Nicaragua’s currency is the gold córdoba, named after Spanish explorer Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, who founded Granada in 1524.
The córdoba is divided into 100 centavos. It is a stable currency that is set on a crawling peg depreciation of 6% a year against the U.S. Dollar. As of October '05, the official exchange rate was 16.97 cordobas to 1 dollar. Current exchange rates are printed every day in the Nicaraguan newspapers, and can be checked on the Central Bank’s webpage http:/www.bcn.gob.ni, or on the newspaper’s webpages:http:/www.laprensa.com.ni, http:/www.elnuevodiario.com.ni.
Bills come in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 –córdobas. Often in Nicaragua the money is referred to as pesos, reales, or plata, although people are talking about córdobas.
If you are unfamiliar with the currency, be careful when changing money from guys trying to sell you córdobas at the border. Nicaragua’s old 1980s currency, also called the córdoba and very similar in appearance, was taken out of circulation in 1988. Don’t ever accept bills that were printed before 1991, when Nicaragua switched over the gold córdoba in circulation today.
U.S. dollars are also widely accepted in Nicaragua. You can purchase just about anything using dollars, although you may not get the best exchange rate on your change.
Foreign credit and debit cards can also be used widely in Nicaragua in major cities and tourism locations. Most ATM machines will accept your home account bankcard, and some will give you the option of withdrawing dollars or córdobas.
Tipping
Tips are sometimes included in the bill as a service change (about 10%), if not, a 10-15 percent tip is optional. Considering most restaurant bills come out to $10 or so (for a touristy place) a tip would be anywhere from 10 to 20 córdobas, or about $70 to $1.30.
Tips in Nicaragua, as everywhere, are appreciated. But this isn’t New York. Don’t feel like you have to tip $1 for every beer you buy.
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