On January 1, 2008 the national money, the Venezuelan Bolivar, will go through a currency change to the new Bolivar Fuerte which will take three zeros from it's current value.

The main principal of this process will be to eliminate three zeroes, 000, from all current coins and bills. As an example a Bs.50.000 bill will now be Bs.F.50.

On Oct. 1, 2007 businesses will be obliged to show prices in both the current Bolivar and the Bolivar Fuerte. The actual use of the Bolivar Fuerte will be on January 1, 2008. This initial dual pricing is being done to get people accustomed to the new prices.

Here is a breakdown of the new currency

Any money in Bolivars in a Venezuelan bank will automatically be changed into Bolívares Fuerte on January 1, 2008. If you have regular Bolivars left over from a previous trip you can readily change them into Bolívares Fuerte at any bank. If you have an existing contract, say for apartment rental, etc., in regular Bolivars then it will automatically revert to Bolívares Fuerte starting on January 1, 2008.

Any tourist visiting Margarita Island in 2008 will not be affected by this change. The money you will receive when you change your dollars, etc will be the new currency.
The official exchange rate of Bs.2150 to US$1 will simply change to Bs.F. 2.15 to US$1.
The black market rate will also adjust with 3 zeroes less.

The current currency Bs. will still be used for about 6 months, but with the value being the same as the new Bs.F., so there will be two different currencies in circulation, be careful. As of July 22, 2008 both currencies are still being circulated.