CREDIT CARDS:
Many of the island businesses have become equipped to take credit cards, though keep in mind that not every business will accept them. For those that do take credit cards on island, expect that you may have to pay a surcharge for using credit cards with the businesses (4%-7%), though its not always the case.
TRAVELER’S CHECKS:
Traveler’s Checks are not accepted anywhere in Honduras. Do not plan to use them in Honduras as no bank, hotel or business will accept them as of 2009.
EXCHANGE RATE
You can use US dollars almost anywhere on Utila, but it will be easier for you to pay in lempiras, and you’ll probably save a few bucks with the exchange. The exchange rate as of November, 2021 is around 24 Lempira to 1 US Dollar. You can exchange USD for Lempira at the Banco Atlantida, the only bank in the center of town. You can also exchange Dollars for Lempira at Bush’s Supermarket and Utila Power Company (UPCO). Slightly lower rate but without the lines you may experience in the bank. Bush’s is located in the center of town and most anyone can direct you to UPCO.
Almost all of the businesses on Utila will accept USD dollars but many offer a slightly reduced exchange rate.
ATMS:
There are now 2 ATMs on Utila, but yes, it is still possible for both to go down at the same time, or even be out of cash during busy times and sadly, we have had reports of rip-off scams stemming from both ATM’s so use with caution. The ATMS pay out in the local currency of lempiras. The ATM at Banco Atlantida has a limit of 4000 lempiras per transaction (about $211 usd) and the other ATM lets you take out 5000 lempiras ($264 usd) per transaction. Both machines will let you withdraw 4 times in a day. Be aware that your home bank will likely charge a $5 outside bank ATM fee, and then many will charge an additional foreign transaction fee (about $2usd for taking out 5000 lps). Basically plan to see an extra $7 in fees on your statement that your home bank charges for each ATM withdraw.
PAYPAL
For some of the dive centers, hotels and vacation rentals, the owners will accept Pay Pal. You can either do this ahead of time or once on island through a computer. Remember that Pay Pal charges additional 2% fee, which will most likely be passed on to you by the business.
CASH ADVANCE:
You can get a cash advance on your credit card at the bank and also at Bush’s Supermarket. At times you may also find other businesses that will give cash advances. They will add 6-7% fee, but in most cases that’s far less than what your credit card will charge you for cash advance if done through the bank. Also, there is only 1 bank on island, so sometimes that means very long lines, and you are not restricted to banking hours.
LEMPIRA
The bank and ATMS give out 500 lempira bills; if it’s a weekend or other busy time, you may have trouble changing these, especially at the smaller venues as its difficult for the smaller operations to keep up enough change.
“WE DON’T LIKE TO CARRY A LOT OF MONEY- WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST”
Typically, there is not a need to travel with more than $300 at any one time. You can almost always withdrawl on your ATM card at 1 of the 2 machines. The exception would be around Semana Santa (week before Easter) and Christmas when the island is really busy and the machines seem to break or run out of money. IF both ATMS are down, then you can get the cash advance as a purchase at the stores noted above.
As far as exchanging from US dollars, you may find it easiest to exchange a little of your currency to Lempira at the airport with the money changers there, just to use for food and transportation along the way, and then exchange the majority of your money while on island. We suggest coming with some some cash and use the ATM as a back-up.