Frequently Asked Questions

One of the benefits is that the Caribbean guilder banknotes and coins will have a sophisticated design and modern, high-quality security features that will make both the notes and coins secure against counterfeiting, thereby limiting the likelihood of experiencing fraud or loss when using cash.

One of the principle agreements that were reached by Curaçao and Sint Maarten in connection with the new constitutional status of October 10, 2010, with regard to a common central bank and the relevant legislation, was that there should be a single currency area with a common currency, with a fixed exchange rate to the US dollar. In accordance with the principle agreements, that common currency would be the “Dutch-Caribbean guilder.” However, because the Dutch Caribbean geographically includes the BES islands and Aruba, the name “Caribbean guilder” was chosen in these regulations.

Like the NAf, the XCG (Caribbean guilder) will be pegged to the US dollar at a fixed exchange rate of 1.79, as stipulated in the Caribbean Guilder Exchange Rate Regulation. The CBCS's monetary policy aims to ensure the stability of the currency (i.e., of the peg) and, therefore, in terms of monetary stability, nothing will change with the introduction of the XCG.

The cost of designing and producing the Caribbean Guilder is estimated at approximately NAf 15 million. This amount covers the replacement of NAf coins and banknotes currently in circulation and the production of the supply needed for the next four years. The CBCS will bear these costs.
Consumers may incur costs in the event their commercial banks charge a fee for the conversion or deposit of NAf cash after the date of the introduction. However, these costs are not connected to the introduction of the Caribbean guilder but are part of the administrative fees charged by the commercial banks.

The Caribbean guilder banknotes will be printed and delivered by Crane Currency while the coins will be minted and delivered by the Royal Canadian Mint.

Several companies were approached to bid on the XCG project. After careful evaluation of the received bids CBCS ultimately awarded Crane Currency and Royal Canadian Mint contracts for the new Caribbean guilder banknotes and coins. Incidentally, the supplier of Netherlands Antillean guilder banknotes Joh. Enschedé stopped printing banknotes some time ago and was therefore not able to bid on the XCG project.

Cash payments in NAf will be accepted for up to 3 months after introduction date of the XCG. Change will be returned in XCG.

Exchanges can be made at the commercial banks for 12 months after introduction of the Caribbean guilder. After these 12 months, ANG can still be exchanged at the CBCS for up to 30 years after the introduction date.

When making these exchanges, the relevant Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Combating of Financing of Terrorism (CFT) regulations will be applied.

The banknotes, like the Netherlands Antilles banknotes, will be made of cotton. However, this will be of better and more durable quality. As a result, the XCG banknotes will last longer and fewer banknotes will need to be produced.

With less production and fewer banknotes destroyed, the sustainable banknotes will contribute to a cleaner environment.

As part of the agreement with respect to the constitutional reform of the former Netherlands Antilles, a monetary union has been established between Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

In the “Regeling Gemeenschappelijk Geldstelsel Curaçao en Sint Maarten” that regulates the currency of the monetary union of these two countries, it is stipulated that the Caribbean guilder will replace the current Netherlands-Antillean guilder (NAf.).

The abbreviation for the Caribbean guilder will be Cg. 

However, the official currency code in the payment system will be XCG. Reason for this is that the official currency-code of more than one country (which is the case of the Countries of Curacao and Sint Maarten) always starts with a 'X'.

With the Netherlands-Antillean guilder we use NAf. as the currency-symbol, while the official currency-code is ANG.

Producing banknotes and coins is necessary because—as studies have shown—many people in Curaçao and Sint Maarten still only use cash for making payments. The economies of these countries are mainly “cash based.” Financial inclusion also plays a role, since still not everyone has a bank account. See also the payments statistics on our website.

Cash also remains important since, as legal tender, it can always be used as a means of payment and serves as an ideal alternative to digital payments in the event of power and/or internet outages and natural disasters when digital banking/payments become unavailable.

Another advantage of cash payments is their anonymity, which ensures the payer's privacy, as cash payments are completely separate from any digital systems.

Introducing a new currency has become necessary in view of the expected shortages in the stock of the different denominations of banknotes and coins of the Netherlands Antilles guilder. The banknote printing company that produces the Netherlands Antilles guilder banknotes has also discontinued the production of banknotes and other banknote printing companies have indicated that they – considering among others the outdated security features of the Netherlands Antilles guilder banknotes – are not able to produce these banknotes based on the same specifications. Changing the specifications of the Netherlands Antilles guilder banknotes, resulting in upgrading these banknotes, is therefore necessary to be able to produce new banknotes to comply with the demand. Since the costs of upgrading the Netherlands Antilles guilder banknotes and the effect hereof on the payments systems are comparable with introducing a new currency, it was considered the logical time to introduce the new currency.

Furthermore, the outdated specifications of the current banknotes and coins, combined with modern technological developments, allow for the production of quality counterfeits.

Finally, the risk of stock shortages and the inadequate security features represent a real threat to the public’s confidence in the existing legal tender and thus in the security and efficiency of the payment system as a whole.

The Caribbean-guilder coins will be issued in the following denominations: 5 guilders, 1 guilder, 50 cents, 25 cents, 10 cents, 5 cents and 1 cent.

For banknotes, the denominations will be 200 guilders, 100 guilders, 50 guilders, 20 guilders and 10 guilders.

The NAf 250-guilder banknote will be replaced by the 200 Caribbean-guilder note and the NAf 25-guilder banknote by the 20 Caribbean-guilder note.

The new banknote denominations are more in line with the general international payment-system practices, such as in the case of the euro and the dollar.

Like the NAf, the Caribbean guilder will be legally pegged to the U.S. dollar at an exchange rate of US$1 = 1.79.

For the public, it means that they will have to exchange their NAf cash for Caribbean guilder cash at their commercial bank or have the amount of their cash deposited into their bank account.
From the day of introduction, the public will only receive Caribbean guilder notes when withdrawing cash from ATMs.
Consumers may incur costs in the event their commercial banks charge a fee for the conversion or deposit of NAf cash after the date of the introduction. However, these costs are not connected to the introduction of the Caribbean guilder but are part of the administrative fees charged by the commercial banks.

The CBCS is responsible for the design and for commissioning the printing of the banknotes. The responsibility for designing and minting coins in various denominations also vests with the CBCS.

The design and specifications for the coins are described in article 9 and 10 of the “Regeling Gemeenschappelijk Geldstelsel Curaçao en Sint Maarten.” The materials from which the coins are made as well as the weights, dimensions and quantity of these coins shall be determined by the CBCS.

The introduction of the Caribbean guilder is planned for March 31, 2025

The Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten is the copyright holder.

The exchange rate between the Netherlands Antillean guilder and the Caribbean guilder is 1:1. The Netherlands Antillean guilder and the Caribbean guilder are of equal value.

NAf funds on your bank accounts will be automatically conversed to Caribbean guilder without any charge. Consumers may incur costs in the event their commercial banks charge a fee for the conversion or deposit of NAf cash after the date of the introduction. However, these costs are not connected to the introduction of the Caribbean guilder but are part of the administrative fees charged by the commercial banks.