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Nearly all hotels, restaurants and shops in the major towns and tourist areas take all major credit
cards. Street vendors, smaller establishments in remote areas or those hotels in the jungle
environment may accept only cash or travelers checks. Representatives of VISA, MasterCard and
American Express can be contacted at the four main commercial banks in Belize City.
PLEASE NOTE: it is very important to keep in mind
that your credit card company usually adds additional service charges or may charge a slightly higher
exchange rate for purchases made in foreign countries. For example, if you purchase a package in Belize
for a quoted $500 US, your credit card will charged $1000 Belize (2:1 ratio), however, when your bank or
credit card company converts the Belize dollars to your own homeland currency they typically charge you
a higher exchange rate and/or add an additional service charge or processing fee (typically the same way a
bank has one rate if you buy money, another rate when you sell money).
These additional charges are outside the control of the resort or tour
company making the initial charge to your credit card and are not the result of them overcharging
your account. Some Belize resorts or tour companies may charge you a rate of $2.04 Belize to
$1.00 US to cover their bank charge for credit card processing, but the company should inform you of
this before any payment is made.
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