On June 20th, the House of Representatives’ floor passed the initiative that proposes to take off three zeros off the Colombian peso. The bill establishes a three-year transition period between current notes and new pesos. The initiative is ready to be discussed in the Senate. This will occur after the parliamentary recess, which will take place from June 20th  to July 20th . Likewise, the new 102 Senators and 172 Representatives, which were elected in the last legislative elections held on March 11th, will take office after this recess.

The text proposes to eliminate three zeros from the peso and to incorporate the phrase nuevos pesos (new pesos) to the bills that are issued as of the effective date of the law. It also establishes a transition period between old and new banknotes, which will begin on January 1st, 2020 and will end on January 1st, 2023. During that period, the current peso and the new peso will circulate simultaneously and the conversion to the new monetary unit will be carried out without cost. The current banknotes and coins will only be exchanged for the new ones in the Bank of the Republic and at credit establishments.