CURRENCY IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Currency in Dominican Republic

The Dominican peso is the national currency of the country, although US dollars (USD) are acceptable in most tourist sites.               

The peso was worth the same as the USD at one time, but has recently decreased in value.

The exchange rate in 1993 was 14.00 pesos per USD and 16.00 pesos in 2000, but it jumped to 53.00 pesos per USD in 2003. In 2004, the exchange rate was back down to around 31.00 pesos per USD.

The U.S. dollar is implicated in almost all commercial transactions of the Dominican Republic, supporting the theory that the devaluation of the peso in relation to the dollar in 2005 is the result of the international currency market; On February 2005, 1.32 USD = one € = 29 DR pesos; in October 2005, 1.19 USD = one € = 32 DR pesos.

The International Monetary Fund revealed a growth of 7.6% over the inflation index for 2006, which implies that the national currency of the Dominican Republic could finish the year with an average basis between 32.70 and touching the 40 pesos per dollar roof. Another factor that has an impact on the currency exchange market of the Dominican Republic is the fluctuation of the U.S. dollar on the international currency market. As of September 2007 the value of the peso was 1 USD=0.7006 EUR=33.430 DOP.

Today’s Exchange Rate is:

US$                      EURO
$ Buy		39,08	€ Buy	50,35
$ Sell		39,11	€ Sell	50,75

History

The first Dominican peso was introduced with the country's independence from Haiti in 1844. It replaced the Haitian gourde at par and was divided into 8 reales. The Dominican Republic decimalized in 1877, subdividing the peso into 100 centavos. A second currency, the franco, was issued between 1891 and 1897 but did not replace the peso. However, in 1905, the peso was replaced by the U.S. dollar, at a rate of 5 pesos to the dollar. The peso oro was introduced in 1937 at par with the U.S. dollar, although the dollar continued to be used alongside the peso oro until 1947.

Bills in circulation

		Value	Description
			Front
		20 Pesos Oro	Gregorio Luperón
		50 Pesos Oro	Catedral de Santa María de la Encarnación de Santo Domingo
		100 Pesos Oro	Francisco del Rosario Sánchez, Juan Pablo Duarte y Matías Ramón Mella
		200 Pesos Oro	Hermanas Mirabal
		500 Pesos Oro	Salomé Ureña y Pedro Henríquez Ureña
		1,000 Pesos Oro	Palacio Nacional
		2,000 Pesos Oro	Emilio Prud'Homme & José Rufino Reyes Siancas (composers of the national anthem)

Exchanging to Dominican Pesos

US dollars are the most easily exchangeable foreign currency into the local Dominican Republic currency, Dominican Pesos (RD). In a lot of the tourism destinations in the country, many of the hotels, restaurants and businesses indicate their prices in US dollars as well as in Dominican Pesos, and would actually prefer to be paid in US dollars. In some desitations, such as Las Terrenas and Las Galleras, the Euro is as accepted as the US dollar. Most of the larger country's currencies can be exchanged in tourism destinations all over the Dominican Republic. In general, the best rates of exchange are offered by the banks and independent money exchanges. They usually only differ between a Peso or two per unit of foreign currency between them. Airports, hotels/resorts, restaurants, and other businesses tend to offer a slightly lower rate of exchange for the convenience they provide in exchanging your currency.

Major credit cards and traveler's checks are accepted at most of the larger hotels/resorts and businesses, but you may find you'll be surcharged in some cases for this payment method.

In the larger resort areas/towns/cities you will find banks that also have ATM's (bank machines) which are accessible 24 hours per day. Banks are generally open from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, Monday to Friday. Some branches are open until 9 pm in the evening, as well as mornings on Saturdays. In addition to exchanging currency, most banks will also offer major credit card cash advances, with identification, such as your Passport.