What is the currency of the Maldives?

Maldives currency

The Maldivian rufiyaa is the official and national currency of the Republic of the Maldives, symbolized by the symbol (Rf) or (MRF), and the word rufiya comes from the Indian Sanskrit language, which means forged silver metal, and a rufiya consists of One hundred lari (English: Laari) are issued in various denominations, such as 500, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, and 2 rouvets, which are not a commonly used denomination., 25, and 50 lari.

The currency of Maldives

The origin of the currency currently used in the Republic of the Maldives dates back to 1960 AD, when the Maldivian government began minting coins during the reign of Sultan Muhammad Farid Didi, who brought it from England, and the coins were minted in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 and 50 lari, and spread It was distributed among the people in 1961 AD, and the coin at that time bore the image of the national emblem of the Maldives, and five years later all the coins from the country. They were withdrawn until 1983 AD, when the Maldives Monetary Authority issued a 1 rufiya coin minted in West Germany, and it was made from nickel and copper metals, then the 2 ruvee coin was first minted in 1995 AD.

History of the currency of Maldives

Currency circulation began in the Maldives from the 13th century AD, where historical reports and evidence indicated the use of seashells as a form of currency in circulation. Maldives, India, and the area around the Arabian Gulf, and the exchange continued in this manner until Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar brought a series of coins to the Maldives, which were circulated during the period between 1648 and 1687 AD, requiring at that time minting coins in the capital, Malé.

Sultan Muhammad Thakuruvanu Al-Azam is the first leader in the history of the Maldives to print his seal image on the coin made of pure silver, which was minted in gold in 1787 AD, and in the period between the 18th and 19th centuries. XIX. , bronze coins were minted, then the first coins were invented A machine for minting coins in the period between 1900 AD - 1904 AD during the reign of Sultan Muhammad Imad al-Din, and despite this successive development of coins in the Maldives ; However, their use ended in 1913, when the last of them was minted in Birmingham, England, and the use of coins stopped completely until 1960, when the use of the Ceylon rupee and the rufiya began as official currency from that moment.

Maldives currency design

• New series of papers

The production stages of the new series of banknotes started on 11/1/2015 AD, and it was thirty-three years after the previous series, which made this day a special day for all the people of Maldives. The fields of specialization within the Maldivian Monetary Authority were revealed, such as: art, design, marketing, currency and finance, and the form and designs of the series, in addition to its name (Ran Dhihafaheh), which in Arabic means gold. Jubilee, indicative of the passing of the fifties The Maldives' independence year, was also put up for exchange after being printed and added enhanced security features on 01/26/2016 AD, and the series is stated to have been submitted to a committee advisor to evaluate and judge your design.

• Origin and design of the new series

The Maldives Monetary Authority launched a competitive competition for the design of the new series of banknotes, in which about two hundred contestants participated, whose designs were subjected to three rounds of intensive evaluation by the advisory committee; To be filtered into three different designs, and then filtered to one design to win the design for the entire series, the owner of the winning design worked with the Maldives Monetary Authority and the British company De LaRue, which specializes in the manufacture of publications. on paper. , and many suggestions were added to the winning design to make it more suitable for the new series. The process of redrawing designs and adding security features to them, then completing the printing process to be in final form. It is noteworthy that the font written in the new series has been specifically designed for her and is called the Dhivehi font, which was designed by a professional group of calligraphers.

• Design connotations of new series

The connotations of the new series of banknotes depend on the idea of ​​glorifying the Republic of Maldives and the people of Maldives in particular, and showing what distinguishes them from other peoples, the population and each monetary category is distinguished by a different color; For ease of use, various technical methods were used to make the drawings realistic; Mix of acrylic and watercolors.

The issuer of the Maldivian currency

The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) is the official central bank of the state, and the main regulator of the various financial and banking sectors in it, and its creation dates back to 1981 AD, and its regulatory powers derive from the MMA - 1981 . Law. Monetary Authority as follows:

• Organize the issuance of coins of various denominations.
•  Supervise the country's banking sector, grant financial licenses and regulate its work.
• Maintain price stability and stability.
• Provide the necessary advice related to banking and monetary matters to the government of Maldives.