The ringgit (unofficially known as the Malaysian dollar), is the currency of Malaysia. It is divided into 100 sen (cents) and its currency code is MYR (Malaysian Ringgit). The ringgit is issued by the Bank Negara Malaysia.

Etymology
On June 12, 1967 the Malaysian dollar replaced the Malaya and British Borneo dollar at par. The Malaysian dollar was issued by the new central bank, Bank Negara Malaysia. In November 1967, the British pound was devalued by 14.3%. The new currency was not affected but earlier notes of the Malaya and British Borneo dollar were still pegged to sterling at 60 dollars = 7 pounds and, consequently, these notes were reduced in value to 85 sen per dollar.
Until June 23rd, 1973, the Malaysian dollar was exchangeable at par with the Singapore dollar and Brunei dollar. The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Brunei Currency and Monetary Board still maintain the exchangeability of their two currencies.
The use of the dollar sign "$" (or "M$") was not replaced by "RM" (Ringgit Malaysia) until the 1990s, though internationally "MYR" (MY being the country code for Malaysia) is more widely used.

History

Coins
On December 7, 2005, the RM1 coin was demonetised and withdrawn from circulation. This was partly due to problems with standardization (two different versions of the coin were minted) and forgery.
Three denominations of gold bullion coins, the "Kijang Emas" (The kijang (a species of deer) is the official logo of Bank Negara Malaysia) are also issued, at the face value of RM 50, RM 100 and RM 200. It was launched on July 17, 2001 by Bank Negara Malaysia and minted by Royal Mint of Malaysia Sdn Bhd. The purchase and reselling price of Kijang Emas is determined by the prevailing international gold market price.

First series
Bank Negara Malaysia first issued Malaysian dollar banknotes in June 1967 in $1, $5, $10, $50 and $100 denominations. The $1000 denomination was first issued in 1968. Malaysian banknotes have always carried the image of Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
ATMs normally dispense RM50 notes, or more rarely, RM10 notes in combination with RM50 notes.
Malaysian banknotes have long followed a colour code originating from colonial times. In the lower denominations this pattern is followed by Singapore and Brunei, and when Bank Negara first introduced the RM2 note it copied the lilac of the Singapore $2 note.

RM1 - blue
RM2 - lilac
RM5 - green
RM10 - red
RM20 - brown/white (no longer in circulation)
RM50 - blue/grey
RM100 - violet
RM500 - orange (no longer in circulation)
RM1000 - blue/green (no longer in circulation) Banknotes
The front features Tuanku Abdul Rahman and the back features the traditional design of the Kijang Emas.
$1 front
$1 back
$10 front
$10 back
$50 front
$50 back

Second series
The current and third series was issued with designs in the spirit of Wawasan 2020 in 1996–1999 in denominations of RM2, RM5, RM10, RM50 and RM100. The larger denomination RM50 and RM100 notes had an additional hologram strip to deter counterfeiters.
In 2004, Bank Negara issued a new RM10 note with additional security features including the holographic strip previously only seen on the RM50 and RM100 notes. A new RM5 polymer banknote with a distinctive transparent window was also issued. Both new banknotes are almost identical to their original third series designs. According to Bank Negara, all paper notes will eventually be phased out and replaced by polymer notes.
In 2000 the RM1 note was reintroduced, replacing the RM2 note which remains legal tender.

Third series
To commemorate the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, a commemorative RM50 polymer banknote was issued, marking Malaysia's first usage of polymer banknotes. This note is hardly ever seen in normal usage, its use being a collector's commemorative.

Exchange rate

Economy of Malaysia