Rwandan franc

Rwandan franc
Franc Rwandais (French) Ifaranga ry'u Rwanda (Kinyarwanda)
Current banknotes of the Rwandan franc
ISO 4217
Code	RWF
Denominations
Subunit
1/100	centime
Symbol	FRw, RF, R₣
Banknotes	500, 1000, 2000, 5000 francs
Coins	1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 francs
Demographics
User(s)	Rwanda
Issuance
Central bank	National Bank of Rwanda
Website	www.bnr.rw
Valuation
Inflation	15.4%
Source	The World Factbook, 2008 est.

The Rwandan franc (sign: FRw, and possibly RF or R₣;ISO 4217: RWF) is the currency of Rwanda. It is subdivided into 100 centimes.

The franc became the currency of Rwanda in 1916, when Belgium occupied the previously German colony and the Belgian Congo franc replaced the German East African rupie. Rwanda used the currency of Belgian Congo until 1960, when the Rwanda and Burundi franc was introduced. Rwanda began issuing its own francs in 1964.

A proposal exists to introduce a common currency, a new East African shilling, for the five member states of the East African Community. While originally scheduled to occur by the end of 2012, as of June 2016, a common currency had not been introduced.

In 1964, coins were introduced for 1, 5 and 10 francs, with the 1 and 10 francs in cupronickel and the 5 francs in bronze. In 1969, aluminium 1 franc coins were introduced, followed in 1970 by ½ and 2 francs also in aluminium. A reduced sized copper-nickel 10 franc coin was issued in 1974.

Brass 20 and 50 francs were introduced in 1977. New series of 1-50 Francs coins were issued in 2004 (dated 2003) and a new bimetallic coin of 100 Francs was introduced in 2008 (dated 2007)

In 1964, provisional notes were created for use in Rwanda by handstamping (20 to 100 francs) or embossing (500 and 1,000 francs) Rwanda-Burundi notes bearing their original dates and signatures. These were followed by regular issues for the same amounts dated 1964 to 1976.

20- and 50-franc notes were replaced by coins in 1977, with 5,000-franc notes introduced in 1978. The nation's first-ever 2,000-franc note was introduced in mid-December 2007. In 2008 the bank replaced the 100-franc note with a bimetallic coin, and revoked the notes’ legal tender status on 31 December 2009. On September 24, 2013, the National Bank of Rwanda issued a redesigned 500 franc note depicting cows on the front and students with XO computers (from One Laptop per Child) on the back. In December 2014, the National Bank of Rwanda issued 2,000 and 5,000 franc notes with revised security features and the removal of French descriptions on the notes. In October 2015, the National Bank of Rwanda issued a revised 1000 franc note with improved security features and the removal of French descriptions on the notes.