The CFA franc is the name of two currencies used by 210 million people in fourteen African countries: the West African CFA franc, used in eight West African countries, and the Central African CFA franc, used in six Central African countries. The ISO currency codes are XAF for the Central African CFA franc and XOF for the West African CFA franc. Although the two currencies are commonly called the CFA franc and (currently) have the same value, they are not interchangeable. It is therefore not a common monetary zone but two juxtaposed zones.
Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Eastern Caribbean dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, Trinidad and Tobago Dollar and several others. The symbol for most of those currencies is the dollar sign $; the same symbol is used by many countries using peso currencies. The name "dollar" originates from the "thaler" suffix in the name of a 29 g silver coin called the Joachimsthaler minted in Bohemia.
The euro is the official currency of 20 of the 27 member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the euro area or, more commonly, the eurozone. The euro is divided into 100 euro cents.
The Kwacha is the currency of Zambia. It is subdivided into 100 Ngwee.
The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence or one-twentieth of a pound before being phased out during the 1960s and 1970s.
Currency substitution is the use of a foreign currency in parallel to or instead of a domestic currency.
Sterling is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word pound is also used to refer to the British currency generally, often qualified in international contexts as the British pound or the pound sterling.
The cedi is the unit of currency of Ghana. It is the fourth historical and only current legal tender in the Republic of Ghana. One Cedi is divided into one hundred Pesewas (Gp).
In public finance, a currency board is a monetary authority which is required to maintain a fixed exchange rate with a foreign currency. This policy objective requires the conventional objectives of a central bank to be subordinated to the exchange rate target. In colonial administration, currency boards were popular because of the advantages of printing appropriate denominations for local conditions, and it also benefited the colony with the seigniorage revenue. However, after World War II many independent countries preferred to have central banks and independent currencies.
£sd, is the popular name for the pre-decimal currencies once common throughout Europe. The abbreviation originates from the Latin currency denominations librae, solidi, and denarii. In the United Kingdom, these were referred to as pounds, shillings, and pence.
The shilling is the currency of Uganda. Officially divided into cents until 2013, due to substantial inflation the shilling now has no subdivision.
A currency union is an intergovernmental agreement that involves two or more states sharing the same currency. These states may not necessarily have any further integration.
The Somali shilling is the official currency of Somalia. It is subdivided into 100 senti, cents (English) or centesimi (Italian).
The East African shilling was the sterling unit of account in British-controlled areas of East Africa from 1921 until 1969. It was issued by the East African Currency Board. It is also the proposed name for a common currency that the East African Community plans to introduce.
The eco is the name for the proposed common currency of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Plans originally called for the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) states to introduce the currency first, which would eventually be merged with the Euro-pegged CFA franc which is used by the French-speaking West African region within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA). This will also enable the UEMOA states to gain complete fiscal and monetary independence from France. The UEMOA states have alternatively proposed to reform the CFA franc into the eco first, which could then be extended to all ECOWAS states.
The Common Monetary Area (CMA) links South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini into a monetary union. The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) includes all CMA members in addition to Botswana, which replaced the rand with the pula in 1976 as a means of establishing an independent monetary policy. The CMA facilitates trade and promotes economic development between its member states.
The West African CFA franc is the currency used by eight independent states in West Africa which make up the West African Economic and Monetary Union: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. These eight countries had a combined population of 105.7 million people in 2014, and a combined GDP of US$128.6 billion as of 2018.
The history of Canadian currencies began with Indigenous peoples in Canada prior to European contact, when they used items such as wampum and furs for trading purposes. The Indigenous peoples continued to use those items as currency when trade with Europeans began. During the period of French colonization, coins were introduced, as well as one of the first examples of paper currency by a western government. During the period of British colonization, additional coinage was introduced, as well as banknotes. The Canadian colonies gradually moved away from the British pound and adopted currencies linked to the United States dollar. With Confederation in 1867, the Canadian dollar was established. By the mid-20th century, the Bank of Canada was the sole issuer of paper currency, and banks ceased to issue banknotes.
