Currency

Panama’s official currency is the Balboa; however, in 1941, Panama stopped printing the Balboa in favor of using the American dollar. Panama does still mint coins in the denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 which are the same metal, size and shape of the equivalent American coins. Since the Balboa has had a fixed exchange rate of 1:1 with the US dollar since 1903, these Balboa coins are used interchangeably with the US coins, so you may end up with Balboa coins during your Panama travel.

Also when going on tour, we strongly advise that you take a combination of debit/bank cards and credit cards to use. You can use most debit/credit cards at ATMs on the international networks Cirrus and Plus, but make sure to check with your home bank about withdrawal fees.

We suggest that you inform your bank and credit card company of your travel plans, so that they won’t confuse your international purchases for fraudulent charges.

Please note: It has been increasingly difficult to exchange traveler’s checks outside of Panama’s major cities—both at banks and shops—and they
often attract higher fees.