The Caribbean guilder ( nl, Caribische gulden) is a proposed new currency of

Curaçao Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coa ...

and

Sint Maarten Sint Maarten () is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. With a population of 41,486 as of January 2019 on an area of , it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of Saint Martin, while the northe ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

islands which became "landen" (constituent countries) within the

Kingdom of the Netherlands , national_anthem = ) , image_map = Kingdom of the Netherlands (orthographic projection).svg , map_width = 250px , image_map2 = File:KonDerNed-10-10-10.png , map_caption2 = Map of the four constituent countries shown to scale , capital = ...

, following the

dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was dissolved on 10 October 2010. After dissolution, the "BES islands" of the Dutch Caribbean— Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba—bec ...

on 10 October 2010. The Caribbean guilder would replace the

Antillean guilder The Netherlands Antillean guilder ( nl, gulden) is the currency of Curaçao and Sint Maarten, which until 2010 formed the Netherlands Antilles along with Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius. It is subdivided into 100 ''cents'' (Dutch plural form: ...

at par and be pegged to the

U.S. dollar The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

. In November 2020, it was announced that the Caribbean guilder would come into circulation the following year, but it was delayed several times. In 2018 the finance minister of Sint Maarten stated that there were only two years of reserve Antillean Guilder banknotes remaining and that the islands would need to make a decision soon. The islands also considered adopting the U.S. dollar or

Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

Negotiations

The Netherlands Antillean guilder continued to circulate after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles and plans to implement the Caribbean guilder were not finalized until both countries would agree to have a common currency The new currency will be abbreviated CMg (for Curaçao, Sint Maarten guilder) and will be pegged to the United States dollar at the same exchange rate as the Netherlands Antillean guilder (US$1 = 1.79 NAg = 1.79 CMg). As the

BES islands ) , image_map = BES islands location map.svg , map_caption = Location of the Caribbean Netherlands (green and circled). From left to right: Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius , elevation_max_m = 887 , elevation_max_footnotes = , demographic ...

(Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba) adopted the U.S. dollar directly on 1 January 2011, the introduction of the CMg would mean the end of the circulation of the Netherlands Antillean guilder. In April 2014, Curaçao and Sint Maarten agreed to look into the possibility of Curaçao having its own central bank. As long as further negotiations continued, the Caribbean guilder would not be introduced. In July 2015, the Minister of Finance of Curaçao,

José Jardim José Manuel Norberto Jardim (born 24 April 1973) is a Curaçaoan politician, he was Minister of Finance from 31 December 2012 to 23 December 2016. Jardim has served under four out of six Prime Ministers of Curaçao. Before becoming Minister Jard ...

, stated that research on a monetary union between Curaçao and Sint Maarten was not a priority. Former Curaçao MP Alex David Rosaria said that a major problem with the proposed union was the lack of a forum to discuss macroeconomic coordination (as there is for the Eastern Caribbean dollar). In November 2019, Curaçao Minister of Finance Kenneth Gijsbertha confirmed the introduction of the Caribbean guilder in 2021, and the Central Bank officially announced it a year later. By August 2021, it was reported that the new guilder would have been expected to be launched in either 2023 or 2024. In September 2022, CBCS wanted the guilder introduced in 2024.

Organization

The currency is to be issued by the

Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten The Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten ( nl, Centrale Bank van Curaçao en Sint Maarten, previously the ''Bank of the Netherlands Antilles'') is the central bank for the Netherlands Antillean guilder and administers the monetary policy of ...

(the successor of the

Bank of the Netherlands Antilles A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

) which is chaired by a chairperson chosen by both islands' prime ministers. The two islands would also appoint six further members of the supervisory board of directors. The currency would be phased in over three months. The -guilder coin and the 25-guilder notes present in the Netherlands Antillean guilder series would not be issued and 20 and 200 guilder banknotes will be added.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caribbean Guilder Guilder Currencies of the Caribbean Currencies of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Economy of Curaçao Economy of Aruba Economy of Bonaire Economy of Saba Economy of Sint Eustatius Economy of Sint Maarten Economy of the Dutch Caribbean Currency unions Fixed exchange rate Proposed currencies