Best Place to Exchange Money in Montego Bay

Where to change money in Montego Bay

Cambios, Jamaica's bureaux de change, are licensed by the Bank of Jamaica, whose register listed 41 cambios at 131 locations on 30 September 2026. The tourist board says licensed cambios and commercial banks serve every resort area and that rates move daily, so compare two or three boards first.

• Licensed cambios around town - Look the business up on the Bank of Jamaica's register, or ask to see its licence, before you change cash.
• NCB machines: Bay West Shopping Centre, St James Street and Fairview - NCB's machine list of October 2025 shows cash machines at its Bay West branch, at 41 St James Street and at the Fairview Financial Centre, plus Megamart in Catherine Hall and Whitter Village in Ironshore. Whether NCB counters change notes for visitors is unconfirmed.

Changing money at the airport

Sangster International Airport (MBJ) has exchange offices in the immigration, ground transportation and ticketing halls and in departures, open whenever the airport is, says the operator. The tourist board also lists a cash machine but gives no location. In MoneySavingExpert's worked example, buying currency at an airport without ordering first is the dearest option, so change only a small amount here.

Two firms, JUTA and JCAL, run the airport taxis from one Authorised Airport Taxi desk just past the customs exit; car hire, hotel shuttles and hotel lounges are in the ground transportation hall. No fares are published, so agree the price, and whether it is in US or Jamaican dollars, at the desk.

ATMs and cards in Montego Bay

Most Jamaican cash machines take foreign cards with the Visa, Mastercard, Cirrus or Plus logo, the tourist board says. The bank fee guides we read are written for their own account holders: Scotiabank's, from 1 June 2026, charges its customers JMD 60 for a withdrawal at another bank's machine. None gives a charge for a card issued abroad, so check any fee on screen before you accept and ask your bank what it adds. Which? warns that foreign machines can add their own fee, and favours machines attached to a bank over stand-alone ones.

The FCDO suggests withdrawing in daylight, avoiding badly lit machines and not taking out large sums at once. When a terminal offers a choice of currency, Which? and MoneySavingExpert both say to choose the local one: if you pick pounds, Which? notes, the shop decides the exchange rate.

Paying for transport in Montego Bay

The tourist board says licensed public passenger vehicles carry plates marked PPV in red or P in white; route taxis are marked TAXI, show their route and can be flagged down along it. For tourist trips, the FCDO recommends taxis approved by the Jamaica Tourist Board, whose drivers carry photo ID and a blue JTB sticker on the windscreen. Chartered taxis normally agree the fare at booking. St James taxi fares rose in two steps, on 2 June and 1 July 2026 (Jamaica Observer), so older price lists will look low.

Knutsford Express runs scheduled air-conditioned coaches between the main towns, with airport pick-up available. Its site says you can pay online, or at its offices in cash or by Visa, Mastercard or Discover card.

Good to know

• Some restaurants add a compulsory service charge, and many card machines prompt for a tip too (Jamaica Observer, 2023), so read the bill first.
• Cash or travellers cheques worth US$10,000 or more must be declared on the customs (C5) form; the FCDO warns that undeclared money could be seized and a fine imposed.
• Your air fare normally includes the arrival and departure taxes, the FCDO says.
• Notes: $50, $100, $500, $1,000, $2,000 and $5,000, all polymer; coins: $1, $5, $10 and $20 (Bank of Jamaica).
• The FCDO says the western parishes were badly damaged by Hurricane Melissa and some communities still lack power and piped water. It urges particular care in Mount Salem, Rose Heights, Glendevon, Barrett Town and Flankers, all in Montego Bay.