Curaçao is an island in the Caribbean with a size of 444 km². Since October 10, 2010, it has been an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was formerly one of the largest islands in the Netherlands Antilles. This island belongs to the ABC Islands, which means that the archipelago goes back to the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao and belongs in the geographical sense to South America.
The official currency is the Caribbean or Antillean guilder, ISO code ANG, but you can also pay in US dollars, which is due to the fixed exchange rate. With the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, the end of the Antilles guilder was set. There are plans to introduce the Caribbean guilder or US dollar, but this has not yet been implemented.
Until 1940 the guilder was attached to the Dutch currency and was then valued at the exchange rate for the US dollar. This rate was from 1979 – 1 USD for 1.79 ANG, which has not changed until today.
The Antilles guilder is a stable currency with a constant value. It currently has an inflation rate of 3.6%.
History of currency
For Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius, the customary currency was replaced by the US dollar on January 1, 2011. At the end of August 2009, a decision was made in Willemstad about a currency exchange and dollarization. There was a change for Curaçao and Sint Maarten. The currency in these places was changed.
Three years later, in 2012, the Caribbean guilder emerged from the Antilles guilder. In addition, banknotes with a value of 250 Antilles guilders were exchanged for 200 Caribbean guilders or 25 Antilles guilders for 20 Caribbean guilder notes. At the same time, both the euro and the dollar remained accepted currencies in the tourism industry.
The ISO code of the common currency is CMf and CMG. But there is also an official abbreviation which is Gde. One Caribbean guilder is equal to 100 cents. Banknotes are available in denominations of 200, 100, 50, 20 and also 10 CMG. The face value of the coins is 5 and 1 guilder as well as 50, 25, 10, 5 and also 1 cents.
Exchange into the currency of Curacao
The foreign currency can be exchanged at home as well as in exchange offices, banks and ATMs.
All major credit cards such as Eurocard, Visa, Mastercard and Diners Club are accepted. American Express is also accepted almost everywhere.
US dollars are accepted everywhere as a means of payment, but it is advantageous to carry smaller banknotes with you, as it can sometimes be problematic to exchange 50 US dollars as well as 100 US dollar bills. Change is paid in Caribbean guilders. It should be noted, however, that the exchange rate with this method is usually worse than when withdrawing Caribbean guilders from banks with a credit card.
If you spend your vacation on Curaçao and also on Sint Maarten, you can also pay with the euro.