Money, cards and ATMs in Ecuador

The dollar

• Ecuador adopted the US dollar in 2000 and uses it exactly as the United States does. American notes, American coins.
• There is no exchange rate to think about if you come from the US, and one simple one if you do not.
• Ecuador also mints its own centavo coins, the same sizes and values as US cents, usable only here. Spend them before you leave.
• No conversion, no bureau de change, no rate to time.

The change problem, which is the real one

This is the daily friction of travelling in Ecuador.

• Almost nobody can break a USD 20 note, and a USD 50 or USD 100 is nearly unspendable outside hotels and supermarkets.
• ATMs dispense large notes, which is unhelpful of them. Break them at a supermarket, a pharmacy or a petrol station as soon as you get them.
• Hoard small notes and coins - ones, fives, quarters - for buses, taxis, markets and tips.
• USD 100 notes are also refused for fear of forgery, and are checked closely where accepted.
• The Galapagos park fee is cash only and the notes must be clean and undamaged. Prepare that USD 200 before you fly, in good condition.

Cards and cash machines

• Cards work in hotels, established restaurants, supermarkets and tour agencies in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca.
• Cash everywhere else, including most of the coast, the small sierra towns and the markets.
• Use ATMs inside a bank or a shopping centre, in daylight. Banco Pichincha, Banco Guayaquil and Produbanco are the common ones.
• Never use a street machine at night. Express kidnapping - being taken to a machine and made to withdraw - is a documented pattern here.
• Withdrawal fees are USD 2 to USD 5 and limits are low, so take the maximum each time.

Prices and tipping

• VAT is included in shop prices. Restaurants add 12 percent VAT and often 10 percent service on top of the menu price, shown at the bottom of the bill.
• Where service has been added, nothing more is expected.
• Where it has not, 10 percent is generous.
• Round up for a taxi, and USD 1 to USD 2 per bag for a porter.
• Tour guides and drivers are tipped properly: USD 10 or more per day for a good guide, and Galapagos crews have published guidelines.
• Bargain in markets, not in shops. Politely, and not over small sums - the difference you are arguing about matters more to the seller than to you.