The Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten (CBCS) mentioned introduction of a Caribbean guilder as one of six goals in its Strategic Plan 2025 (see Tuesday paper). How soon remains to be seen, as that has been the stated intention since the Netherlands Antilles was dismantled per 10-10-10.
Curaçao and St. Maarten at the time became autonomous countries within the Dutch kingdom with a shared central bank and new joint currency. Partly due to a discussion regarding the option of dollarisation on both islands the change was delayed until now.
CBCS president Richard Doornbosch said the Netherlands Antillean guilder which the monetary union continued using has surpassed its expiration date and the currency’s characteristics have become outdated. Although many payments are made online these days, banknotes (bills) and coins will still be needed in the coming years.
Hopefully all related discussions can hereby be closed, because while public debate on major issues is always healthy, it should not be never-ending and lead to unnecessary indecisiveness that creates uncertainty. Truth be told, this matter has dragged on long enough and it is high time to move on.
