Currency
The currency of Bermuda is the Bermuda dollar. There are 100 cents to the dollar. The Bermuda dollar is pegged to the US dollar on a 1-to-1 basis.
Both currencies are equally acceptable at all establishments. The US dollar is therefore the currency of choice since any remaining cash is exchangeable almost anywhere in the world; a situation which is not true for the Bermuda dollar.
Ensure you change all Bermuda currency, other than that required for novelty purposes, into US dollars before you leave Bermuda. There are no currency restrictions in force when leaving Bermuda.
When making purchases, change may be given in a combination of US and Bermudian currency.
Notes
Notes come in denominations of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 Bermuda dollars. A set of newly designed notes was issued in March 2009 to mark the island’s 400th anniversary.
Value | Predominant Colour | Front Image | Reverse Image |
---|---|---|---|
$2 | Turquoise | Bluebird | The Dockyard Clocktower (Clocktower Mall) and the Statue of Neptune (at the National Museum of Bermuda) |
$5 | Pink | Blue Marlin | Horseshoe Bay and Somerset Bridge |
$10 | Purple | Blue Angelfish | The Deliverance and Commissioner’s House (National Museum of Bermuda) |
$20 | Green | Whistling Frog | Gibbs Hill Lighthouse and St Mark’s Church |
$50 | Yellow | Longtail | St Peter's Church |
$100 | Red | Red Cardinal | House of Assembly |
The redesign was the first since the Bermuda dollar was first issued in 1970. Unlike the previous notes, the designs are vertically orientated, not horizontally like the previous design and currencies such as the dollar, pound, and euro.
Controversially, the main images on the front of the new notes are those of local fauna and not of the Queen. Her image was significantly reduced in size and moved to a less prominent position at front left corner of each note.
The first issue also contained a significant error. The image of the longtail on the $50 note was that of a species not found in Bermuda. After complaints from the likes of David Wingate of the Bermuda Audubon Society, a new note with an image of the native species was issued in August 2012. The erroneous note could well become a valuable collector’s item in the future.
The $20 and $100 notes also received some criticism for featuring the whistling tree frog and the red cardinal, both introduced to the island by man. Bermuda’s national bird, the cahow, was overlooked.
The new notes feature important anti-counterfeiting features including a watermark of a hibiscus flower, an Optiks thread with a map of Bermuda and an image of a tuna, and a latent image of the note value. Optiks is anti-counterfeit technology devised by banknote printers De La Rue. The wide security thread is see-through, exposing the imagery on both sides of the note.
The old banknotes ceased to be legal tender on January 1 2014.
Coins
There are 1, 5, 10 and 25 cent coins, and also a 1 dollar coin.
Value | Front Image | Reverse Image |
---|---|---|
1 cent | Queen Elizabeth II | Wild Hog |
5 cents | Queen Elizabeth II | Angelfish |
10 cents | Queen Elizabeth II | Easter Lilies |
25 cents | Queen Elizabeth II | Longtail |
1 dollar | Queen Elizabeth II | Bermuda Fitted Dinghy |
Bermuda Dollar Exchange Rate
The Bermuda dollar exchange rate is fixed at a rate of 1 BMD to 1 USD, very convenient for the island’s US visitors.
The exchange rate with currencies such as the euro, pound, and Canadian dollar fluctuates from day to day.
Current exchange rates for the Bermuda dollar with popular currencies are:
- Canada – 1 Canadian dollar (CAD) = 0.74 Bermuda Dollar (BMD)
- Eurozone – 1 euro (EUR) = 1.09 Bermuda Dollar (BMD)
- UK – 1 British pound (GBP) = 1.27 Bermuda Dollar (BMD)
- USA – 1 US dollar (USD) = 1 Bermuda Dollar (BMD)
These are live Bermuda dollar exchange rates. They were last updated on Monday 4th of December 2023 at 2:26 pm GMT.
ATMs
There are four locally licenced banks in Bermuda. Three of them (HSBC, Butterfield, and Clarien) operate retail banking divisions with a network of ATMs.
HSBC Bermuda ATMs
HSBC Bermuda has ATMs at various locations throughout Bermuda:
ATM Location | Parish | Town | Address |
---|---|---|---|
Lindo's Market | Devonshire | 4 Watlington Road East | |
Crawl Hill Esso Tigermarket | Hamilton | 122 North Shore Road | |
Rosewood Tucker's Point | Hamilton | 60 Tucker's Point Drive | |
King Edward VII Memorial Hospital | Paget | 7 Point Finger Road | |
Rural Hill Plaza - Ice Queen | Paget | 130 South Road | |
Church Street Branch | Pembroke | Hamilton | 64 Church Street |
Compass Point Express Banking Centre | Pembroke | Hamilton | 9 Bermudiana Road |
Harbourview Centre | Pembroke | Hamilton | 37 Front Street |
Supermart | Pembroke | Hamilton | 125 Front Street |
Royal Naval Dockyard | Sandys | Cooperage Building, 4 Maritime Lane | |
Somerset Branch | Sandys | 31 Mangrove Bay Road | |
Harrington Hundreds | Smith's | 99 South Road | |
Port Royal Esso Service | Southampton | 31 Middle Road | |
St George's Branch | St George's | St George | 4 King's Square |
LF Wade International Airport | St George's | 3 Cahow Way | |
Esso Warwick Tigermarket | Warwick | 66 Middle Road | |
Lindo's Family Foods | Warwick | 128 Middle Road | |
RUBiS Warwick Gas Station | Warwick | 72 South Road |
In 2013 HSBC ATMs were removed from the Washington Mall, Esso City Tigermarket, and Collector’s Hill Esso Tigermarket. In 2011 ATMs were removed from Masters, Gorham’s, and the People’s Pharmacy.
Butterfield ATMs
ATMs operated by Butterfield can be found at the following locations:
ATM Location | Parish | Town | Address |
---|---|---|---|
RUBiS Causeway (adjacent to Grotto Bay) | Hamilton | 15 Blue Hole Hill | |
Shelly Bay MarketPlace | Hamilton | 110 North Shore Road | |
King Edward VII Memorial Hospital | Paget | 7 Point Finger Road | |
Modern Mart | Paget | 104 South Road | |
Rural Hill Plaza - Ice Queen | Paget | 130 South Road | |
BIU Esso | Pembroke | Hamilton | 22 Dundonald Street |
Brown & Co | Pembroke | Hamilton | 35 Front Street |
Clarendon Pharmacy | Pembroke | Hamilton | 31 Victoria Street |
Hamilton Princess | Pembroke | Hamilton | 76 Pitts Bay Road |
Hamilton MarketPlace | Pembroke | Hamilton | 42 Church Street |
Head Office | Pembroke | Hamilton | 65 Front Street |
Reid Street Banking Centre | Pembroke | Hamilton | Reid Street |
Rosebank Banking Centre | Pembroke | Hamilton | Bermudiana Road |
Washington Mall | Pembroke | Hamilton | Reid Street |
Gorham's | Pembroke | 62 St John's Road | |
RUBiS East Broadway Service Station | Pembroke | East Broadway | |
Waterfront Banking Centre | Pembroke | 90 Pitts Bay Road | |
Clocktower Mall | Sandys | Royal Naval Dockyard | |
Maxi Mart | Sandys | 42 Middle Road | |
Somerset Banking Centre | Sandys | 45 Mangrove Bay Road | |
Somerset MarketPlace | Sandys | 48 Somerset Road | |
Collector's Hill Apothecary | Smith's | 2 South Road | |
Fairmont Southampton | Southampton | 101 South Road | |
Heron Bay MarketPlace | Southampton | 227 Middle Road | |
St George's Banking Centre | St George's | St George | 1 King's Square |
LF Wade International Airport | St George's | 3 Cahow Way |
In 2011 Butterfield removed ATMs from the Bermuda College, Windsor Place in Hamilton, and RUBiS Terceira’s North Shore Service Station.
Clarien Bank ATMs
Clarien Bank (formerly Capital G) is the island’s newest bank. It has a small network of ATMs:
ATM Location | Parish | Town | Address |
---|---|---|---|
Clarien - Paget Branch | Paget | 161 South Road | |
Clarien - Head Office | Pembroke | Hamilton | 19 Reid Street |
Gibbons Company | Pembroke | Hamilton | 21 Reid Street |
RUBiS Raynor’s Service Station | Southampton | 217 Middle Road |
Credit Cards
Major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, and American Express) are accepted by nearly all shops, restaurants, and hotels.
Hog Money
When the first colonists arrived on the island there was no currency so they used tobacco, gold, and silver as a means of exchange. Hog money (also spelt hogge money) was Bermuda’s first currency and was sent over from England in 1616 with the second Governor, Daniel Tucker. They were crudely made with an image of a sailing ship on one side and a hog on the other.
Unlike most coins of the time, they were made of base metal and had little intrinsic value. Despite their introduction, the colonists continued to use tobacco and precious metals to barter, and they were soon discontinued.
Today the coins are extremely rare. A few of those still in existence can be seen are held at Commissioner’s House at the National Museum of Bermuda.
Are there any restrictions on receiving money via Western Union?
Where is a good place to exchange money? Are there currency exchange houses ?
Are there any US banks in Bermuda? I’m wondering whether I can use their ATMs or will I need to use the local banks?
There are no American banks in Bermuda. The only ATMs are those provided by the local banks (Butterfield, HSBC Bermuda, and Clarien). Your US cards should work fine in the local ATMs. Most ATMs will dispense Bermuda dollars.
It is always a good idea to notify your bank of your intention to travel to Bermuda. Banking systems are a bit over cautious sometimes and may freeze an account when foreign transactions take place.
ATMs give Bermuda dollars so make sure you only withdraw what you need.
Bermuda tied its currency to the dollar in 1972 as most of its trade was with the US.
Always ask for change in US and make sure you change and Bermudian money before returning home. It’s impossible to exchange once back in the States.