Try to break down large notes whenever possible. Coins are few and far between. The gourde was tied at 5 to the dollar during the US occupation. In the 1980s it began to trade at a slightly lower value on a parallel market, but the official rate was kept until 1991, when the Aristide government severed the tie and let the gourde float. From 7.5 to the dollar at the time of the September 1991 coup, it fell to 15 in 1995 and 17 by mid-1997 where it stabilized.
Travellers cheques are difficult to change in some banks.
So far, so good. Now it gets complicated. Haitians routinely refer to their own money as dollars, based on the old 5 to 1 rate. Prices in shops are usually in Haitian dollars, therefore multiply by five to get the price in gourdes. Visitors must constantly clarify whether the price being quoted is in Haitian or American dollars, or gourdes, now increasingly used on bills.