The Cayman Islands dollar
Currency · KYD · $ · 1 country
The Cayman Islands Currency Board put the islands' own dollar into circulation on 1 May 1972, swapping it at par for the Jamaican dollar used until then. Under the Currency Law of 1974, since 1 April 1974 one Cayman Islands dollar has been fixed at 1.20 US dollars. The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority now issues and redeems it.
The sign
Amounts are written with the dollar sign. CI$ marks the Cayman dollar where it has to be told apart from the US dollar, which hotels, restaurants and shops on the islands also take.
The same sign stands for 28 other currencies, among them the US dollar and the East Caribbean dollar.
- ISO code
- KYD
- ISO number
- 136
- Subunit
- cent, 1/100
An amount, written out
$1,234.50
- $1,234.50EnglishCayman Islands
The sign in code
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, UTF-8
- HTML
$$$- CSS
content: "\0024";- JavaScript
"\u0024"- UTF-8
0x24- UTF-16
0x0024- UTF-32
0x00000024
Where the Cayman Islands dollar is the official currency
Used in the Cayman Islands only, it pushed out Jamaican money there on 31 August 1972. Every note the board or the Monetary Authority has issued remains legal tender.
About the Cayman Islands dollar
Why the islands stopped using Jamaican money
The Cayman Islands separated from the Colony of Jamaica in 1962 and kept its currency for another ten years. A committee formed to consider a local currency recommended one as an economic and political advantage, and the British government accepted that in view of how fast the Cayman economy was growing. The Bank of Jamaica did not object and helped the board through the transition. Formal approval from the United Kingdom came in September 1970, and the Currency Committee was told to introduce the currency and draft the law for it.
The Currency Law of 1971 created the Cayman Islands Currency Board to issue and redeem notes and coins. It opened on 1 May 1972 with the new issue. Banks paid in all the Jamaican currency they held or received, at frequent intervals, to Barclays Bank International as the board's agent, and got the same amount back in Cayman money. By the end of June J$710,895 had come in. The Bank of Jamaica was told how much had been withdrawn, and the board's account with the Crown Agents in London was credited with the sterling equivalent. Jamaican currency stopped being legal tender on 31 August 1972.
Who sets its value
The peg to the US dollar came with the Currency Law of 1974. That law was replaced in 1983 by the Currency Law Revised, and in 1997 section 22 of the Monetary Authority Law took over the job. Under the 2013 revision of that law the Governor determines the dollar's value in US dollars. The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority took over the note issue from the board on 1 January 1997.
De La Rue prints the notes and the Royal Mint strikes the coins. Printing anything that looks like a Cayman note or coin needs the authority's written consent, and defacing or perforating legal tender is an offence. The authority redeems damaged currency through the commercial banks and at its own Currency Division in George Town.
What the notes and coins have looked like
The first issue in 1972 had four notes, $1, $5, $10 and $25, and four coins, 1, 5, 10 and 25 cents. The cent was bronze and the others cupronickel until 1992, when copper-plated and nickel-plated steel replaced them. The authority's history dates a $100 and a $40 note to 1981 and a $50 to 1985. The $40 was taken out of circulation a few years later.
The present series went into circulation on 4 April 2011. In 2023 the authority issued a $70 note for the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II and the anniversary of her death, and in February 2023 it was reported to be asking the public for ideas for a new set of coins and notes. Older A and B series notes have been withdrawn, but the authority says no denomination has ever been devalued: every note and coin the board or the authority has issued is still legal tender and can be redeemed at face value.
Collector coins began early. In mid 1972 the government signed an agreement with World Coin Corporation, and by November of that year two proof programmes were out, an eight-coin set and a set for the Queen's silver wedding anniversary. The authority redeems such coins at face value only.
Common questions
Questions about the Cayman Islands dollar
Why is one Cayman Islands dollar worth 1.20 US dollars?
That is the fixed rate the Currency Law of 1974 set, in force since 1 April 1974, and the dollar has kept it since. The law behind the peg has changed since: the Currency Law Revised replaced it in 1983, and section 22 of the Monetary Authority Law has carried it since 1997. Under the 2013 revision the Governor determines the currency's value in US dollars.
Does the Cayman Islands have a $25 note?
Yes. The $25 was one of the four notes in the first issue of 1 May 1972, beside the $1, $5 and $10, and it was still in the set the Monetary Authority issued when it took over in 1997.
When did Jamaican dollars stop being legal tender in Cayman?
On 31 August 1972. The Cayman dollar had arrived on 1 May that year at par, and for four months both circulated legally. Banks sent the Jamaican notes and coins they collected to Barclays Bank International, acting for the Currency Board, and received Cayman currency in exchange. By the end of June J$710,895 had been withdrawn this way.
Are old Cayman Islands banknotes still valid?
The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority says every note and coin issued by the Currency Board or by the authority remains legal tender. The older A and B series notes have been withdrawn from circulation, but nothing has been devalued, and any of them can be redeemed at face value at a commercial bank or at the authority's Currency Division in George Town. Damaged notes and coins go through the same route or can be mailed to the authority. Numismatic coins are redeemed at face value only.