Whether you are in the DR for a vacation or you are here long term you want to get the most out of your dollar. By paying a little attention to the Dominican Republic Exchange Rates History and timing your withdraws from the bank you can ensure you get the best exchange rate and the most pesos for your dollar.
Exchange Rates Change Daily
If you are going to be in the Dominican Republic for an extended period of time it is a good idea to keep track of the exchange rate history. By knowing the currency exchange trend and checking the current currency you can often save yourself quite a bit of money. For example, taking 10,000 pesos out of the atm locally (in the DR) has over the last year varied from $277.77 to about $256.41. That means that taking 10,000 pesos out of your account can cost you $21.36 more on some days than on others.
On a daily basis, I see about a $5.00 difference when taking the same 10,000 pesos out. If you are taking money out frequently to pay for rent, food, a vehicle and other expenses, this difference can add up to quite a bit over the course of a month. I find it very useful to check the exchange rate every time I think about taking money out of the bank. If it is a bad day, I wait until the next to see if it improves.
Bank Exchange Rates
When you withdraw money from the bank which requires that the money be exchanged, the bank charges a fee. In most cases when you use your atm in the Dominican Republic it is going to give you Dominican pesos. If you are from the US or any other foreign country you money is in a different currency so the bank needs to make an exchange. Most banks charge between 1% and 3% for this currency exchange.
ATM Withdraw Fees
Don’t forget that every time you take money out of the bank with your ATM while you are in the DR, you are likely to be charged an ATM fee. This fee ranges from $1.50 to about $3.00 depending on the bank, if you are taking a lot of small amounts out of the bank this can add up very quickly. If safety permits (sometimes it just isn’t safe to be holding on to that much money), it is usually a good idea to take larger amounts out at a time. You will find that different banks in the DR have different withdraw limits anywhere from 2,000 pesos to $15-20,000 pesos. If you are trying to get 10,000 pesos out to pay rent and you are doing it at 2,000 pesos at a time your fees (not counting the exchange fee) will cost you from $7.50 to $15.00.
Depending on your monthly expenses (for the long termers) it is not out of the question of being able to save yourself $100-$200 or more just by watching the exchange rates and making larger withdraws each time.