El Salvador Currency
The current currencies in use in El Salvador are the United States dollar and the Salvadoran colón. However, Salvadoran colón used to be the sole official currency of the country of El Salvador between 1919 and 2001. The colón is named after Christopher Columbus, who is known as Cristóbal Colón in the Spanish language. The exchange rate with the dollar and the colón is fixed at ¢8.75 Colones for US$1.00 and the charge of a commission to exchange operations between these two currencies is prohibited. The top authority on monetary issues is the Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador, which has a website at www.bcr.gob.sv The Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador is committed to the stability and development of the Salvadoran financial system, consolidation of the monetary integration, and the generation and disclosure of economic information. The central bank's site also has pictures of the Salvadoran colón notes, under: Legal Tender Currency -> Money in El Salvador -> History Inside El Salvador, you should know that several governments have warnings for persons crossing into or out of El Salvador via land borders to NOT exchange any type of currency with informal money changers. Inside the bigger cities in El Salvador, you can withdraw money from ATMs and pay with credit cards and recognized debit cards such as Visa Electron.
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