Paisa

Paisa
This article is about the coin. For other uses, see Paisa (disambiguation).

The paisa (Bengali: পয়সা, Hindi: पैसा, Urdu: پیسہ) is a monetary unit in several countries. Linguistic variants of paisa include poisha (Bengali: পয়সা, in Bangladesh) and baisa (Arabic: بيسة‎, in Oman). In India, Nepal and Pakistan, the paisa currently equals 1⁄100 of a rupee. In Bangladesh, the poisha equals 1⁄100 of a Bangladeshi taka. In Oman, the baisa equals 1⁄1000 of an Omani rial.

The word paisa is actually a borrowing from the Persian language.[1]

Until the 1950s in India and Pakistan (and before 1947 in British India), the paisa was equivalent to 3 pies, ¼ of an anna, or 1⁄64 of a rupee. After the transition from a non-decimal currency to a decimal currency, the paisa was known as a naya paisa ("new paisa") for a few years.

General usage of the term

In Hindi, Afghan Persian, and other languages, the word paisa often means money or cash. Medieval-era trade routes that spanned the Arabian Sea between India, the Arab regions and East Africa spread the usage of Indian and Arabic currency terms across these areas.[2] The word pesa as a reference to money in East African languages such as Swahili dates from that period.[2] An example of this usage is the modern day Kenyan mobile-phone based money transfer service M-Pesa (which stands for mobile pesa or mobile money).

Example currency

Here are examples of paise:

  • 25 Indian paisa coin

  • 50 Indian paisa coin

  • 25 Pakistani Paisa coin

  • 50 Pakistani Paisa coin

  • Pakistani paisa coins

  • 1 Bangladeshi poisha coin

  • 25 Bangladeshi poisha coin

  • 50 Bangladeshi poisha coin

  • 100 Omani baisa note

  • 100 Omani baisa note (reverse)

References

  1. ^ J. R. Hinderson, 2001, The coins of Haidar Alī and Tīpū Sultān, p. 15, Asian Educational Services, New Delhi.
  2. ^ a b NADA: the Southern Rhodesia Native Affairs Department annual, Issue 30, Government of Southern Rhodesia, 1964, http://books.google.com/books?id=7FAUAAAAIAAJ, "... currency terms pesa, upeni, mali, khete, tickey all derive from Hindu or Arabic currency terms still in use in what was once called the Erythraean Sea ..." 
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