Traveling to the Dominican Republic? What you should know about Credit Cards & CASH!

Traveling to Punta Cana, Cap Cana, Bavaro, or to a resort in the Dominican Republic? What you should know about using Credit Cards, Currency, and making purchases in the DR as an American.

(Series of Articles from El Grupo Thornberry www.GrupoThornberry.com)

If you’re in an area of the Dominican Republic like Punta Cana, Cap Cana, Bavaro, or one of the other areas around the country with lots of tourists from America, Canada, and Europe, be advised: The Dominican Peso is not something you are going to need.

Virtually anywhere you go, if someone does a quick job for you like move some luggage, carry your groceries, assist you in finding something, etc., a U.S./Canadian Dollar and/or a Euro will go a long way. Locals in tourist areas expect US Dollars as much as anything else and even utilize them in their daily lives. When and if they ever find themselves to have more USD than they need and not enough Dominican Pesos, for whatever reason, they’ll either spend some and ask for change in Pesos or they will go deposit it at the bank where they get the best exchange rate.

When you land at the Airport or arrive on your Cruise Ship, don’t bother stopping at any of the currency exchange stores. It’s a waste of your time.

The most common payment form you will use while in the Dominican Republic is a Credit Card, and it has been that way since we started coming here over 15 years ago, but even more so it seems over the last 3+ years we have been living here. Now there are a lot more large stores, malls, large gas stations, and endless dining options that all have credit card terminals of course, but even the small stores and eateries offering plates for as little as $5.00USD have credit card terminals now.

I suggest when you visit another country that you bring multiple credit cards along with some cash as well, in case one or more get flagged for fraud while you are away, but generally speaking your need for cash in the Dominican Republic is almost exclusively for tips and taxi rides, which for most people would end up being around $100.00-$250.00USD per week.

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In addition to being a safe option, a Credit Card might keep you from being overcharged 2-4% on a regular basis based solely on conversion numbers from DOP (Dominican Pesos) to USD (US Dollars). As I am writing this, the DOP is worth 0.0158063 USD and therefore the USD is worth 63.2660 DOP.

Purely based on the factor by which one converts, it’s not simple to do in your head. A good “rule of thumb” when you see Dominican Pesos in the prices is to double the number, remove the last two numbers, and that brings you to what the USD equivalent would be after taxes and tip are added, or at least pretty close to it.

Here’s an example:

$2000.00DOP (2000 Dominican Pesos)
Double 2000 = 4000
Take off the last two zeroes = $40.00USD

Of course, this isn’t an exact science. 2000 Dominican Pesos at Today’s (March 1st, 2025) conversion rate is $31.61, but if you add in tip (in total around 10%*) and ITBIS (The Dominican Sales Tax at 18%), you get $41.03, which is remarkably close to what I suggested above.

This methodology is only for estimation, of course.

For most purchases made on Credit Card in the Dominican Republic, you will be faced with a question from the merchant: Run it in Pesos or Dollars. ALWAYS run it in Pesos, which will result in your account being charged the actual equivalent in U.S. Dollars. If you choose U.S. Dollars, you are accepting the conversion at the displayed rate from the merchant, which includes a slight fee as they want to ensure they never lose money on it. These systems aren’t linked to a live tracker for currencies and even if they were the charges wouldn’t settle the same day anyhow. So, in order to offer you the convenience of a U.S. Dollar equivalent, the Merchant Services companies have to add in a cushion.

Some General Price Guidelines For You:

Getting a Taxi level transport within 30 minutes from the Airport? $25-$40USD
Getting a SUV (Suburban or equivalent) or VIP transport within 30 minutes from the Airport? $50-$75USD
Tip for a small task $1.00USD
Tip for a moderate task $5.00USD
Tip for a significant task (1-2 hours+) $20.00USD
Tip for All-Day in home service $10.00-$20.00USD per Day

Want to know how to tip in the Dominican Republic?

In the simplest terms, I would say add 10% to the already included 10% tip, and I would suggest doing so on a credit card. See the complete article on tipping in the Dominican Republic HERE>>>> https://the-forum.net/posts/list/7812/HowtoTipintheDominicanRepublic

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