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Bermuda Currency
Over 300 years Bermuda has been issuing their own currencies. Prior to 1970, the basic unit of Bermuda's currency was pound. Those days the British coins were used although Bermuda printed its own bank notes. Since 1970 dollar has replaced Pound, and both coins & notes are now issued in Bermuda.
Bermuda currencies can be taken out of the island in small quantities and are usually heavily discounted outside Bermuda. Once taken back to the U.S and other countries, it becomes very difficult if not impossible to exchange the Bermuda dollars. This is particularly so in the U.S. So before leaving the island, try to exchange all your Bermuda dollars with your home currency unless you like to keep some as part of your coin & notes collections.
While making purchases, you can get changes back in both Bermuda and U.S currencies. You can request the storekeeper or the merchant to return you only U.S currencies. That may not be always possible though. For visitors and tourists, U.S currency is always preferable because you take any remaining cash back with you without having to exchange in Bermuda.
Also remember that the ATMs in Bermuda would dispense Bermuda dollars only. So avoid withdrawing any additional cash from the ATMs other than what you think you will need to spend in the island. In Bermuda, there are notes available in denominations of Bermuda Dollar (BMD) 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100. Other than 1 dollar coin, there are coins for 1, 5, 10 and 25 cents.
While both the notes and coins have the Queen's face on one side, the back side of the coins are quite interesting. The penny (one cent) has a nick name of "Hog Penny" and has a picture of a hog (i.e. a pig) on the other side. 5 cents coin has a fish, and 25 cents has a picture of a Bermuda's longtail bird.
ATMs in Bermuda
There are dozens of 24-hour ATMs in Bermuda accepting Cirrus and Plus system ATM cards and MasterCard and Visa credit cards. Here are the main ATM locations in Bermuda:
Bank of Bermuda (HSBC) at the following locations:
Hamilton City: 6 & 37 Front Street, 64 Church Street, 9 Bermudiana Rd.
Royal Naval Dockyard, Sandys.
31 Mangrove Bay Road, Somerset Branch, Sandy's (Ph: 441/299-5959)
4 Kings Square, St. George (Ph: 441/299-5959)
Bank of Butterfield Head Office
65 Front Street, Hamilton City. Phone: (441) 295-1111
Also at the following locations:
Royal Naval Dockyard, Sandys.
14 Bermudiana Rd (Ph: 441/298-3957) and 90 Pitts Bay Rd (Ph: 441/294-2071), Hamilton City
45 Mangrove Bay (Ph: 441/234-0048) and 48 Somerset Road (Ph: 441/295-1111) in Sandy's
The MarketPlace Super Market
42 Church Street, Hamilton City. Phone: (441) 292-3163
227 Middle Road, Heron Bay, Southampton. Phone: (441) 238-1993
Modern Mart
104 South Road, Paget. Phone: (441) 236-6161
19 Reid Street, Hamilton City. Phone: (441) 296-6969
The Ice Queen
30 Queen Street, Hamilton City. Phone: (441) 236-3136
Bermuda Industrial Union Esso Gas Station
22 Dundonald Street, Hamilton City. Phone: (441) 292-2726
There are many other ATMs in Bermuda including at the International Airport, Phoenix Drug Store, Visitors Information Centers etc.
Modes & ways of using money in Bermuda
While U.S. currency trades at par & freely in Bermuda and can be used virtually everywhere including in stores, restaurants etc, there are a few exceptions where only Bermuda currency is accepted. And one such case is in public buses. Unless you have tickets, tokens or passes, you will need to pay the bus fare in Bermuda currency only and in exact change.
Although there are plenty of ATMs available all over the island, remember that every time you use your debit or credit cards at the ATMs or at the retail stores, there will be transaction charge of up to 3% levied by the bank. If you use credit cards to withdraw money from ATMs, there will be additional interest charged by the bank from the time you withdraw until the time you square off the credit.
As I mentioned earlier, the ATMs in Bermuda dispense only Bermuda dollars. Note that the Discover cards that are available in US are not accepted in Bermuda. However Master and Visa cards are accepted widely in the island.
Note: There is a transition currently happening in Bermuda from the normal magnetic swipe cards to the Chip & Pin cards. Which means gradually over a period of time all the retail outlets, restaurants and hotels will only accept credit and debit cards having a computer chip on them that ask for a 4-digit PIN. This is only to protect against fraudulent use of the cards. Banks are these days issuing Chip & Pin cards. However, at present both forms of cards are accepted in Bermuda.
Another good option is to carry Travelers Checks. You get them in various denominations between $20 to $1000. These are widely accepted at the banks and larger hotels. The most popular ones are American Express Travelers Checks. There is usually a service charge between 1 to 4% that applies.
Currency Cards or the Travelers Check Cards also work equally well in Bermuda. They act like debit cards but are not linked to your Checking or Savings account. However there is a one time issuance fee and also a transaction charge that applies.
For Expats:
Non-Bermudians or expatriates can not operate or maintain bank accounts in Bermuda dollars. The only exceptions are made when you need to bear the local expenses incurred while running a business and therefore need to pay in Bermuda dollars. Bermuda does not license international banks to operate on the island. There are only four local Banks in Bermuda.
Related Articles
1) Check out Bermuda International Business to know about all the top reasons why large number of international businesses operate out of Bermuda.
2) Check out Bermuda Economy to know all about economic factors and trends in Bermuda.
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