Malaysia - currency

The currency in Malaysia is the Malaysian ringgit (MYR).
 
Exchange rates fluctuate daily but as a rough guide, one ringgit is worth a bit less than 20p. If you change £100, you will get about RM550.

One ringgit is made up of 100 sen and there are coins for 5, 10, 20 and 50 sen, but they’re of low value so you will mostly deal with notes. You’ll notice that the banknotes are particularly colourful, so you’ll be able to tell their values apart, along with their different sizes. They’re RM1 (blue), RM5 (green), RM10 (red), RM20 (orange), RM50 (green-blue) and RM100 (purple) banknotes. They show images of flowers, birds. turtles and the face of Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia’s first supreme head of state who died in 1960. The word ringgit means ‘jagged’ in Malay and comes from the Spanish silver dollar coins with rough edges which were once used in Malaysia during colonial times.

The best way of getting a good exchange rate is to buy your spending money before you leave the UK. Don’t worry if you don’t have time to get it in advance, as it’s easy to exchange currency in Malaysia and you’ll still get a good rate. There are money counters at the international airports, which are open even if you land in the middle of the night. Most hotels have money changing services or you can exchange pounds for ringgit at banks and bureaux de change throughout Malaysia.