By Steve Dinnen
I like greenbacks. So does Zimbabwe, which demanded $30 worth of them for the visa they issued to me when I landed at the Harare airport. The cabbie liked the 25 dollar bills I paid him to take me to my hotel.
There is a national currency, the inflation-charged Zimbabwe dollar. But U.S. dollars are officially recognized — and obviously preferred.
At least 11 countries officially use U.S. dollars. El Salvador, Panama and Ecuador are a little closer to our shores, as are the British Virgin Islands. (Huh, no British pounds?)
The best regional currency is the Euro, which is used in 20 member states of the European Union. Long gone are the days of lining up at a bank in Italy to swap French francs you didn’t get rid of yesterday. Another regional currency is the Central African franc, which is used by six countries, and its cousin, the West African franc, which is used by eight.
If you’re traveling to countries that use U.S. dollars, it doesn’t hurt to take an assortment of small and large bills. And make sure they’re clean, with no markings or tears.
By the way, the Federal Reserve of Chicago estimates that 80% of U.S. $100 bills and 60% percent of all U.S. currency circulates outside the United States. It seems our greenbacks have global cachet.
