Guyanese Dollar (GYD): What It Is and How It Works

What Is the Guyanese Dollar (GYD)?

The Guyanese dollar (GYD) is the official currency of Guyana. Established in the 1800s as legal tender, the dollar is printed and maintained by the Bank of Guyana, the country's central bank. It is represented by the symbols $ and G$ and is commonly abbreviated as GYD on the foreign exchange market.

Although the Guyanese dollar is not pegged to any other currency, the most common exchange is with the U.S. dollar.

Understanding the Guyanese Dollar (GYD)

The Guyanese dollar (GYD) debuted in 1839 as a transitional currency from Dutch guilders to British pound sterling (GBP). The pound was used in Guyana and other territories of the British West Indies for many years. This largely remained until the country gained its independence from the United Kingdom on May 26, 1966—the year the GYD first appeared in its present form.

Guyana's central bank is responsible for monetary and fiscal policy in the country along with the printing and maintenance of the dollar. The Bank of Guyana was established in 1965 and is the only body permitted to issue and redeem banknotes and coins.

The bank issues notes in G$20, G$50, G$100, G$500, G$1,000, and G$5,000 denominations. Coins are minted in G$1, G$5, G$10, and G$100 denominations.

There is very little movement in the exchange rate between the Guyanese and U.S. dollars. A single Guyanese dollar was worth US$0.0048 as of Dec. 21, 2023. This means it takes about G$210 to get just over one full U.S. dollar.

Hard currency is heavily circulated within the country which is why it's a good idea to have cash on hand. Credit cards are rarely used outside major tourist areas in Georgetown and foreign cards are generally not accepted at automated teller machines (ATMs). Currency can be exchanged at banks and hotels. But foreign exchange offices, or cambios, generally offer better exchange rates. The majority of retailers in the tourist areas, including hotels and restaurants, accept U.S. dollars.

Special Considerations

Guyana has a population of about 800,000 and is located along the North Atlantic coast of South America. The country is known for its rainforests and for the commodity trade—notably sugar. More current exports include gold and bauxite, the latter of which is used in aluminum production.

But the biggest potential game-changer for this nation is its newfound oil reserves. An offshore oil discovery was made in 2015 by ExxonMobil (XOM). The company said it expected the reserve to be worth 12 times the national economy. At the time of the discovery, the company said it had the potential to hold 700 million barrels of oil but increased that estimate to 11 billion barrels. Production began in 2019, and Exxon launched its third offshore project in November 2023, bringing Guyana's production to more than 600,000 barrels per day. It could reach 1.2 million barrels a day by 2027.

As of 2023, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was US$17,000 with an annual growth rate of 64%. Experts expect the country to produce an estimated US$7.5 billion in oil revenue by 2040, although whether it can successfully manage such a large and rapid influx of wealth relative to its population remains to be seen.

Despite such turbulent changes to the country as a whole, there's still very little interest in the GYD among currency traders in the global forex market. Trading volume remains very low on the list of top currency pairings. In fact, the Guyanese dollar isn't even a popular regional currency.

The Bottom Line

As the official currency of a small, 800,000-person South American country, the Guyanese dollar has not drawn much attention from foreign exchange (forex) traders in the past, remaining quite stable against the U.S. dollar. But with rising oil revenues and strong economic growth, more investors may be keeping an eye on Guyana and its currency values in coming years.