MONEY – A QUICK COURSE
Since Ecuador uses the same money system as the United States, it’s relatively easy to deal with payments and purchases as they are in the same dollars we’re used to (here in the States). The more difficult problem is learning to understand and speak in Spanish numbers – the same numbers – different words. It’s not that hard and you’ll soon get used to speaking some Spanish, but know that a little Spanish is required for most vendors and tiendas (small stores).
Ecuador is basically a CASH country – credit cards are normally not accepted and when they are there is a significant upcharge for using them. That said, ATMs are plentiful and work with most all cards (for a fee of course). Banks are widely available, and we can help you to set up an account in Ecuador should you wish to do so (recommended).
We at Cuenca New Resident Services do accept credit cards through our Preferred Prepaid Packages (see “STORE” menu above). Our credit card system is based in the USA and because of that, our fees are the standard fees for the States (roughly 2.7%).