AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Belize Life Living in Belize The Exchange Rate?

On another post a conversation started with the exchange rate. If possible I'm hoping to get some clarification or other peoples experiences......We have a home in the States and in San Pedro....We often put money into our Belize Accounts so that we can make purchases, pay bills and do business.....However to date there have been 2 very different exchanges when working with the banks.....If we wire money directly from our US accounts to our Bank Account in San Pedro the bank exchanges the dollars at less than 2 to 1 in addition to charging a wire fee.....If we bring the cash directly to the bank it is deposited at 2 to 1. Our banking officer stated this is monitored and required by Central Bank. We have never questioned it until the discussion began on the other post. What do you folks think?

Yes that sounds right JudyH.

The Central Bank will also monitor how much US cash you deposit to your account.

You should see what happens if you want to change the Belize Dollars back into US Dollars. I am doing this now and the Central Bank has to approve everything.

So, Judy, here is the magic piece of information you need. You need to ask your bank and all the other reputable banks in town, " what is the cheapest way to send and convert US money to Belize money, and keep a Belize, and possibly US money account in town.
I'm sure our solution isn't the only one, but it can be quite simple.
Send a PM. it isn't about secrecy, but I don't want to start up a controversy. As, you know that can happen in a blink!

Another thing to be aware of. Once you become a permanent resident of Belize, the Belize banks will not allow you to hold a US Dollar account.

I have a US Dollar account in Belize and I am a permanent resident. No one has ever said that it was prohibited. Just curious about the source of your information.

CaptOneIron. Central Bank, Belize Bank and Scotia Bank have all told me that Permanent Residents of Belize are prohibited from opening a US Dollar account. If they didn't ask, then I suppose it's all good. They known we are permanent residents at both of those banks so we have no luck.

collyk maybe it is the bank. My US dollar account is at British Caribbean Bank Ltd which is a sister bank of Belize Bank and located upstairs from their offices in San Pedro. Maybe you can try there. I know it has been a real pain to try and get the Belize dollars changed into US dollars.

Amanda, thank you....I had a feeling they were not just picking on me.....

The law states that Belizean citizens and residents are prohibited from holding US dollar accounts in the offshore banks which are doing business in Belize.

The banks may choose to turn a blind eye to this rule from time to time and I wouldn't wish to hazard a guess as to what the legal implications could be in certain situations.