Iranian currency to be renamed "Toman" with one zero knocked off

By bne IntelliNews December 7, 2016

The Rouhani administration announced on December 7 that it will officially rename the Iranian currency the toman from its existing official name the rial. It will also knock off one zero from the currency, according to Islamic Republic News Agency.

The decision to remove the zero and rename the currency will be music to the ears of all Iranians who have used the unofficial toman currency since the 1930s when the then Pahlavi monarchy brought in the rial to supplant it.

Unofficially one toman is worth 10 rials, or around 3,200 to a dollar at official exchange rates, and 3,900 to a dollar at unofficial rates on Tehran's Ferdowsi Street, the central hub of foreign currency in the city.

The Iranian parliament (Majlis) will discuss the matter in a session in the upcoming weeks; from there it will head to Iran's Guardian Council for approval – it is likely to be unanimously approved by both bodies.

Some in the country would like the government to remove the zeros, as when speaking Iranians not refer to the thousands.( e.g. 1,5,10, 50 and 100 notes).

In November Iran's finance minister Ali Tayyebnia said it is currently too early to chop zeros off the currency.

"I think dropping the three zeros from the rial is a necessary measure that should be done in the future," he said at the time.

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