The lowdown on the Malaysian ringgit
Economical Influences and the Malaysian Ringgit
Introduced in 1975 to replace the Malaysian dollar, the ringgit is still a relatively new currency. Its name translates into English as ‘jagged’, which refers to the serrated edges of the Spanish dollar that was widely used throughout Malaysia during the 16th and 17th-century Portuguese colonial era.
In 1996, Malaysia issued its third series of bank notes. They featured a design that incorporated the ‘Wawasan 2020’ ideal. Translated as ‘Vision 2020’, it’s a concept created by former Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir bin Mohamad, who wanted the country to achieve a self-sufficient, industrialised nation by 2020.
Today, the colourful fourth series notes still feature the country’s first Supreme Head of State, Tuanku Abdul Rahman, alongside Malaysia’s national flower, the hibiscus. The brightly coloured notes come in shades ranging from blue to orange, in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100, with imagery of significant local wildlife on the reverse.
Malaysian Ringgit Historical Market Exchange Rate
The Malaysian ringgit has seen a few fluctuations over the past 5 years. In 2017, the ringgit’s value plunged against the New Zealand dollar before recovering somewhat at the end of 2017/beginning of 2018.1
At the end of September 2014 the NZD was buying around 2.54 MYR and a few months later on the 21st March 2015 that figure was sitting at around 2.80 MYR.1
In early April 2016 the NZD was worth around 2.66 MYR but by the end of January the following year, 1 New Zealand dollar was buying approximately 3.22 Malaysian ringgit.1
The ringgit stabilised somewhat against the NZ dollar by 11th May 2017 when 1 NZD was buying around 2.97 MRY; improving further over the following months to reach 2.78 by early December 2017.1
2018 Has seen the NZD to MYR exchange rate fluctuate between 1 NZD to 2.89117 on 24th January and 2.67079 MYR on 6th October.1
Learn more about the MYR before you travel to Malaysia and create a currency rate alert so we can notify you when it hits the rate you want.