To date, the official currency of Ecuador is the US dollar (USD). However, the centavo loose change left over from the previous currency is still used in the country.
Dollarization of the country
In 2000, the Ecuadorian government decided to replace the current national currency with the US dollar. This was due to the desire to increase the interest of tourists from the USA to Ecuador, as well as to simplify the financial industry in the country, as the national currency was too volatile and weak.
Such a difficult decision by the governing body of the republic was to take the country out of the protracted economic crisis, but the people of Ecuador were unhappy that the state currency would be withdrawn from circulation and the dollar introduced.
Description
As mentioned above, the currency of Ecuador today is the American dollar, which is no different from what is used in the United States. It is not necessary to describe in detail the appearance of American dollars, since it is known to almost every person on the planet.
All banknotes are used: from one to one hundred dollars. But American coins are practically not used, since the national centavo change coins remained in circulation. They are used by local residents, they are given for change in stores.
Former Currency of Ecuador
Until 2000, the official state currency of the country was Ecuadorian sucre, which was divided into 100 centavos. This currency was put into circulation in 1884 and was used until April 2000. At the end of the 20th century. Ecuador was in a deep economic crisis, which is why the national currency was undergoing hyperinflation and was constantly depreciating. This significantly exacerbated the already difficult economic situation.
Ecuadorian Sucre was named after one of the Bolivian presidents Antonio Jose Sucre. By the end of the 90s. denominations of 5 to 50,000 sucre were in use.
Currency of Ecuador: rate
The modern US dollar in Ecuador has the same rate as the dollar in other countries. To date, the currency of Ecuador against the ruble is approximately 58-59 rubles, such is the current exchange rate of the US dollar. Dollarization of the country greatly facilitated the economic situation in the country; tourists from all over the world began to come to it more actively, especially from America.
Russian travelers are also more comfortable using dollars than any other currency. The currency of Ecuador to the dollar cost extremely little. For 100 Ecuadorian sucras they gave approximately 0.25 Russian rubles. This despite the fact that the ruble is also a very inexpensive currency.
Exchange operations
Carrying American dollars, a tourist automatically frees himself from the need to look for exchange offices. However, bringing another currency, the traveler must find a place where he can exchange his money for American dollars. The country has no particular problems with the exchange of banknotes. At the airport, hotels, in almost all banks and exchange offices, you can exchange money for dollars.
They work with the Russian ruble not everywhere, but in quite a few places. The number of visitors from Russia is small, but is growing every year, so financial institutions have begun to show more interest in the ruble.
However, Ecuador is most willing to work with the euro and the Canadian dollar, since after the United States the largest number of tourists comes to the country from Canada and Europe, except for the Latin American countries with which Ecuador borders. From there, quite a lot of travelers come to the country, but this is not very interesting for Russian tourists, because it does not facilitate the situation with currency exchange.
Due to the fact that the American dollar is used in Ecuador, in any Russian bank there is actually a currency of Ecuador. The ruble exchange rate is identical to the regular US dollar, as there are no differences from it. Often, the exchange rate of money in Russia from rubles to dollars is more profitable than the exchange of rubles to dollars in Ecuador. However, this is not always the case, so before you travel it is better to find out where it is more profitable to exchange money and, based on this, make a decision about the place of currency exchange.
Conclusion
Ecuador is a small state in South America, its economy is rather poorly developed, although in recent years the country has seen steady economic growth. Perhaps the improvement is partly due to the country's transition from the national currency to the US dollar. In any case, this had a positive effect on the economic situation in the country, although at first local residents took this financial reform with hostility.
Almost any tourist who wants to visit this state is profitable that the currency of Ecuador is the dollar, as this greatly simplifies the exchange of banknotes. In addition, the commission for such operations in the country is relatively small. As a rule, it is about 2-4% of the amount of exchange. For comparison: in Russia, the commission may exceed 10%, however, there are organizations that do not charge commissions for exchange operations.
Despite the fact that the dollar is the official currency of the country, some features of the financial structure in Ecuador are still available. You should keep in mind that Ecuadorian centavos can easily be issued to you as a change in a store or cafe, since they have not been withdrawn from circulation. This happens mainly in small provincial shops. Large chain supermarkets, restaurants and hotels always use only dollars.
In addition, when making a purchase in a small store or in the local market, it is better not to pay in large dollar bills, because the seller may simply not have change.