Revenue from contracts with customers - Revenue streams (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019
Service charges on deposit accounts
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	$ 30,163	$ 39,617	$ 71,822	$ 78,308
BPPR
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	71,159	94,083	158,594	175,851
BPPR | Service charges on deposit accounts
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	28,104	36,035	66,435	71,099
BPPR | Debit card fees
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	6,853	11,752	16,852	22,651
BPPR | Insurance fees, excluding reinsurance
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	8,183	13,420	15,871	20,865
BPPR | Credit card fees excluding late fees and membership fees
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	17,378	21,392	37,146	39,678
BPPR | Sale and administration of investment products
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	4,910	5,732	11,173	10,991
BPPR | Trust fees
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	5,731	5,752	11,117	10,567
Popular U.S.
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	2,980	4,918	7,525	9,802
Popular U.S. | Service charges on deposit accounts
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	2,059	3,582	5,387	7,209
Popular U.S. | Debit card fees
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	229	282	467	553
Popular U.S. | Insurance fees, excluding reinsurance
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	531	831	1,268	1,601
Popular U.S. | Credit card fees excluding late fees and membership fees
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	161	223	403	439
Popular U.S. | Sale and administration of investment products
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	0	0	0	0
Popular U.S. | Trust fees
Revenue From Contract With Customer Excluding Assessed Tax	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0