Trusted by 3M+ people around the world
GOOGLE PLAY •22K REVIEWS
APP STORE • 12K REVIEWS
A small corridor with a specific problem
Very few people send money from Ireland to Uruguay. The traffic that does exist is mostly two things. One is work: Montevideo has become a serious software and services base, and Irish companies pay developers, designers, testers and consultants there in pesos. The other is family, usually reached through Spain, Italy or Argentina rather than directly, because that is how most Uruguayan family trees run.
The problem on a corridor this size is that the peso is not a currency an Irish bank quotes with any enthusiasm. The standard answer is to send dollars or euro and let the Uruguayan bank convert them on arrival, which moves the conversion out of your sight and the cost onto the person being paid. They find out what they got. You never do.
Grey quotes euro to Uruguayan pesos as its own rate, shows the fee beside it, and pays pesos into Banco República (BROU), Santander Uruguay, Itaú Uruguay, BBVA Uruguay, Scotiabank Uruguay or another Uruguayan bank. The recipient gets a local credit in local money and needs no Grey account.
Three steps to pesos in a Uruguayan account
Sign up
A Grey account is free and opens in about five minutes with a valid identity document such as a passport or an Irish driving licence.
Fund
Top up in euro by SEPA transfer from AIB, Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB, An Post Money or a credit union, and hold it until you convert.
Send
Enter the recipient's Uruguayan bank account number, check the euro to peso rate and the fee, and confirm the transfer.
What you are actually paying for
Compare this against the dollar workaround properly. Sending dollars to Uruguay looks cheap on the Irish side because the conversion you can see is euro to dollars, which is a well priced pair. The peso conversion still happens, it just happens at a Uruguayan bank, at whatever rate applies that day, on top of a receiving charge.
For a company paying a contractor in Montevideo every month, that difference is not academic. It shows up as an invoice that never quite matches what arrives, and as a contractor who starts quoting higher to cover a cost they cannot predict either.
The peso amount is fixed when you confirm
Grey fixes the euro to peso rate at the moment of confirmation. The peso figure on the screen is the peso figure credited to the account in Uruguay.
For anything contractual, an agreed monthly fee or an invoice with a number on it, that is what makes the payment reconcilable at both ends without a conversation about the rate afterwards.
Grey against an Irish bank that would send dollars instead
Ask an Irish bank to send Uruguayan pesos and the likely answer is that it will send dollars instead. The payment then crosses a correspondent chain, arrives in a currency the recipient did not agree to, and is converted by their own bank on landing. Grey handles the euro to peso conversion itself, shows you the rate and the fee before you commit, and delivers pesos locally.
What the recipient in Uruguay sees
Uruguayan pesos credited to their own bank account, the way any domestic transfer appears. Nothing is held for collection and no account is opened with Grey.
Any Uruguayan bank
Banco República (BROU), Santander Uruguay, Itaú Uruguay, BBVA Uruguay, Scotiabank Uruguay and others, using the account number.
Within minutes
Transfers sent from a funded Grey balance typically arrive within minutes, and can be tracked until they settle.
A record on both sides
Each transfer is logged with its rate and fee, which is what makes a contractor payment straightforward to reconcile.
How senders keep the euro balance ready
On a corridor made mostly of invoices, funding tends to follow the billing cycle rather than the calendar.
Before the invoice date
Move euro across a few days ahead so the peso payment goes out on the day it is due, not after it.
From income in other currencies
Dollar or sterling revenue held on Grey can fund the Uruguayan payment without being converted to euro first.
From the remaining balance
Euro left over after the last payment sits there and reduces the next top-up.
The Uruguayan account details are saved after the first transfer, which matters most when the same contractor is paid every month.
What the Ireland to Uruguay route carries
Paying remote workers
Irish firms paying Montevideo developers, designers and consultants in pesos, on monthly invoices with fixed amounts.
Family support
Small regular amounts to relatives in Montevideo, Salto or Punta del Este, often from families whose route to Ireland ran through Spain or Argentina.
Students
Living costs for students in Montevideo, where the sums are modest and the predictability matters more than the speed.
Service providers and agencies
Uruguayan agencies, translators and free zone service firms invoicing Irish clients in their own currency.
Four uses, and being honest about it, the first one accounts for a good share of everything that moves.
Five reasons to send pesos rather than dollars
Nobody is going to claim Uruguay is a busy corridor out of Ireland. What can be claimed is that a rarely quoted currency should not mean a worse deal for the person receiving it, or a payment neither side can account for afterwards.
Euro funded from your Irish bank, Uruguayan pesos delivered into a local bank account. Rate and fee shown first, the rate fixed at confirmation, nothing converted on arrival.
FAQs
Can I send Uruguayan pesos rather than dollars from Ireland?
Yes. Grey quotes euro to Uruguayan pesos directly and pays pesos into the recipient's bank account, so no conversion happens on arrival.
Which Uruguayan banks can receive the pesos?
Banco República (BROU), Santander Uruguay, Itaú Uruguay, BBVA Uruguay, Scotiabank Uruguay and other Uruguayan banks, using the account number.
Why not just send dollars and let the bank in Uruguay convert them?
Because that conversion happens at a rate you never see, on top of a receiving charge, and the cost falls on the recipient.
How long does a transfer from Ireland to Uruguay take?
Transfers sent from a funded Grey balance typically arrive within minutes, and each one can be tracked until it settles.
Can an Irish company pay a Montevideo developer this way?
Yes. Paying contractors and agencies in Montevideo in pesos on monthly invoices is the most common use of this corridor.
Does the recipient in Uruguay need a Grey account?
No. The pesos arrive in their own Uruguayan bank account as an ordinary credit, with nothing to install or sign up for.
Is the euro to peso rate fixed before I confirm?
Yes. The rate and fee both appear before confirmation and the peso amount is fixed there, so an invoice reconciles exactly.
Is Grey a bank if the pesos land at Banco República?
No. Grey is an authorised financial services provider working with regulated partners in the EU, settling through licensed local partners.
Can I fund a Uruguayan payment from a dollar balance?
Yes. US dollars or sterling held on Grey convert to Uruguayan pesos in one step, without being routed through euro first.
Can I fund a peso payment straight from an Irish current account?
Yes, by SEPA transfer into your Grey euro balance from AIB, Bank of Ireland, Permanent TSB, An Post Money or your credit union, then convert to pesos.
Is it worth using Grey for one small transfer to Uruguay?
The saving on a single small amount is modest. The case is stronger for a repeating payment, where the hidden peso conversion compounds.
Get digital banking
at your fingertips
