of its own; we found none published.
Limits change; check your bank's current terms.
Paying shops and businesses
ACH Xpress is a transfer between accounts, not a checkout. Telered said in December 2024 that 80% of transfers happen on working days, which it read as heavy use for business and work payments [9]. In practice a business gives you its bank and account number, and you pay it instantly if both banks are members. We found no online-checkout button or shop-terminal use of ACH Xpress.
Paying across borders
ACH Xpress connects banks in Panama only. Every source describes it as a link between Panamanian banks [1] [8], and we found no announced link to another country's instant-payment system.
ACH Xpress, Yappy and Kuara
Panama has three instant networks, and they don't fully connect. A customer on one can't pay a phone number that is registered only on another. That is why Banistmo offered Kuara, Xpress and Yappy side by side in its app in October 2026 [15].
Yappy
Yappy, started by Banco General, is a separate system. When Banco General joined ACH Xpress in May 2025, it said ACH Xpress does not include Yappy. Yappy keeps its own phone-number transfers between its member banks, and ACH Xpress moves money between bank accounts [2]. In October 2026 Yappy listed 8 banks: Banco General, Banisi, Banistmo, Caja de Ahorros, Credicorp Bank, Davivienda, MetroBank and St. Georges Bank [16]. Credicorp Bank is on Yappy but not on the May 2025 ACH Xpress list [1]. Yappy also has shop QR codes; see Yappy QR and the Payment Button.
Kuara
Kuara is another phone-number network. It started in 2024 with customers of Global Bank, Banesco and MMG Bank, with Banistmo to follow [13]. Caja de Ahorros joined on 22 October 2025 with 650,000 customers, taking Kuara past 1.5 million users. It runs 24/7 and pays by the receiver's phone number in seconds [14]. Kuara reaches Global Bank, Banesco and MMG Bank, which ACH Xpress did not list in May 2025 [1]. We found no source on whether Telered is involved in Kuara.
Is there an ACH Xpress QR code in Panama?
No. ACH Xpress pays an account number, and Xpress pays a phone number [1] [11]. None of our sources mentions a code. The payment QR codes in Panama are Yappy's, and they work only inside the Yappy network; their format isn't published (see Yappy QR and the Yappy standard). We found no Panamanian national payment-QR standard, and no sign that Telered uses the EMVCo merchant-presented QR format (PA report).
Safety: checking who you're paying
The common risk with an instant transfer is sending it to the wrong person, or to a fraudster posing as someone you know, because the money leaves at once.
- Check the receiver before you confirm. On 22 September 2026 the Superintendency of Banks signed Acuerdo No. 8-2026. It requires banks to check the receiver's details against the bank's records before a transfer runs. The holder of the receiving account, the destination bank and the amount are to be confirmed, with a warning if something doesn't match [18].
- Treat it as final. Under Panamanian banking rules, a bank can't take money back out of the receiver's account without that person's authorisation or a court order [19].
- Call before you pay a "friend in need". Banco General tells customers to warn family and friends about fraud attempts that use their identity [20]. If someone you know asks for money by message, ring them on a number you already have.
ACH Xpress and the alternatives in Panama
| Way to pay | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ACH Xpress | Instant transfer to an account at any of 21 banks | Up to $5,000 per transfer; fee set by your bank, $0.50 at Banco General [2] [8] |
| Xpress | Paying a phone number at another bank | Banks switching on since March 2025; BAC up to $1,000 [12] |
| Yappy | People and shops at Yappy's 8 banks | $1,000 per payment to a person, $9,999.99 to a business [17] |
| Kuara | Global Bank, Banesco, MMG Bank, Caja de Ahorros customers | Phone number, 24/7 [14] |
| Ordinary ACH | Any bank, no hurry | Free at Banco General; within hours or the next day [2] |
| Card | Shops, visitors | Clave debit and Visa and Mastercard (PA report) |
Sources
- La Estrella de Panamá, "Transacciones con ACH Xpress alcanzó los $165.8 millones en el primer trimestre de 2025", 11 May 2025. https://www.laestrella.com.pa/economia/transacciones-con-ach-xpress-alcanzo-los-1658-millones-en-el-primer-trimestre-de-2025-HC12678953
- La Prensa, "Banco General activa ACH Express para transferencias instantáneas de dinero con otros bancos", 13 May 2025. https://www.prensa.com/economia/banco-general-activa-ach-express-para-transferencias-instantaneas-de-dinero-con-otros-bancos/
- Estrategia & Negocios, "Panamá: Entra en funcionamiento la plataforma ACH Xpress", 16 Sep 2022. https://www.revistaeyn.com/finanzas/panama-entra-en-funcionamiento-la-plataforma-ach-xpress-HI10092603
- La Prensa, "Activan ACH Xpress en ocho bancos locales", 14 Dec 2022. https://www.prensa.com/economia/activan-ach-xpress-en-ocho-bancos-locales/
- Panamá América, "Ocho bancos integran ACH Xpress; transferencia es inmediata", 16 Dec 2022. https://panamaamerica.com.pa/economia/ocho-bancos-integran-ach-xpress-transferencia-es-inmediata-1215763
- Panamá América, "ACH Xpress agregará 13 bancos y pago con número de celular", 24 Nov 2023. https://panamaamerica.com.pa/economia/ach-xpress-agregara-13-bancos-y-pago-con-numero-de-celular-1229398
- La Estrella de Panamá, "Más de 2 millones de cuentahabientes bancarios impulsan las transferencias inmediatas", 6 Dec 2023. https://www.laestrella.com.pa/economia/mas-de-2-millones-de-cuentahabientes-bancarios-impulsan-las-transferencias-inmediatas-YX5462221
- Panamá América, "ACH Xpress amplía límite de transacciones a $5 mil dólares", 10 Sep 2024. https://panamaamerica.com.pa/economia/ach-xpress-amplia-limite-de-transacciones-5-mil-dolares-1240468
- Telemetro, "19 bancos llevan a ACH Xpress a un récord histórico en 2024", 23 Dec 2024. https://www.telemetro.com/actualidad/19-bancos-llevan-ach-xpress-un-record-historico-2024-n6022478
- Telemetro, "Xpress evoluciona transferencias entre bancos utilizando el número de celular", 12 Mar 2025. https://www.telemetro.com/actualidad/xpress-evoluciona-transferencias-bancos-utilizando-el-numero-celular-n6032005
- La Prensa, "Activan transferencias bancarias instantáneas a través del número de teléfono móvil", 13 Mar 2025. https://www.prensa.com/economia/activan-transferencias-bancarias-instantaneas-a-traves-del-numero-de-telefono-movil/
- BAC, "BAC Xpress", read 20 Oct 2026. https://www.baccredomatic.com/es-pa/personas/landing/bac-xpress
- La Prensa, "Yappy, Nequi, Zinli y ahora Kuara compiten en el mercado de los pagos digitales en Panamá", 14 May 2024. https://www.prensa.com/economia/yappy-nequi-zinli-y-ahora-kuara-compiten-en-el-mercado-de-los-pagos-digitales-en-panama/
- La Estrella de Panamá, "Pagos interbancarios al instante: Caja de Ahorros se integra a Kuara", 22 Oct 2025. https://www.laestrella.com.pa/economia/pagos-interbancarios-al-instante-caja-de-ahorros-se-integra-a-kuara-MK16946486
- La Estrella de Panamá, "Así funcionará la integración de Yappy en la banca móvil de Banistmo", 7 Oct 2026. https://www.laestrella.com.pa/economia/asi-funcionara-la-integracion-de-yappy-en-la-banca-movil-de-banistmo-DO26288649
- Yappy, "Bancos con Yappy", read 20 Oct 2026. https://www.yappy.com.pa/bancos-con-yappy/
- Yappy, "Preguntas Frecuentes", read 20 Oct 2026. https://www.yappy.com.pa/personas/preguntas-frecuentes/
- La Estrella de Panamá, "La SBP refuerza la seguridad bancaria y concede prórroga a regulación de créditos", 11 Oct 2026. https://www.laestrella.com.pa/economia/la-sbp-refuerza-la-seguridad-bancaria-y-concede-prorroga-a-regulacion-de-creditos-CA26401267
- Newsroom Panama, "Banco General 'Yappy' Makes an Important Update", 28 Apr 2024. https://newsroompanama.com/2024/04/27/banco-general-yappy-makes-an-important-update/
- Banco General, "Seguridad - Banco General Panamá" (Protégete del fraude), read 20 Oct 2026. https://www.bgeneral.com/protegete-del-fraude/
Researched 20 October 2026. Limits and bank offerings change; the banks' own pages are authoritative.