Local Currency and Banking in Honduras
Traveling this way and need to figure out what the local currency and banking in Honduras is all about?
The local currency is the Lempira, named after a famous Indian chief that lost his life while fighting off the invading Spanish Conquistadors. The currency has been relatively stable with the dollar for the last years, maintaining an exchange rate of approximately 24s lps. to 1 USA dollar. The Lempira bills come in denominations of 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1. In addition to coins that include .50, .20 and .10 lps. Over the last few years the coins have almost disappeared, since their face value is almost null. There is a free exchange market, so it is easy to reconvert your Lempiras into dollars or vice versa. USA dollars are accepted at most businesses, and Euros are only accepted on a limited basis in the destinations where European travelers are more common, such as Copan, Utila and Roatan.
Credit cards are widely accepted within Honduras. You will not have any problem paying with your Visa or Mastercard. Most businesses accept the American Express card also.
ATM machines are in all the major cities throughout Honduras. They are also at all the main tourist destinations, such as the Bay Islands, Copan Ruinas and Atlantida among others. Please take note that these only dispatch funds in local currency. If you have an international credit or debit card, you will receive lempiras and not dollars. Take note that the charge to you account will be in the equivalent of USA dollars. Most of the ATM machines have a limit as to how much you can withdraw from them. The limit is usually the equivalent to between $200 and $250 US. In some cases, they will allow a second transaction with the same limits. After that you will have to wait till the next day to make another cash withdrawal.
If you need to figure out about exchange rates for the local currency and banking in Honduras, I suggest you check out the BAC Honduras web page, where you can find not only the daily exchange rates for all Central American currencies, it also helps you find the closest bank to you!
