What kind of banking and financial services are available?
Barbados has six (6) commercial banks providing full banking services. These are the Bank of Butterfield, First Caribbean International, Caribbean Commercial Bank, the Bank of Nova Scotia, Barbados National Bank and the Royal Bank of Canada. Regular banking hours are Monday to Thursday from 8 AM to 3PM and until 5PM on Fridays. The official unit of currency in Barbados is the Barbadian dollar. The rate of exchange is currently at Bds$2 to US$1. Both currencies are accepted nationwide including most major credit cards, which can generally be used at Automatic Teller Machines across the island. Foreign exchange transactions are also done in EC (Eastern Caribbean) dollars, US dollars, Pounds, Canadian and Euro dollars. Visitors can also change travelers’ cheques and perform cable transfers.