TheNew Taiwan dollar[I] (code:TWD;symbol:NT$ or$, also abbreviated asNT orNTD), or theTaiwan dollar, is the officialcurrency of theRepublic of China (Taiwan). Usually, the$ sign precedes the amount, but NT$ is used to distinguish from other currencies nameddollar. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of theisland of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced theold Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dollars per one new dollar.[1] The base unit of the New Taiwan dollar is called ayuan (圓), subdivided into tenjiao (角) or 100fen (分), although in practice neither jiao nor fen are used.
There are a variety of alternative names for the units in Taiwan. The unit of the dollar is typically informally written with the simpler equivalentcharacter as元, except when writing it for legal transactions such as at the bank, when it has to be written as thehomophonous圓. Colloquially, the currency unit is called both元 (yuán, literally "round") and塊 (kuài, literally "piece") inMandarin,箍 (kho͘, literally "hoop") inHokkien, and銀 (ngiùn, literally "silver") inHakka.
TheCentral Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) has issued the New Taiwan Dollar since 2000. Prior to 2000, theBank of Taiwan issuedbanknotes as thede facto central bank between 1949 and 1961, and after 1961 continued to issue banknotes as a delegate of the central bank. The central bank began issuing New Taiwan dollar banknotes in July 2000, and the notes issued by the Bank of Taiwan were taken out of circulation.[2]
The adjective "new" (新) is only added in formal contexts where it is necessary to avoid any ambiguity, even though ambiguity is virtually non-existent today. These contexts include banking, contracts, or foreign exchange. The currency unit name can be written as圓 or元, which are interchangeable. They are both pronouncedyuán inMandarin but have different pronunciations inTaiwanese Hokkien (îⁿ, goân) andHakka (yèn, ngièn). The name仙 inTaiwanese Hokkien andHakka for cent is a loanword borrowed from English.
In English usage, the New Taiwan dollar is often abbreviated as NT, NT$, or NT dollar, while the abbreviation TWD is typically used in the context of foreign exchange rates. Subdivisions of a New Taiwan dollar are rarely used since practically all products on the consumer market are sold in whole dollars. Nevertheless, electronic transactions and bank statements can be expressed to 1fen ($0.01).
The Bank of Taiwan first issued the New Taiwan dollar on 15 June 1949 to replace theOld Taiwan dollar at a ratio of 40,000 to one. The first goal of the New Taiwan dollar was to end thehyperinflation that had plaguedNationalist China due to theChinese Civil War.
After the communists captured Beijing in January 1949, the Nationalists began to retreat to Taiwan. The government then declared in theTemporary Provisions Effective During the Period of Communist Rebellion that dollars issued by the Bank of Taiwan would become the new currency in circulation.[3]
Even though the New Taiwan dollar was thede facto currency of Taiwan, statutes after 1949 still define thesilver yuan orsilver dollar as the legal currency, worth NT$3.[4] Many older statutes have fines and fees given in silver yuan. Its value of NT$3 has not been updated despite decades of inflation, making the silver yuan a purely notional currency a long time ago, inconvertible to actual silver.
When theTemporary Provisions were made ineffective in 1991, the ROC lacked a legal national currency until the year 2000, when the Central Bank of China (CBC) replaced the Bank of Taiwan in issuing NT bills.[3] In July 2000, the New Taiwan dollar became Taiwan's legal currency. It is no longer secondary to the silver yuan. At this time, the central bank began issuing New Taiwan dollar banknotes, and the notes issued earlier by the Bank of Taiwan were taken out of circulation.
The exchange rate compared to theUnited States dollar has varied from less than ten to one in the mid-1950s, more than forty to one in the 1960s, and about twenty–five to one in 1992. The exchange rate as of 10 September 2025 is NT$30.31 per US$.[5]
Coins are minted by theCentral Mint, while notes are printed by theCentral Engraving and Printing Plant. Both are run by the Central Bank. The 50¢ coin is rare because of its low value, while the NT$20 coin is rare because of the government's lack of willingness to promote it.[citation needed] As of 2010, the cost of the raw materials in a 50¢ coin was more than the face value of the coin.
The current series of banknotes for the New Taiwan dollar began circulation in July 2000. This set was introduced when the New Taiwan dollar succeeded the silver yuan as the official currency within Taiwan.
The current set includes banknotes for NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000, and NT$2,000. Note that the NT$200 and NT$2,000 banknotes are not commonly used by consumers. This may be due to the tendency of consumers to simply use multiple NT$100 or NT$500 bills to cover the range of NT$200, as well as using multiple NT$1,000 bills or credit/debit cards instead of the NT$2,000 bill. Lack of government promotion may also be a contributing factor to the general lack of usage.
It is relatively easy for the government to disseminate these denominations through various government bodies that do official business with the citizens, such as the post office, the tax authority, or state–owned banks. There is also a conspiracy theory against theDemocratic Progressive Party, the ruling party at the time the NT$200 and NT$2,000 denominations were issued. The conspiracy states that puttingChiang Kai-shek on a rarely used banknote would "practically" remove him from the currency while "nominally" including him on the currency would not upset supporters on the other side of the political spectrum that much (thePan-Blue Coalition).[citation needed]
The year 2000 version $500 and 1999 version $1000 notes without holographic strip were officially taken out of circulation on 1 August 2007. They were redeemable at commercial banks until 30 September 2007. As of 1 October 2007, onlyBank of Taiwan accepts such notes.[12]
On 6 January 2011, the Central Bank of the Republic of China issued a new 100–dollar legal tender circulating commemorative in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China. The red paper note measures 145 × 70 mm and features a portrait of Dr. Sun Yat-sen on the front and the Chung-Shan Building on the back. The design is no different from the ordinary NT$100 note, except for the Chinese wording on the reverse of the note, which reads "Celebrating 100 years since the founding of the Republic of China (慶祝中華民國建國一百年)".[13]
^The total sum is 200% because each currency trade is counted twice: once for the currency being bought and once for the currency being sold. The percentages above represent the proportion of all trades involving a given currency, regardless of which side of the transaction it is on.
Preceded by: Old Taiwan dollar Reason: inflation Ratio: 1 new dollar = 40,000 old dollars
Currency ofTaiwan 1949 – Note: After the communists took over most ofMainland China, the government of the Republic of China controlled onlyTaiwan and some offshore islands.
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