Inside the International Airport of the Americas (AILA) the Dominican peso can be worth more than abroad. Inside the terminal, last week one dollar was exchanged for 45.80 pesos. With a difference of less than a kilometer in its corridors, its value can vary up to 10 pesos, depending on the post office where the transaction is carried out.
In AILA corridors, the value of the change can vary up to 10 pesos, depending on the post office where the transaction is made. At the moment of arrival to the Dominican Republic, visitors can exchange their foreign currencies into pesos to facilitate payment for products and services during their stay in the country. However, there is a difference of up to 17.2% if the traveler makes the conversion in the passenger area of the terminal or in the public area, at the same exchange agent.
In the terminal facilities, the dollar rates of the Globo Cambio company were observed in both areas of the airport. In the office located in the public area, one dollar was exchanged for 55.43 pesos, but in the exclusive area for passengers, it was exchanged for 45.80 pesos, according to Diario Libre.
This discrepancy is also observed with the euro, another of the most convertible currencies in the area. For its purchase, the exchange agency rate was 74.61 pesos per one in the public access part and 49.53 pesos for visitors in the private area. A difference of 25 pesos.
To illustrate the point, consider a visitor who exchanges 100 dollars into pesos. At the rate of 55.43 pesos from the Globo Cambio office in the public area, you would get 5,543 pesos. In contrast, with the 45.80 pesos from the office in the exclusive zone for passengers, you would receive 4,580 pesos.
This shows a significant difference of 963 pesos for every 100 dollars exchanged at two points in the same air terminal.
Margin of gain
The Association of Multiple Banks of the Dominican Republic (ABA) explained that the profit margins of companies operating in this economic segment are derived from the difference between purchase and sale rates. When calculating this variation for Globo Cambio, gains of 26 and 23% are observed for the exchange of each dollar.
The currency exchange rate in the country operates under a free market regime, based on a reference rate that is set daily by the central bankaccording to Monetary and Financial Law 183-02.
Article 28 of this law establishes: «The exchange rate regime will be based on the free convertibility of the national currency with other currencies. “Economic agents may carry out transactions in foreign currency under the conditions that they freely agree upon in accordance with the general rules on contracts.”
In fact, to maintain a certain level of balance, the Central Bank issues a reference rate daily so that exchange agents, including multiple banks, can set their rates and be competitive in the market.
