United States Money Matters
The official U.S. currency is the United States dollar (symbol: $), divided into 100 cents (¢). Conversion rates vary daily. Foreign currencies are almost never accepted, although some major hotel chains may accept travelers cheques in other currencies. Canadian currency is sometimes accepted at larger stores within 100 miles of the border, but discounted for the exchange rate. Watch for stores that really want Canadian shoppers and will accept at par. Often, a few Canadian coins (especially pennies) won't be noticed, but less so the further south you go. Now that the Mexican peso has stabilized, it is somewhat accepted at some locations at border towns (El Paso, Laredo, etc), but you're better off exchanging your pesos in Mexico, and using US dollars instead, to ensure the best exchange rate.
Common American bills are for $1, $5, $10, $20, and $50 with $2 and $100 bills considerably less common. All bills are the same size. All $1, $2, and $100 bills, and older $5, $10, $20, and $50 bills are greenish and printed with black and green ink. Newer versions of the $5, $10, $20, and $50 bills incorporate different gradations of color in the paper and additional colors of ink. As designs are updated every 5-10 years, you will currently find up to three different designs of some bills in circulation. Almost all vending machines accept $1 bills and a few accept $5 bills; acceptance of larger bills ($50 and $100) by small restaurants and stores is less common. No US banknotes have been devalued in the last 80 years. Coins also haven't been devalued, and coins from as early as the 1960s are common to find in circulation. While almost never seen, any currency over 25 years old and coin over 40 likely has collector value.
The standard coins are the penny (1¢, copper color), the nickel (5¢, silver color, and made of a copper-nickel alloy), the dime (10¢, silver color) and the quarter (25¢, silver color). None of these coins display the numeral of their value, so it is important to recognize the names of each (however, 2007 and newer dollar coins have "$1" on the reverse). Note that the size doesn't necessarily correspond to their relative value: the dime is the smallest coin, followed by the penny, nickel, and quarter. 50¢ coins exist, but are rare to come across. The dollar coin is not as widely used; there are several recent varieties in both silver and gold color, all slightly larger than the quarter. Coin-operated machines usually only accept nickels, dimes, and quarters.
Currency exchange centers are rare outside the downtowns of major coastal and border cities, and international airports, however many banks can also provide currency exchange services. Most automated teller machines (ATMs) can handle foreign bank cards or credit cards bearing Visa/Plus or MasterCard/Cirrus logo; note, however, that many ATMs charge fees of about $1.50 for use with cards issued by other banks (often waived for cards issued outside of the U.S., but banks in one's home country may charge their own fees). Smaller ATMs found in restaurants etc. often charge higher fees. Some ATMs (such as those at Sheetz gas stations) have no fee.
Major credit cards such as Visa and MasterCard are widely used and accepted, even for transactions worth only a few dollars. However using it for purchases less than a few dollars you may get some strange looks in smaller stores, as well as some non-chain stores. (There are stores that only accept cash, and will often indicate that with a sign saying so). Some independently-owned stores specify a minimum amount of money (usually $10) for credit card use, as credit-card transactions cost them around 30-50 cents (this practice is also common at bars when opening a tab). Other cards such as American Express and Discover are also accepted, but not as widely. Almost all sit-down restaurants, hotels, and shops will accept credit cards. Authorization is made by signing a paper sales slip or a computer pad. When making large purchases, it is typical for the shop to ask for photo identification, but no additional security precautions are taken, so guard your cards carefully. Shops may also ask for photo identification for foreign issued cards.
Gas station pumps, selected public transportation vending machines, and some other types of automated vending machines often have credit/debit card readers. Some automated vending machines accepting credit cards ask for the zip code of the US billing address for the card, which effectively prevents them from accepting foreign cards (this is to prevent unauthorized use of stolen cards). At gas stations you can use a foreign issued card by paying the station attendant inside.
Information on this page may be printed out for your use when you visit USA.
Wikitravel is attributed as one of the sources for the content of this page, which is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0. Terms of Use
|
|
|
