Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# New Caledonia - money Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / New Caledonia
venezio 17:58 UTC 25 Apr 2008 | My LP guidebook says little about ATM's and credit card acceptance in New Caledonia. Therefore a few questions: Can I use my European Maestro Card at ATM's (in French Polynesia I could not)? Is there a dense network of ATM's (LP: "Most banks in Noumea and in main towns have ATM's". Well, is Poindimié with 4824 inhabitants a main town or not...?) Do petrol stations accept credit cards? Is the Euro accepted as a kind of secondary currency (in case that I consider a town a main town but New Caledonians do not and - surprisingly - no ATM is available)? |
newfie43 23:14 UTC 25 Apr 2008 | We were there in Sept 2006 so my memory is a bit spotty but I do not recall using ATM's. I think it was the same problem we had with the ATM's in FP - it would not accept our Cdn bank card. We ended up cashing traveler's cheques at the American Express office in Noumea - they didn't charge a fee there( the bank wanted US$25). We had some Euros as well but they were not accepted either - again the same as in FP. | 1
mandja 09:44 UTC 07 May 2008 | We used ATms in Noumea , on the West Coast (Bourail) and on Isle of Pines, where there is one ATM (INSIDE the bank at Vao). Credit cards are accepted for payment almost everywhere including petrol stations. | 2
frdeboer 07:03 UTC 27 Aug 2008 | Maestro/Cirrus Debit/Cash card and MasterCard and Visa Card are accepted in every banks in New Caledonia. You can exchange foreign money(euro, US dollars, Australian dollars, NZ dollars, Japanese yen) to Pacific francs in BNP Paribas and Societe Generale and other banks(some branches). but counterexchange is impossible.(only local bank account holders can exchange Pacific francs<=>foreign money) Bureau de change is located in duty-free area in Noumea La Tontouta Airport. Airport shuttle service fee(oneway) is 3000 Pacific francs(25 euro) €1=119 Pacific francs pegged rate BNP Paribas and other banks distribute 1000 francs note and 5000 francs notes Societe Generale distribute only 5000 francs notes | 3