The franc (ISO 4217:RWF; also RWFR) is the currency of Rwanda. It is subdivided into 100 centimes and is often written RF .

History
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.

There are plans to introduce a common currency, a new East African shilling, for the five member states of the East African Community by the end of 2009.

Coins
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)

* 1 franc - 98% Aluminium, 2% Magnesium
* 5 francs - Bronze
* 10 francs - Bronze
* 20 francs - Nickel-plated steel
* 50 francs - Nickel-plated steel
* 100 francs - Nickel-plated steel ring and Copper-plated steel centre

Banknotes
In 1964, notes of the Rwanda and Burundi Bank of Emission were overstamped for use in Rwanda alone. Denominations were 20, 50, 100, 500 and 1,000 francs. These were followed by regular issues for the same amounts. 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. the National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) has announced that the 100-franc note will cease to be legal tender starting December 31, 2009.

Historical exchange rates
Rwandan francs per US dollar:

* 262.20 (1995), 585 (2007)
* 393.44 (2000)
* 574.62 (2004)
* 610 (2005)
* 560 (2006)
* 553 (2007)
* 570 (2010)

The text on this page has been made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License and Creative Commons Licenses