Where He leads...: Haitian Currency: 101

Haitian Currency: 101

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Imagine you're visiting Haiti. Your friend takes you to the outdoor market. You see some ripe avocados and think they would be a delicious addition to tonight's menu!

"How much for an avocado?"

"Senk dola," the vendor replies.

"Five dollars for an avocado?!"

That's when your friend goes on to explain something like this...

The currency in Haiti is Haitian gourdes. (In Creole it's typically just "goud", rhymes with "mood".)

$1 USD equals around 40 Haitian gourdes.

But here's the kicker... that five dollar avocado... it's not really a $5 USD avocado. It's a five Haitian dollar avocado. Better for your wallet, not so great for those of us who are still wishing our math teachers were wrong when they said, "Math is something so important you'll use it all your life."

Let me explain...

A "Haitian dollar" doesn't exist. Well, it exists in speech and comprehension, but it is an invisible currency.

1 Haitian dollar (HTD) = 5 Haitian gourdes. So 1 Haitian dollar is the equivalent of 1/8 of a U.S. dollar. So that 5 dollar avocado is really just 25 gourdes (about 62 cents).

Confused yet?! :)

Let me sum it up in one sentence: In Haiti, you physically pay with Haitian gourdes, but the verbal or written price for something could be in invisible Haitian dollars and you just have to do the math in your head before you hand over the cash.

$1 US = 40 gourdes = 8 Haitian dollars

1 Haitian dollar = 5 gourdes

Here's an example...

The above bill is 100 gourdes. The approximate USD equivalent is $2.50. If someone asks you to pay 20 dola/20 Haitian dollars, you could give them this bill. (20 HTD x 5 = 100 gds)

Haitian gourdes come in a range of denominations. 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, 250, 500, 1000. And also coins, 5, 1, 1/2. Some are pictured below.

They are quite beautiful when they're new! But most of the time they look like the photo below and are handed to you in a crumpled wad. I head for the soap after prolonged contact! (A good idea after handling money from anywhere.)

A few more money tips for traveling in Haiti:

You can change money at the bank, supermarkets, and on the streets. The bank rate is the best. Street changers come second. And supermarkets and hotels last. If you need to exchange money while you're staying at the guesthouse, we can send someone to change it for you.
Many places do take American dollars, but you will typically pay more as the rate is not as good when paying in USD and you may not always get change. For example, you can buy cold drinks from guys in the street as you drive by. It's a quick exchange as you don't want to hold up traffic. They are 25 gourdes (~62 cents), but if I only have U.S. cash, I'll just give $1 and be done with it.
Change in general is hard to come by. If you're buying something for 100 gourdes and you only have 1000, you will often be given a hard time. This is especially true when buying from street vendors, as they don't have a lot of change. A supermarket may not have as much difficulty, but they still may try to ask for smaller bills.
Haitian vendors, stores, and even banks will not take ripped or overly worn American dollars. Bring the best you can to Haiti. Not only will that save you from getting stuck with unusable bills, but it will help keep usable bills on the island for longer.
The neighboring Dominican peso is basically the same rate as a Haitian gourdes. Makes things easy for traveling back and forth!

Click here for a helpful resource on Haitian currency written by Haiti Hub.

Creole vocabulary of the day:
money = lajan (la-jahn) or kòb (kawb)