CRCCosta Rican ColónCosta Rican Colón (CRC)
The Costa Rican colon is Costa Rica's national currency and a Central American unit used in a service, tourism and export-oriented economy.
- ISO code
- CRC
- Symbol
- ₡
- Region
- Americas
- Currency type
- Fiat currency
- Exchange system
- The Central Bank of Costa Rica issues colon banknotes and coins and manages monetary and foreign-exchange policy.
- Last reviewed
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Quick facts
CRC at a glance
Currency profile
How CRC works
The Costa Rican colon is Costa Rica's national currency and a Central American unit used in a service, tourism and export-oriented economy.
The Central Bank of Costa Rica issues colon banknotes and coins and manages monetary and foreign-exchange policy.
- CRC is divided into 100 centimos and replaced the Costa Rican peso in the late nineteenth century.
- Costa Rica moved from exchange-rate bands to a managed floating framework in 2015.
Context
Why this currency matters
CRC links a long-standing national currency with Costa Rica's modern service and export economy. The 2015 regime change is useful context because it separates today's managed float from the earlier crawling-band system, while the colon code avoids confusion with historical currencies elsewhere.
Monetary framework
Exchange arrangement
The Central Bank of Costa Rica issues colon banknotes and coins and manages monetary and foreign-exchange policy.
CurrencyHub shows daily reference rates. Banks, card networks, ATMs and transfer providers may apply different exchange rates, fees or spreads.
History timeline
Key dates for CRC
Colon introduced
Costa Rica replaced the peso and named the national currency after Christopher Columbus.
Central Bank of Costa Rica - institutional historyCentral Bank of Costa Rica established
The central bank assumed the modern national monetary and currency-issue role.
Central Bank of Costa Rica - institutional historyManaged float adopted
Costa Rica ended the exchange-rate-band system and moved to a managed floating framework.
Central Bank of Costa Rica - institutional history
Usage and economy
How CRC is used
- Prices, salaries, taxes and payments throughout Costa Rica.
- Central American comparisons involving GTQ, HNL, USD and MXN.
Banknotes and coins
CRC currency units
The Central Bank of Costa Rica publishes current colon banknotes and security information.
The Central Bank of Costa Rica documents legal colon coin denominations.
One Costa Rican Colón unit is recorded with 2 decimal places and uses Céntimo as its minor unit.
Related currencies
Currency relationships
Explore currencies connected through regional use, trade comparisons or monetary relationships.
FAQ
CRC questions
What currency did the Costa Rican colon replace?
CRC replaced the Costa Rican peso in 1896.
When did Costa Rica adopt a managed float?
The Central Bank moved from the exchange-rate-band system to a managed float in 2015.
Why is CRC relevant to tourism and services?
Costa Rica's tourism, business services and export industries create frequent local and international currency comparisons.
Sources
Data and editorial review
Rate source: Frankfurter
Last reviewed:
Currency identity and cash information is checked against central-bank, government, ISO and official international sources.