St. Kitts Investment Promotion Agency

About St. Kitts: Economic Profile

Economic Indicators
Real GDP at cost:       661 Million US (est. 2007)
Per Capita Income:     13,900 US (est. 2007)
Unemployment:          4.5 %
Average Inflation:       4.5 %
Local Currency:          Eastern Caribbean Dollar (fixed 1USD = 2.70 ECD)

Currency
The currency used in St. Kitts is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (XCD), which is fixed at XCD2.70 per dollar of the United States of America (USD) since July 1976.

The Eastern Caribbean Currency is shared by eight states throughout the Eastern Caribbean and controlled by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank ECCB) headquartered in St. Kitts. These states include Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The US dollar is generally accepted in businesses throughout the island, as are all major credit cards.

Banks
There are five domestic banks that operate in St. Kitts, namely:

First Caribbean International Bank
Bank of Nova Scotia
St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank
Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago

Banks are open Monday – Thursday 8am-2pm and on Friday 8am-4pm.

Each bank provides 24 hour ATM services. These ATM machines are linked to MasterCard or VISA via PLUS/Electron or Cirrus/Maestro networks so that cardholders are also able to access their account information and make cash withdrawals.