In the days when Uruguayans passionately followed each match of the 2026 World Cup, discussing plays and chances of qualification, the Central Bank of Uruguay moved forward with a measure that did not go unnoticed by those who closely observe the economy. Under the administration of Yamandú Orsi, the issuing entity put a regulatory project up for consultation that requires banks to provide customers who open or already hold dollar accounts with an explicit and signed warning about the "risks" of that decision.
The text that savers must sign is clear in its purpose: it reminds them that the value of their deposits in foreign currency, expressed in pesos, may decrease due to exchange rate fluctuations and that they could "recover less than what they deposited in terms of local purchasing power." There is no equivalent warning for those who choose pesos. The declared objective is to "contribute to the process of dedollarization" of an economy where, by the end of 2025, deposits from the non-financial sector (families and businesses) in private banks and the BROU totaled the equivalent of US$ 44.963 billion, of which 73% was denominated in dollars.
Uruguay is among the top three countries in the world with the highest percentage of dollarization of deposits. This figure represents approximately US$ 32.823 billion in dollar deposits solely in the local financial system. Additionally, Uruguayan residents hold around US$ 62 billion in deposits and financial investments abroad.
This is not a simple informational note. It is a deliberate step to disincentivize a practice that millions of Uruguayans have adopted as a rational defense of their assets. Over the past three decades, according to the Central Bank's own president, Guillermo Tolosa, Uruguayans have lost almost half of their purchasing power due to a lack of trust in the national currency. Holding dollars is not an ideological whim or a speculative bet: it is the logical response of people who have learned, through their own history, that the peso can erode the value of accumulated work.
What the government and the Central Bank present as "information for more informed decisions" has an immediate practical effect. At the same time that they require signing that warning (which will come into effect generally on August 1, 2026, and must be personally notified to all existing customers before December 31, 2026), the banking reserves are modified. For dollar deposits, the reserves remain unchanged: 28% for those under 180 days and 20% for longer-term deposits. In contrast, for peso deposits, a gradual reduction of the reserve ratios applicable to short-term obligations has been established, seeking to generate greater incentives to operate in the national currency.
The institutional message is consistent with a vision that considers dollarization a problem in itself. The president of the BCU has pointed out that when a Uruguayan deposits in dollars, 65% of those funds end up being exported or fleeing abroad because companies in the country do not want that currency. "A country that has enormous needs of all kinds to grow cannot afford to export two-thirds of its savings," he argued.
