Currency Confusion: Malaysia And Brunei's Monetary Identity

Malaysia and Brunei have had a shared history of currency usage, but they currently have different official currencies. The two countries, along with Singapore, used the Malaya and British Borneo dollar from 1953 to 1967. After this arrangement ended, each country introduced its own currency: the Malaysian Ringgit, the Singapore Dollar, and the Brunei Dollar. While the Singapore Dollar and Brunei Dollar remain interchangeable, the Malaysian Ringgit is no longer part of this agreement.

The history of the Brunei dollar

The Brunei dollar (B$) has been the currency of the Sultanate of Brunei since 1967. It is divided into 100 cents and is issued by the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank.

In AH1285 (AD1868), Brunei issued tin coins denominated in pitis, followed by a one-cent coin in AH1304 (AD1888), which was one-hundredth of a Straits dollar.

As a protectorate of Britain in the early 20th century, Brunei used the currencies of its colonial ruler: the Straits dollar from 1906, the Malayan dollar from 1939, and the Malaya and British Borneo dollar from 1953 until 1967, when it began issuing its own currency.

The Brunei dollar replaced the Malaya and British Borneo dollar in 1967 after the formation of Malaysia and the independence of Singapore. A Currency Interchangeability Agreement was also signed in 1967, which made the Brunei dollar interchangeable with the Singapore dollar at par. This agreement is still in place today, and the two currencies are accepted as "customary tender" in each other's country.

On 12 June 1967, the Brunei government introduced notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 dollars, with higher denominations following in subsequent years. Five series of notes have been issued, with the first three series bearing the portrait of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III, the 28th ruler of Brunei. All subsequent currency has featured the portrait of the current ruler, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.

In 1984, the Brunei Currency Board ordered four million circulation coins from the Singapore Mint, consisting of one-cent coins in bronze and five, ten, twenty, and fifty-cent coins in cupro-nickel.

Today, the Brunei dollar is the official currency of the Sultanate of Brunei and is widely used throughout the country, with the Singapore dollar also accepted as "customary tender" due to the Currency Interchangeability Agreement.

The history of the Malaysian ringgit

The currency of Malaysia is the Malaysian ringgit, also known as the Malaysian dollar. The Malay name for the currency is Ringgit Malaysia, and its official abbreviation and currency symbol is RM. The currency code for the ringgit is MYR.

The word ringgit means 'jagged' in Malay and was originally used to refer to the serrated edges of Spanish coins that circulated widely in the region during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Spanish-American silver dollar, brought over by the Manila galleons, was the primary currency for international trade in Asia and the Americas from the 16th to the 19th centuries.

On 12 June 1967, the Malaysian dollar, issued by the new central bank, replaced the Malaya and British Borneo dollar at par. The new currency retained all the denominations of its predecessor except the 10,000 denomination and also brought over the colour schemes of the old dollar. The new currency was officially referred to in dollars and cents until 28 August 1975, when its name was officially changed to ringgit and sen.

In 1993, the currency symbol "RM" (Ringgit Malaysia) was introduced to replace the use of the dollar sign.

The ringgit is divided into 100 cents (Malay: sen). The first series of sen coins were introduced in 1967 in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 sen, followed by the introduction of the 1 ringgit coin in 1971. The second series of coins was introduced in 1989, and the third series in 2011.

The first Malaysian banknotes were issued on 6 June 1967 in $1, $5, $10, $50 and $100 denominations. The $1000 denomination was first issued on 2 September 1968. The banknotes carried the image of Tuanku Abdul Rahman, the first Yang di-Pertuan Agong of independent Malaya.

The Malaysian ringgit is used officially by Malaysia and is also commonly accepted in border areas of Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Exchange rate: Bruneian dollar to Malaysian ringgit

The Bruneian dollar and the Malaysian ringgit are not the same currency. The Bruneian dollar (B$) has been the official currency of the Sultanate of Brunei since 1967. On the other hand, the Malaysian ringgit is the currency of Malaysia.

As of November 5, 2024, 1.00 Bruneian dollar is equivalent to approximately 3.31 Malaysian ringgit. This rate fluctuates and should only be used for informational purposes.

• 1 BND = 3.3121802 MYR
• 1 MYR = 0.301916 BND
• 100 BND = 329.9464 MYR
• 500 BND = 1,649.732 MYR
• 1,000 BND = 3,299.464 MYR
• 5,000 BND = 16,497.32 MYR
• 10,000 BND = 32,994.64 MYR
• 50,000 BND = 164,973.2 MYR

Currency Interchangeability

It is worth noting that under a Currency Interchangeability Agreement, the Bruneian dollar is interchangeable with the Singapore dollar at par. This means that the Bruneian dollar is accepted as "customary tender" in Singapore, and vice versa. This agreement also applied to the Malaysian ringgit until 1973 when Malaysia withdrew from it.

Exchange rate history

The Brunei dollar (BND) and the Malaysian ringgit (MYR) are not the same currency, but they do have a shared history. Up until 1967, when Brunei issued its own currency, the country had used the Malayan dollar and the Malaya and British Borneo dollar.

The two currencies remained interchangeable at par until 8 May 1973 when the Malaysian government withdrew from the agreement.

• On 26 January 2024, 1 BND = 3.4650 MYR.
• On 20 February 2024, 1 BND = 3.5672 MYR.
• On 9 June 2024, 1 BND = 3.4650 MYR.
• On 22 July 2024, 1 BND = 3.468 MYR.
• On 4 November 2024, 1 BND = 3.299464 MYR.
• On 5 November 2024, 1 BND = 3.3121802 MYR.

The average exchange rate over the period 26 January 2024 to 22 July 2024 was 1 BND = 3.5077 MYR.

The Interchangeability Agreement

Malaysia and Brunei do not have the same currency. The currency of Malaysia is the Malaysian ringgit, whereas the currency of Brunei is the Brunei dollar. However, the two countries did once share a common currency, the Malayan dollar, until Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1965.

Following this separation, Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei agreed to a Currency Interchangeability Agreement in 1967. This agreement allowed for the new Malaysian, Singaporean, and Bruneian currencies to be used as customary tender, fully interchangeable at par value, in all three countries. The agreement lasted until 8 May 1973, when the Malaysian government withdrew.

The Currency Interchangeability Agreement was established to promote monetary cooperation between Brunei and Singapore. Under the agreement, the Brunei Darussalam Central Bank (BDCB) and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) accept from banks the currency notes and coins issued by the other, and exchange them at par and without charge, into their own currency. Banks in both countries also accept for deposit, from the public and businesses, currency issued by the other country at par and without charge.

The Agreement reflects the continuing, strong bilateral relationship between the two countries, and financial cooperation between BDCB and MAS. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Agreement in 2017, Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei and Mr Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore, jointly launched a set of two $50 commemorative polymer notes.

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