Here, you'll find answers to some of the most common questions we receive about the Caribbean Guilder. Whether you're looking for quick information or more details, these FAQs will surely help.
On October 10, 2010, Curaçao and Sint Maarten became autonomous countries within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and formed a monetary union with a shared central bank and a new currency. In the “Regeling Gemeenschappelijk Geldstelsel Curaçao en Sint Maarten” that regulates the currency of the monetary union of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, it is stipulated that the Caribbean guilder will replace the Netherlands-Antillean guilder (NAf.).
The Caribbean guilder will enter into circulation on March 31, 2025
Like the Netherlands-Antillean guilder, the Caribbean guilder will be legally pegged to the U.S. dollar at an exchange rate of US$1 = 1.79.
The exchange rate between the Netherlands-Antillean guilder and the Caribbean guilder is 1:1. The Netherlands-Antillean guilder and the Caribbean guilder are of equal value.
The two currencies will co-circulate for 3 months as of March 31, 2025.
Cash payments in Netherlands-Antillean guilder will be accepted for up to 3 months as of the introduction of the Caribbean guilder on March 31, 2025. This means that you can make cash payments in NAf until June 30, 2025. You will receive your change (mainly) in Caribbean guilder.
Exchanges can be made at the commercial banks where you hold an account, for up to 12 months after the introduction of the Caribbean guilder. This means that March 31, 2026, will be the last day to exchange ANG at commercial banks. However, after these 12 months, your Netherlands-Antillean guilders can still be exchanged at the CBCS for up to 29 years – until March 31, 2055.
The Caribbean-guilder coins will be issued in the following denominations: 5 guilders, 1 guilder, 50 cents, 25 cents, 10 cents, 5 cents and 1 cent. For banknotes, the denominations will be 200 guilders, 100 guilders, 50 guilders, 20 guilders and 10 guilders.
The NAf 250-guilder banknote will be replaced by the 200 Caribbean-guilder note and the NAf 25-guilder banknote by the 20 Caribbean-guilder note. The new banknote denominations are more in line with the general international payment-system practices, such as in the case of the euro and the U.S. dollar.
The Caribbean guilder banknotes have a number of features that assist blind and partially sighted people to recognize different banknote denominations. The accessibility features that you can find on our banknotes include:
Tactile marks. There are raised lines on the left and right edges of the front side of the banknotes. You can distinguish the denomination by the number of lines.
Large numerals. The designs feature large numerals to clearly show the denomination. The large numerals have raised ink to easily identify the value of the banknotes.
Bright colors. Each banknote has a dominant color.
The currency symbol for the Caribbean guilder will be Cg. With the Netherlands-Antillean guilder, we use NAf as the currency-symbol.
However, the official currency code in the payment system will be XCG. Reason for this is that the official ISO currency-code of more than one country (which is the case of the Countries of Curaçao and Sint Maarten) always starts with a 'X'. The official currency code for the Netherlands-Antillean guilder is ANG.
The banknotes, like the Netherlands Antilles banknotes, will be made of cotton. However, this will be of better and more durable quality. As a result, the Caribbean guilder banknotes will last longer, and fewer banknotes will need to be produced. With less production and fewer banknotes destroyed, sustainable banknotes will contribute to a cleaner environment.
The name “Caribbean guilder” is stipulated in the “Regeling Gemeenschappelijk Geldstelsel Curaçao en Sint Maarten. Initially, the name “Dutch-Caribbean guilder” was agreed. However, because the Dutch Caribbean geographically includes the BES islands and Aruba, the name “Caribbean guilder” was chosen in these regulations.
One of the benefits of the new Caribbean guilder is that banknotes and coins – given their sophisticated design and modern, high-quality security features – will be secure against counterfeiting, which limits the likelihood of experiencing fraud or loss when using cash.
The coins will be minted and delivered by the Royal Canadian Mint while the banknotes will be printed and delivered by Crane Currency.
The Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten is the copyright holder. For the banknote reproduction conditions visit the CBCS website.
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