BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC—The Central Bank of Belize (CBB) has announced a significant change to the current foreign currency laws, allowing people traveling outside of the country to obtain a limit of US$10,000.
The new system, which will be in effect from January 1, next year, upgrades the existing structure of people receiving 250 dollars a day from an authorized dealer.
People traveling overseas for medical treatment or vacation will also benefit from the new payment scheme, which is US$10,000 up from US$3,000.
“While those amounts may have been sufficient in the past, the Central Bank has deemed it necessary to increase those limits. For ease of doing business for the traveling public, Central Bank will adjust those limits to be US10,000 across the board, despite travel type,” said CBB Governor Kareem Michael.
“This will go into effect in January 2025. This is not intended to be a free-for-all. You will have to provide the tellers with your supporting documentation, which is current and not expired.”
Michael said persons traveling with cash in hand would need to declare that, adding that requests above US$10,000 will require approval from the Exchange Control Department of the Central Bank.
“ I am hoping that both from the customer side and the bank side if you are giving somebody US$10,000 in cash, you can also issue that person a credit card to do the same thing,” he added.
Meanwhile, the CBB says it is investigating a casino that is dispensing US dollars without the proper authority.
The Gaming Control Board oversees the casino industry; the Financial Intelligence Unit is the supervisory authority, and the Central Bank regulates ATM operations and foreign currency exchange.
“I am sure you will appreciate that I can’t say much on that because it is a live investigation,” said Michael.
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