At present, the North America continent uses around 25 different currencies which is also inclusive of the world’s largest reserve currency in the world i.e. United States Dollar. United States Dollar is the most widely used national currencies in the North American continent as it is not in circulation only within the USA but also in the majority of the other countries as well as smaller dependent territories of the Caribbean and Central America. Apart from this, the East Caribbean dollar is used as legal tender in the other 6 independent states and the two territories however, most of these are just small islands. It not only that the US dollar is a dominating currency in the continent but also it is the topmost traded currency listed in the global forex market.
Apart from this the Canadian dollar also finds a position in the list of top 10 most traded currencies of the world. North America officially accepts 25 currencies that are used in the continent and US dollar with the world’s largest economic reserve is the commonly used currency here and results in high economic value that benefits the US. The US dollar as a reserve currency, however, puts a negative effect on the American exporters because the exports increase its value. Several countries have adopted the US dollar as their official currency and are also taken as the standard currency in the international commodity markets. Apart from this, the US dollar in a few countries exist as a legal tender alongside the other currencies, this kind of situation is known as semi-dollarization. Additionally, there are countries where dollar exists i.e. it is accepted but isn’t recognized as a legal tender.
Country or territory | Currency | ISO-4217 |
---|---|---|
Anguilla (UK) | East Caribbean dollar | XCD |
Antigua and Barbuda | East Caribbean dollar | XCD |
Aruba (Netherlands) | Aruban Florin | AWG |
Bahamas | Bahamian dollar | BSD |
Barbados | Barbadian dollar | BBD |
Belize | Belize dollar | BZD |
Bermuda (UK) | Bermudian dollar | BMD |
Bonaire (Netherlands) | United States dollar | USD |
British Virgin Islands (UK) | United States dollar | USD |
Canada | Canadian dollar | CAD |
Caribbean Netherlands (Netherlands) | United States dollar | USD |
Cayman Islands (UK) | Cayman Islands dollar | KYD |
Costa Rica | Costa Rican colon | CRC |
Cuba | Cuban peso | CUP |
Curacao (Netherlands) | Netherlands Antillean Guilder | ANG |
Dominica | East Caribbean dollar | XCD |
Dominican Republic | Dominican peso | DOP |
El Salvador | United States dollar | USD |
Greenland (Denmark) | Danish krone | DKK |
Grenada | East Caribbean dollar | XCD |
Guadeloupe (France) | European euro | EUR |
Guatemala | Guatemalan Quetzal | GTQ |
Haiti | Haitian gourde | HTG |
Honduras | Honduran Lempira | HNL |
Jamaica | Jamaican dollar | JMD |
Martinique (France) | European euro | EUR |
Mexico | Mexican peso | MXN |
Montserrat (UK) | East Caribbean dollar | XCD |
Nicaragua | Nicaraguan Cordoba | NIO |
Panama | United States dollar | USD |
Puerto Rico (USA) | United States dollar | USD |
Saba (Netherlands) | United States dollar | USD |
Saint Barthelemy (France) | European euro | EUR |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | East Caribbean dollar | XCD |
Saint Lucia | East Caribbean dollar | XCD |
Saint Martin (France) | European euro | EUR |
Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France) | European euro | EUR |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | East Caribbean dollar | XCD |
Sint Eustatius (Netherlands) | United States dollar | USD |
Sint Maarten (Netherlands) | Netherlands Antillean Guilder | ANG |
Trinidad and Tobago | Trinidad and Tobago dollar | TTD |
Turks and Caicos Islands (UK) | United States dollar | USD |
United States of America | United States dollar | USD |
US Virgin Islands (USA) | United States dollar | USD |
Other than the US dollar, the East Caribbean is yet another popular currency in various North American Countries. It has been existing since the year 1976 and is pegged to the US dollar. Prior to this the East Caribbean dollar was pegged to the Starling pound. In the year 1965, the East Caribbean Currency Authority was established to distribute the currency. It is used in 7 countries that include Dominica, Antigua & Barbuda, Granada, Saint Lucia, Granada, Montserrat, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis. In order to distinguish it from the other dollar currencies, the East Caribbean Dollar is represented by EC$ or just $ to differentiate it from the other dollar currencies in the region.
Commonly used in Canada, Canadian dollar is the country’s official currency and is represented by $ i.e. dollar sign or Can$ to differentiate from other dollar currencies. The Canadian dollar is often referred to as loonie i.e. due to the image of loon onto the one-dollar coin. With about 2% of world’s reserve, the Canadian dollar is the fith most held reserve currency. The coins are normally issued in the denominations of dime, nickel, quarter as well as piece.
Abbreviated as B$ the Bahamian dollar is the currency of Bahamas since the year 1966. It uses a reserve requirement and is pegged to the US Dollar on a one-on-one basis. The other countries using dollar currencies are Colombia (Colombian Peso Col$), Dominican Republic, Mexico, Jamaica, Cayman Island (CI$), Mexico, Jamaica, Tobago, and Trinidad.
Introduced in 1986, Aruba florin is the currency used in Aruba in order to replace the Netherlands Antillean Guilder. This currency is further subdivided into cents i.e. 100 cents make Aruba florin and has a street value of about 1.75US$. It is abbreviated with the sign f and has coins in several denominations like 20, 20, 25, 5 and 50 cents. These coins are of varied shapes and the 50 cent coin is the only square-shaped coin. Bank notes too are issued in similar denominations. The colon is again a currency used alongside US dollars in Costa Rica. It is abbreviated as C with two strokes present diagonally. Krone is the official currency for Greenland, Denmark as well as the Faroe Islands. It is abbreviated as Kr or DKK and is often known as Danish Crown. The other non-dollar currencies of North America are inclusive of Cuban peso, Guatemalan Quetzal, Convertible Peso, Haitian Gourde, Panamanian Balboa, Netherlands Antillean Guilder and Honduran Lempira.
The 25 North American currencies come in several denominations as well as values. Out of the 25 recognized currencies in the North American continent, the most dominant is the US dollar which is also the topmost reserve currencies of the world. Each dollar currencies have a distinguished sign to represent and all the currencies here have been assigned currency codes as per the ISO 4217.