Paisa

The paisa (Bengali: পয়সা, Hindi: पैसा, Urdu: پیسہ‎) is a monetary unit in several countries; cognate terms 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 from Hindi & Urdu paisā, a quarter-anna coin, ultimately from Sanskrit term padāṁśa meaning 'quarter part', from pada 'foot or quarter' and aṁśa 'part'.^[1][2]

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 equaled ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a rupee and was known as a naya paisa ("new paisa") for a few years to distinguish it from the old paisa that was ¹⁄₆₄ of a rupee.

Terminology

In Hindi, Afghan Persian, and other languages, the word paisa often means money or cash. Medieval 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.^[3] The word pesa as a reference to money in East African languages such as Swahili dates from that period.^[3] 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)

Gallery

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  100 Omani baisa note

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  100 Omani baisa note (reverse)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paisa (coins).