This is a list of the central banks and currencies of the Caribbean.
There are a number of currencies serving multiple territories; the most widespread are the East Caribbean dollar (8 countries and territories), the United States dollar (5) and the euro (4).
Country/Territory | Currency | Code | Central bank | Peg |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bermuda | Bermudian dollar | BMD | Bermuda Monetary Authority | 1.00 BMD = 1.00 USD |
United States | United States dollar | USD | Federal Reserve Bank | float |
Mexico | Mexican peso | MXN | Bank of Mexico | float |
Belize | Belize dollar | BZD | Central Bank of Belize | 2.00 BZD = 1.00 USD |
Guatemala | Guatemalan quetzal | GTQ | Bank of Guatemala | float |
Honduras | Honduran lempira | HNL | Central Bank of Honduras | crawling peg to USD |
Nicaragua | Nicaraguan córdoba | NIO | Central Bank of Nicaragua | crawling peg to USD |
Costa Rica | Costa Rican colón | CRC | Central Bank of Costa Rica | float |
Panama | US dollar / Panamanian balboa | USD / PAB | Federal Reserve Bank / National Bank of Panama | 1.00 PAB = 1.00 USD |
Colombia | Colombian peso | COP | Banco de la República | float |
Venezuela | Venezuelan bolívar soberano | VEF | Banco Central de Venezuela | Disputed, ostensibly pegged to the Petro (cryptocurrency) |
Guyana | Guyanese dollar | GYD | Bank of Guyana | float |
Suriname | Surinamese dollar | SRD | Central Bank of Suriname | float |
The euro is the official currency of 20 of the 27 member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the euro area or, more commonly, the eurozone. The euro is divided into 100 euro cents.
The Eastern Caribbean dollar is the currency of all seven full members and one associate member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The successor to the British West Indies dollar, it has existed since 1965, and it is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $ or, alternatively, EC$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. The EC$ is subdivided into 100 cents. It has been pegged to the United States dollar since 7 July 1976, at the exchange rate of US$1 = EC$2.70.
The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which was formally dissolved in 2010.
The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 20 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU policies.
The British West Indies dollar (BWI$) was the currency of British Guiana and the Eastern Caribbean territories of the British West Indies from 1949 to 1965, when it was largely replaced by the East Caribbean dollar, and was one of the currencies used in Jamaica from 1954 to 1964. The monetary policy of the currency was overseen by the British Caribbean Currency Board (BCCB). It was the official currency used by the West Indies Federation. The British West Indies dollar was never used in British Honduras, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, or Bermuda.
A currency union is an intergovernmental agreement that involves two or more states sharing the same currency. These states may not necessarily have any further integration.
The Association of Caribbean States is an advisory association of nations centered on the Caribbean Basin. It was formed with the aim of promoting consultation, cooperation, and concerted action among all the countries of the Caribbean coastal area. The primary purpose of the ACS is to promote greater trade between the nations, enhance transportation, develop sustainable tourism, and facilitate greater and more effective responses to local natural disasters.
The Guyanese dollar has been the unit of account in Guyana since 29 January 1839. Originally it was intended as a transitional unit to facilitate the changeover from the Dutch guilder system of currency to the British pound sterling system. The Spanish dollar was already prevalent throughout the West Indies in general, and from 1839, the Spanish dollar unit operated in British Guiana in conjunction with British sterling coins at a standard conversion rate of one dollar for every four shillings and twopence. In 1951 the British sterling coinage was replaced with a new decimal coinage which was simultaneously introduced through all the British territories in the Eastern Caribbean. When sterling began to depreciate in the early 1970s, a switch to a US dollar peg became increasingly attractive as an anti-inflationary measure and the Eastern Caribbean Currency Authority made the switch in October 1975. The Guyanese dollar is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively G$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies.
The 'Economy of the Caribbean' is varied, but depends heavily on natural resources, agriculture and travel and tourism.
The guilder or florin was the currency of the Netherlands from 1434 until 2002, when it was replaced by the euro.
The Netherlands Antillean guilder is the currency of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, which until 2010 formed the Netherlands Antilles along with Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius. It is subdivided into 100 cents. The guilder was replaced on 1 January 2011 on the islands of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius by the United States dollar.
The rijksdaalder was a Dutch coin first issued by the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands in the late 16th century during the Dutch Revolt which featured an armored half bust of William the Silent. It was the Dutch counterpart of the Reichsthaler of the Holy Roman Empire but weighed slightly less, at 29.03 g of 0.885 fine silver, reduced to 0.875 fine by the 17th century. Friesland, Gelderland, Holland, Kampen, Overijssel, Utrecht, West Friesland, Zeeland, and Zwolle minted armored half bust rijksdaalders until the end of the 17th century.
In international finance, a world currency, supranational currency, or global currency is a currency that would be transacted internationally, with no set borders.
The region known as the British West Indies included British Guiana on the South American mainland, British Honduras in Central America, Bermuda, The Bahamas, and Jamaica, along with its former dependencies of the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands. It also included the Eastern Caribbean territories of Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands.
The Caribbean guilder is a planned currency of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, two constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, officially slated for introduction in 2025. The Caribbean guilder is set to replace the Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG) at par and be pegged to the U.S. dollar. The currency has an official launch scheduled for 31 March 2025. It is divided into 100 cents.
The United States dollar was established as the world's foremost reserve currency by the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944. It claimed this status from sterling after the devastation of two world wars and the massive spending of the United Kingdom's gold reserves. Despite all links to gold being severed in 1971, the dollar continues to be the world's foremost reserve currency. Furthermore, the Bretton Woods Agreement also set up the global post-war monetary system by setting up rules, institutions and procedures for conducting international trade and accessing the global capital markets using the US dollar.
The economy of Saint Martin, divided between the French Collectivity of Saint Martin and the Dutch Sint Maarten, is predominately dependent on tourism. For more than two centuries, the main commodity exports have generally been salt and locally grown commodities, like sugar.
The economy of Central America is the eleventh-largest economy in Latin America, behind Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia. According to the World Bank, the nominal GDP of Central America reached 204 billion US dollar in 2010, as recovery from the crisis of 2009, where gross domestic product (GDP) suffered a decline to 3.8%. The major economic sectors are agriculture and tourism, although the industrial sector has shown strong growth, mainly in Panama.