Asia is home to over 30 currencies — from the world-famous Japanese yen and Indian rupee to the little-known Bhutanese ngultrum and Lao kip. Whether you are sending money home, planning a trip across the region or simply curious about the money in your family’s pocket, here is the complete guide to every Asian currency — including an Asian currencies list with the fun facts that make each one worth knowing.

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South Asia

🇮🇳 India — Indian Rupee (INR) ₹

Symbol: ₹ | Code: INR | Subdivisions: 1 rupee = 100 paise

The Indian rupee is the currency of the world’s most populous country and one of the fastest-growing major economies. It is managed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and is one of the most actively traded currencies in Asia.

Fun facts:

• The ₹ symbol was only created in 2010 — designed by D. Udaya Kumar, a design student from Chennai, who won a national competition. Before 2010, the rupee had no unique symbol and was written as “Rs” — shared with Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka
• The word “rupee” comes from the Sanskrit rūpya, meaning “wrought silver” — the concept of the rupee dates back over 2,500 years
• Indian banknotes display the denomination in 17 different languages on the back — a small window into India’s extraordinary linguistic diversity
• India’s citizens collectively hold more privately owned gold than any country’s central bank — yet the rupee is a fiat currency not backed by gold

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🇵🇰 Pakistan — Pakistani Rupee (PKR) ₨

Symbol: ₨ | Code: PKR | Subdivisions: 1 rupee = 100 paisa

Fun facts:

• Pakistan’s rupee shares the ₨ symbol with Sri Lanka — the ISO code (PKR vs LKR) is the only way to distinguish them in writing
• The Pakistani rupee replaced the Indian rupee at partition in 1947 — initially at parity, though the two currencies have since diverged significantly
• Pakistan’s largest denomination note is ₨5,000 — introduced in 2006

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🇧🇩 Bangladesh — Bangladeshi Taka (BDT) ৳

Symbol: ৳ | Code: BDT | Subdivisions: 1 taka = 100 paisa

Fun facts:

• The word taka is used colloquially to mean “money” in general across Bangladesh — asking “koto taka?” (how much money?) is the standard way to ask any price
• Bangladesh introduced the taka in 1972 after independence from Pakistan, replacing the Pakistani rupee
• The taka’s name derives from the Sanskrit tanka — a type of silver coin used across the Indian subcontinent for centuries
• OrbitRemit AUD to BDT transfers are fee-free from Australia — one of very few corridors with no fee from either country

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🇳🇵 Nepal — Nepali Rupee (NPR) रू

Symbol: रू | Code: NPR | Subdivisions: 1 rupee = 100 paisa

Fun facts:

• The Nepali rupee is pegged to the Indian rupee at a fixed rate of 1.6 NPR per 1 INR — maintained since 1994, reflecting Nepal’s deep economic integration with India
• Nepal has the world’s only non-rectangular national flag — and the Nepali rupee banknotes proudly feature it
• Until Nepal abolished its monarchy in 2008 and became a republic, all Nepali coins featured the portrait of the reigning king. Coins now feature national symbols including Mount Everest and the rhododendron (Nepal’s national flower)
• The highest denomination is 1,000 NPR — worth approximately AUD $11

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🇱🇰 Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) ₨

Symbol: ₨ | Code: LKR | Subdivisions: 1 rupee = 100 cents

Fun facts:

• Sri Lanka’s rupee also uses ₨ — the same symbol as Pakistan’s rupee; the ISO code is essential to distinguish them
• Sri Lanka experienced a severe currency crisis in 2022 when the LKR lost approximately 80% of its value against the USD in a matter of months — one of the sharpest currency collapses in Asian history
• The Sri Lankan rupee has been in use since 1872 — introduced during British colonial rule, replacing the Indian rupee

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🇧🇹 Bhutan — Bhutanese Ngultrum (BTN) Nu

Symbol: Nu | Code: BTN | Subdivisions: 1 ngultrum = 100 chhertum

Fun facts:

• The ngultrum is pegged to the Indian rupee at a fixed 1:1 rate — both currencies are accepted interchangeably across Bhutan
• Bhutan measures national success using “Gross National Happiness” rather than GDP — a philosophy reflected in its carefully managed economy and currency
• The word ngultrum comes from the Dzongkha words ngul (silver) and trum (coin)
• Bhutan was one of the last countries in the world to introduce television — in 1999, the same year it introduced the internet

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🇲🇻 Maldives — Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR) Rf

Symbol: Rf | Code: MVR | Subdivisions: 1 rufiyaa = 100 laari

Fun facts:

• The rufiyaa name traces a chain of linguistic evolution: Sanskrit rūpya → Indian rupee → rufiyaa
• The Maldives consists of 26 atolls and over 1,000 coral islands — yet it maintains a single unified currency across this extraordinarily dispersed geography
• The Maldives uses the US dollar extensively alongside the rufiyaa in tourist resorts — most resort pricing is in USD

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🇦🇫 Afghanistan — Afghan Afghani (AFN) ؋

Symbol: ؋ | Code: AFN | Subdivisions: 1 afghani = 100 puls

Fun facts:

• The afghani was redenominated in 2002 after decades of conflict-related hyperinflation — 1 new afghani replaced 1,000 old afghanis
• During the Soviet-Afghan War and subsequent civil war, multiple competing currencies circulated simultaneously in different parts of the country
• The afghani symbol ؋ is one of the few currency symbols derived from Arabic script

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Southeast Asia

🇵🇭 Philippines — Philippine Peso (PHP) ₱

Symbol: ₱ | Code: PHP | Subdivisions: 1 peso = 100 centavos

Fun facts:

• The double-bar ₱ symbol is unique to the Philippines — every other country that uses a peso currency (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile) uses the dollar sign ($) for their peso
• The Philippine peso traces its roots to the Spanish colonial period — the Spanish real de a ocho (piece of eight) was the currency of the Philippines from the 16th century
• Philippine banknotes feature the country’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites and natural wonders on the reverse — including Tubbataha Reef, the Puerto Princesa Underground River and the Chocolate Hills of Bohol
• Before Spanish colonisation, pre-colonial Filipinos used gold, beeswax and cowrie shells (sigay) as currency

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🇻🇳 Vietnam — Vietnamese Dong (VND) ₫

Symbol: ₫ | Code: VND | Subdivisions: None in practical use

Fun facts:

• A visitor exchanging AUD $100 receives approximately 1,650,000 VND — becoming a millionaire within minutes of landing in Vietnam
• The word đồng means bronze or copper in Vietnamese — a reference to the bronze coins used in Vietnamese trade for centuries
• All Vietnamese dong banknotes from 10,000 VND upward are printed on polymer plastic — not paper; Vietnam adopted polymer in 2003, making it one of the first Asian countries to do so
• Every Vietnamese dong banknote features Ho Chi Minh on the front — the only currency in Southeast Asia to feature a single person on all denominations
• Vietnam redenominated its currency twice — in 1978 and 1985 — to combat post-war hyperinflation

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🇮🇩 Indonesia — Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) Rp

Symbol: Rp | Code: IDR | Subdivisions: 1 rupiah = 100 sen (not used)

Fun facts:

• Despite sharing the name “rupiah” (from Sanskrit rupya, the same root as the Indian rupee), the Indonesian rupiah has no connection to or peg with the Indian rupee
• Indonesia’s 1998 Asian Financial Crisis caused the rupiah to lose approximately 85% of its value in months — from around 2,500 IDR per USD to over 16,000 IDR per USD at its worst
• The 100,000 IDR note (approximately AUD $10) is the highest denomination — featuring Soekarno and Mohammad Hatta, the two founding fathers who proclaimed Indonesian independence in 1945
• Indonesia is the only country in the world where the currency’s name includes a word that sounds like “rupee” but is a completely independent currency

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🇹🇭 Thailand — Thai Baht (THB) ฿

Symbol: ฿ | Code: THB | Subdivisions: 1 baht = 100 satang

Fun facts:

• The baht is one of the oldest currencies in Southeast Asia — it has been the currency of Thailand (then Siam) since at least the 14th century
• Historically, the baht was a unit of weight for gold and silver — one baht of gold weighed 15 grams; Thai gold jewellery is still sold by the baht weight today
• It is illegal to step on Thai banknotes or coins — because they bear the image of the King, stepping on them is considered a serious act of disrespect and is punishable by law
• The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis began when the Thai baht’s peg to the USD collapsed, triggering a region-wide financial contagion

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🇲🇾 Malaysia — Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) RM

Symbol: RM | Code: MYR | Subdivisions: 1 ringgit = 100 sen

Fun facts:

• Ringgit means “jagged” in Malay — a reference to the milled (serrated) edges of the old Spanish silver real coins that circulated widely in the region
• Malaysia pegged the ringgit to the USD at 3.80 MYR per USD from 1998 to 2005 — an emergency measure during and after the Asian Financial Crisis. The peg was controversial but widely credited with stabilising Malaysia’s economy
• The ringgit is sometimes informally called the “Malaysian dollar” — it replaced the Malaya and British Borneo dollar in 1967

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🇸🇬 Singapore — Singapore Dollar (SGD) S$

Symbol: S$ | Code: SGD | Subdivisions: 1 dollar = 100 cents

Fun facts:

• The Singapore dollar and Brunei dollar are interchangeable at face value — accepted in both countries under a longstanding currency interchangeability agreement established in 1967
• Singapore’s currency is managed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) using an exchange rate band rather than interest rates — one of the few central banks in the world that targets the exchange rate rather than the price of money
• Singapore’s banknotes come in two series simultaneously — the Portrait series (featuring Singapore’s first president Encik Yusof bin Ishak) and the Orchid series for collectors
• The SGD is one of the strongest and most stable currencies in Southeast Asia

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🇲🇲 Myanmar — Myanmar Kyat (MMK) K

Symbol: K | Code: MMK | Subdivisions: 1 kyat = 100 pyas

Fun facts:

• The US dollar is widely accepted alongside the kyat in tourist areas — but the government officially discourages foreign currency use and the kyat is the only legal tender for most transactions
• Myanmar’s banknotes feature mythological figures, animals and landscapes — the 1,000 kyat note depicts the Myanmar Central Bank building in Naypyidaw
• The word kyat is related to the word for pical — a traditional weight unit used in trade across Burma for centuries
• Following the 2021 military coup, the kyat lost significant value and parallel exchange rates diverged sharply from official rates

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🇰🇭 Cambodia — Cambodian Riel (KHR) ៛

Symbol: ៛ | Code: KHR | Subdivisions: 1 riel = 100 sen (not in use)

Fun facts:

• The US dollar is so widely used in Cambodia that many businesses quote prices only in USD — the riel is mainly used for small change (amounts under $1)
• Cambodia’s riel was completely abolished by the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1980 — all currency was banned, banks were closed and money was declared worthless. The riel was reintroduced in 1980 after the regime fell
• Cambodia is one of very few countries where a foreign currency (USD) is more commonly used than the national currency for most daily transactions

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🇱🇦 Laos — Lao Kip (LAK) ₭

Symbol: ₭ | Code: LAK | Subdivisions: 1 kip = 100 att (not in use)

Fun facts:

• The kip is one of the least-valued currencies in Asia — exchange rates regularly exceed 20,000 LAK per 1 USD
• USD and Thai baht are widely accepted in tourist areas alongside the kip — particularly in Vientiane and Luang Prabang
• The 100,000 kip note — the largest denomination — is worth approximately AUD $7

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🇧🇳 Brunei — Brunei Dollar (BND) B$

Symbol: B$ | Code: BND | Subdivisions: 1 dollar = 100 cents

Fun facts:

• The Brunei dollar and Singapore dollar have been interchangeable at face value since 1967 — you can pay with either in both countries
• Brunei’s extraordinary oil and gas wealth means its government charges zero income tax — and subsidises fuel, education and healthcare for citizens
• Brunei’s currency is among the most stable in Southeast Asia due to its vast sovereign wealth reserves

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🇹🇱 Timor-Leste — US Dollar (USD) $

Symbol: $ | Code: USD

Fun facts:

• Timor-Leste is one of only a handful of non-US countries to use the US dollar as its sole official currency — others include Ecuador, Panama and El Salvador
• Timor-Leste mints its own coins (centavos) but uses US dollar banknotes — the coins have limited circulation
• When Timor-Leste achieved independence in 2002, it adopted the USD immediately rather than creating a new national currency — a deliberate choice for monetary stability

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East Asia

🇨🇳 China — Renminbi / Yuan (CNY) ¥

Symbol: ¥ | Code: CNY | Subdivisions: 1 yuan = 10 jiao = 100 fen

Fun facts:

• Renminbi (人民币) means “people’s currency” — the yuan is the unit; saying “I paid in renminbi” is correct; “I paid in yuan” is also correct. Saying “I paid in RMB” is most common internationally
• The ¥ symbol is shared with the Japanese yen — creating regular confusion in menus and price tags across Asia. The yuan and yen are unrelated currencies; they share a symbol derived from the Chinese character for “round” (圆)
• The yuan is not freely convertible on international markets — China maintains capital controls; the offshore yuan (CNH, traded in Hong Kong) operates with slightly more flexibility than the onshore yuan (CNY)
• China’s digital yuan (e-CNY) has over 2 billion wallets as of 2025 — the world’s most advanced Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in terms of adoption
• Every yuan note features Mao Zedong on the front — he has appeared on all Chinese banknotes since 1999

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🇯🇵 Japan — Japanese Yen (JPY) ¥

Symbol: ¥ | Code: JPY | Subdivisions: 1 yen = 100 sen (not in use)

Fun facts:

• The Japanese yen is the third most traded currency in the world after the USD and EUR — used as a global safe-haven asset; when global markets are turbulent, investors buy yen
• Japan’s 1 yen coin weighs exactly 1 gram and is made of 100% pure aluminium — it costs approximately 3 yen to produce each 1 yen coin, meaning Japan loses money every time it mints one; it is so light it can float on water, resting on the surface tension without sinking
• The word yen derives from the Chinese character 圓 (yuán), meaning “round” — the same character that gave China’s yuan its name
• The ¥10,000 note features Fukuzawa Yukichi, a 19th-century scholar and educator — the highest-denomination note of any major economy relative to the base denomination
• Japan replaced all its banknote designs in July 2024 — the first full redesign in 20 years; the new ¥10,000 note features Shibusawa Eiichi (an industrialist) replacing Fukuzawa

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🇰🇷 South Korea — South Korean Won (KRW) ₩

Symbol: ₩ | Code: KRW | Subdivisions: 1 won = 100 jeon (not in use)

Fun facts:

• South Korea’s won has a very low unit value relative to purchasing power — approximately 900 KRW = 1 AUD; a cup of coffee costs 5,000-6,000 KRW
• Korea redenominated its currency in 1962 — 10 old hwan = 1 new won; the won has been South Korea’s currency since
• The 50,000 won note (the highest denomination, approximately AUD $55) features Shin Saimdang — a 16th-century artist and mother of scholar Yi I; she is the first woman to appear on a South Korean banknote
• The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis hit the won particularly hard — it fell from approximately 900 won per USD to nearly 2,000 won per USD before an IMF bailout stabilised the economy

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🇹🇼 Taiwan — New Taiwan Dollar (TWD) NT$

Symbol: NT$ | Code: TWD | Subdivisions: 1 dollar = 100 cents

Fun facts:

• The “New” in New Taiwan Dollar was added in 1949 to distinguish it from the mainland Chinese currency when the Republic of China government relocated to Taiwan
• Taiwan’s NT$1,000 note features the Presidential Office Building in Taipei — a Japanese colonial-era building that became the seat of Taiwan’s government after 1945
• Taiwan manages its currency through the Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) — one of the few central banks in the world to conduct active currency interventions to prevent excessive appreciation

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🇭🇰 Hong Kong — Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) HK$

Symbol: HK$ | Code: HKD | Subdivisions: 1 dollar = 100 cents

Fun facts:

• The HKD has been pegged to the USD at 7.75-7.85 HKD per USD since 1983 — one of the world’s oldest and most tested currency pegs still operating
• Three private banks issue Hong Kong dollar banknotes — HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of China (Hong Kong) — alongside the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s coins; Hong Kong is one of the few places where commercial banks (not just the central bank) issue legal tender
• Hong Kong’s Currency Board system means every HKD in circulation is backed 100% by USD reserves — the city cannot print money it doesn’t have

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🇲🇴 Macau — Macanese Pataca (MOP) P

Symbol: P | Code: MOP | Subdivisions: 1 pataca = 100 avos

Fun facts:

• The pataca is pegged to the Hong Kong dollar at 1.03 MOP per 1 HKD — and both currencies are accepted interchangeably in most Macau businesses
• The pataca was introduced in 1894 during Portuguese colonial rule — the name comes from the Portuguese word for the old Spanish peso coin
• Macau’s gambling revenue is approximately five times that of Las Vegas — yet the pataca remains one of the lesser-known Asian currencies internationally

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🇲🇳 Mongolia — Mongolian Tögrög (MNT) ₮

Symbol: ₮ | Code: MNT | Subdivisions: 1 tögrög = 100 möngö

Fun facts:

• The word tögrög means “circular” in Mongolian — a reference to the round shape of coins
• Mongolia’s currency features Genghis Khan on its banknotes — the founder of the Mongol Empire, which was once the largest contiguous land empire in history
• The tögrög was introduced in 1925, replacing Chinese silver coins and Russian rubles that had previously circulated in Mongolia
• Mongolia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world — yet maintains a fully functional national currency across a territory three times the size of France

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Central Asia

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan — Kazakhstani Tenge (KZT) ₸

Symbol: ₸ | Code: KZT | Subdivisions: 1 tenge = 100 tiyn

Fun facts:

• The tenge was introduced on 15 November 1993 — when Kazakhstan left the Soviet ruble zone after independence; 15 November is now celebrated as “Tenge Day” in Kazakhstan
• The tenge symbol ₸ was selected through a public competition in 2006 — it evokes the Kazakh word for “money” and resembles the letter T with double horizontal bars
• Kazakhstan is the world’s largest landlocked country — and its currency reflects the oil-rich economy that emerged after independence

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🇺🇿 Uzbekistan — Uzbekistani Sum (UZS) лв

Symbol: лв | Code: UZS | Subdivisions: 1 sum = 100 tiyin

Fun facts:

• Uzbekistan redenominated its currency in 2017 — 1 new sum replaced 1,000 old sum; the old 1,000 sum note became the new 1 sum note overnight
• Sum means “pure” in several Turkic languages — a reference to pure silver or gold
• Uzbekistan holds the world’s fourth largest gold reserves relative to its economy — gold features prominently in its monetary policy

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🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan — Kyrgyzstani Som (KGS) С

Symbol: С | Code: KGS | Subdivisions: 1 som = 100 tyiyn

Fun facts:

• The som was introduced in 1993 after independence from the Soviet Union — replacing the Soviet ruble at 200 rubles per 1 som
• Kyrgyzstan’s som banknotes feature Manas — the legendary hero of the Kyrgyz epic poem, one of the longest epic poems in the world at over 500,000 lines

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🇹🇯 Tajikistan — Tajikistani Somoni (TJS) SM

Symbol: SM | Code: TJS | Subdivisions: 1 somoni = 100 diram

Fun facts:

• The somoni is named after Ismoil Somoni — founder of the Samanid Empire in the 9th-10th centuries; it is one of the few currencies in the world named after a historical figure
• The somoni replaced the Tajikistani ruble in 2000 at a rate of 1,000 rubles per 1 somoni — introduced to help stabilise the economy after civil war hyperinflation

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🇹🇲 Turkmenistan — Turkmenistani Manat (TMT) T

Symbol: T | Code: TMT | Subdivisions: 1 manat = 100 tennesi

Fun facts:

• Turkmenistan redenominated in 2009 — 5,000 old manat = 1 new manat
• The manat is strictly controlled by the Turkmen government — it is not freely convertible and the official rate differs significantly from the parallel market rate
• Turkmenistan has the world’s fourth largest natural gas reserves — yet remains one of the most closed economies in Asia

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Notable facts across Asian currencies

Most widely traded: The Japanese yen (JPY) is the third most traded currency in the world — after the USD and EUR.

Most stable Southeast Asian currency: The Singapore dollar (SGD) — managed via exchange rate band by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Oldest concept: The Indian rupee concept traces back over 2,500 years — to Sanskrit rūpya (wrought silver).

Shared symbol confusion: The ¥ symbol is used by both the Chinese yuan (CNY) and Japanese yen (JPY) — two completely different currencies.

Most dramatic collapse: The Cambodian riel was completely abolished by the Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1980 — one of the only times in modern history a country eliminated its own currency entirely.

Only country using USD: Timor-Leste — the only Asian country with no national currency of its own.

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Currencies OrbitRemit supports from Australia and New Zealand

Country	Currency	Code	Fee from Australia	Fee from New Zealand
India	Indian Rupee	INR	AUD $0 — fee-free	NZD $4 flat
Philippines	Philippine Peso	PHP	AUD $0 — fee-free (mobile wallets)	NZD $4 flat
Vietnam	Vietnamese Dong	VND	AUD $0 — fee-free	NZD $4 flat
Nepal	Nepali Rupee	NPR	AUD $0 — fee-free	NZD $4 flat
Bangladesh	Bangladeshi Taka	BDT	AUD $0 — fee-free	NZD $0 — fee-free
South Korea	South Korean Won	KRW	AUD $0 — fee-free	NZD $0 — fee-free
China	Chinese Yuan	CNY	AUD $0.99 flat	NZD $0.99 flat
Indonesia	Indonesian Rupiah	IDR	AUD $4 flat	NZD $4 flat
Sri Lanka	Sri Lankan Rupee	LKR	AUD $4 flat	NZD $4 flat
Pakistan	Pakistani Rupee	PKR	AUD $4 flat	NZD $4 flat
Japan	Japanese Yen	JPY	AUD $4 flat	NZD $4 flat

Fees are subject to change. Check current rates at orbitremit.com.

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FAQs (frequently asked questions)

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What it means for your transfers

Every currency in this guide represents a family connection across borders. OrbitRemit supports transfers from Australia and New Zealand to over 50 countries — with fee-free options across major Asian corridors.

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Currency information is for general reference. Exchange rates fluctuate. Last updated August 2026.

Sources: Wikipedia — List of currencies in Asia | xs.com — World currency list 2026 (May 2026) | no1currency.com — Asian currency symbols guide | nationsonline.org — International currencies by country | mnathall.com — Asian countries and currencies (July 2026)