Belarusian monetary unit. Monetary unit of Belarus
The exchange rate of the Russian ruble to the Belarusian ruble (BYN) is determined by the results of exchange trading and is regularly published on the official portal of the Central Bank. The ratio of these currencies is the basis on which commercial banks are guided to set their own fair exchange prices. That is, it is the Bank of Russia that determines how much the currency costs - Belarusian rubles, in relation to the Russian ruble. Official data is published daily, except for weekends - then the price of the previous banking day is valid. The site has a graphical display of the time dynamics for the year, according to which the exchange rate of the dollar against the ruble of Belarus changes. You can choose the most favorable purchase or sale price by comparing the information of credit institutions given in the table. You can make an exchange of Belarusian rubles to another world currency at the best value - in the selected bank from the list. The Belarusian ruble is the official monetary unit of the Republic of Belarus. 1 ruble of Belarus consists of 100 kopecks. To date, such denominations of banknotes are in circulation as: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 BYN, as well as mannets in 1 and 2, BYN and 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 kopecks. When back in 1990 Belarus refused to use Soviet rubles, and for a long time politicians discussed what name to give the new Belarusian currency. This issue was considered even at the Presidium of the Supreme Council, however, only 1 person supported the new name “Thaler”. In 1992, Belarus experienced a series of crises. The Soviet financial system collapsed like a house of cards, and coupons were introduced in Belarus. In the future, cut-off coupons began to be called "settlement tickets of the National Bank." The cost of this 1 ticket was only 10 Soviet rubles. The situation seemed critical until July 1992. It was at that moment that the first transactions in Belarusian rubles in non-cash form began to take place. A year later, all Soviet rubles were withdrawn from the country's turnover, and the ruble became the only official and legal tender in Belarus. This currency has survived a series of denominations. Initially, in 1992, and until August 1994, 1 ruble of Belarus was equal to 10 Soviet rubles. August 20, 1994 was remembered as a period of denomination of prices that were previously set in Soviet rubles. In order to add stability to the currency in early 2000, it was decided to hold another denomination, this time for a thousand times. Therefore, the new currency did not have exchange units. And, finally, in July 2017, another denomination of the Belarusian ruble took place, now already 10,000 times, a penny was also introduced. On a banknote of 1 Belarusian ruble a hare was depicted. This was the reason that in the future all the money in Belarus was conditionally called "bunnies." The currency of Belarus has survived more than one crisis. So, in 2009, in the first quarter, the regulator lowered the national currency rate by 20%. The value of the dollar after this amounted to 2650 Belarusian rubles, and the euro rose slightly more than 3700 rubles. A significant increase in wages in 2011, associated with the upcoming presidential elections in Belarus, as well as a sharp drop in the competitiveness of Belarusian products for export, were the causes of a new round of economic crisis. As a result, the National Bank was supposed to weaken the Belarusian ruble, which collapsed almost twice. In 2012, they gave 8160 rubles for the dollar, and 1070 rubles for the euro. Not every person knows that not a single banknote of Belarusian rubles was produced in Belarus itself. After all, all banknotes are made in the Russian Federation. At the same time, faking Belarusian rubles is quite difficult, because the level of protection of banknotes is pleasantly surprising. The main component that allows you to quickly distinguish genuine Belarusian rubles from fake is a watermark. It is located on the obverse of the banknote; it is a local halftone pattern in a fragment of the main image. Another important security feature is a special security thread. It is an element of the window type, which in the form of a rectangle extends beyond the obverse. If we consider a banknote with a protective thread in the light, it will seem to us as one single dark stripe having light text with inverted letters. The combining image is another important element by which the owner of Belarusian rubles can distinguish the original from a fake. A fragment of the denomination on the reverse is combined with a similar fragment on the obverse, together they form a figure denoting the face value of the banknote. The consideration of the protection elements of the Belarusian ruble would be incomplete without such an important component as Mask. In this component two images were combined together, moreover, made by various printing methods. The upper part was created using metallography, the lower part using offset. Below you can see how the face value of the banknote is displayed, and at the top - a certain geometric pattern. Also, do not forget about such protection elements of the Belarusian ruble as a latent image, a grid that prevents possible copying, a serial number and microtext.
How is the Belarusian ruble gaining ground? AiF asked to answer this question candidate of Economic Sciences Elena SEMAK.
Semak Elena Adolfovna - Associate Professor, Department of International Economic Relations, Faculty of International Relations, Belarusian State University.The exchange rate (i.e., the ratio of the price of the national currency to the foreign one, for example, the Belarusian ruble to the dollar) is affected by the supply and demand for foreign currency. Dollars and euros are needed for enterprises that purchase goods for import, as well as for the public - for tourist trips abroad or for the purpose of accumulation. At the beginning of 2017, the volume of currency acquired by these two categories decreased.
According to the National Bank, in January of this year, business entities - residents of the Republic of Belarus, bought more currencies than they sold, the difference was 13.1 million USD. This is much less than in January last year, when this excess amounted to 198.2 million USD.
At the same time, our exporters increased their revenue. Compared with January 2016, the volume of sales of foreign currency by Belarusian enterprises in the first month of 2017 increased by USD 262.7 million. According to the expert, this indicates a possible improvement in the state of Belarusian foreign trade.
Thus, the first factor that influenced the strengthening of the Belarusian ruble was an increase in supply and a decrease in demand for foreign currencies from the business side. It is also necessary to add: Belarusian enterprises prefer to buy currency from banks (on the over-the-counter market). On the Belarusian Currency and Stock Exchange (BCSE), they acquired a total of USD 14.3 million, while off-exchange - USD 1,278.1 million. Namely, exchange rates are set on the exchange.
The second factor, according to the expert, was the high level of population spending during the holidays (dollars were exchanged for rubles, for which goods were then bought for a feast), the third factor was the low level of income, which forces the population to spend foreign currency savings.
Another aspect is political: to a sharp weakening of the European currency at the BCSE, to a large extent, the depreciation of the euro against the US dollar in the Forex market led. This is due to fears that the president of France may be taken by the leader of the National Front, Marine Le Pen, who, if won, could withdraw the country from the euro zone and initiate the return of the franc as the national currency of France.
According to Elena Semak, one should not forget that the Russian ruble is simultaneously strengthening.
The Belarusian ruble exchange rate is determined by the sum (basket) of 3 currencies: euro, dollar, Russian ruble. And the share of the latter in the basket is 50%. Most of our foreign trade is connected with Russia, and the Belarusian one is weakening against the Russian ruble.
What is the forecast?
Forecasting further changes in the exchange rate is a very complicated matter. At the end of 2016, the majority of economists expected, at best, a gradual depreciation of the Belarusian ruble at the same rate as inflation. A further forecast for the development of the Belarusian ruble exchange rate depends on the success of our foreign trade, the growth or decline in household incomes and the fluctuation of foreign exchange rates on world markets.
Summary
The strengthening of the Belarusian ruble was most affected by the following main factors:
- Increase foreign currency supply in Belarus (due to various reasons: the success of Belarusian exporters, the low income level of the population (people have to spend foreign exchange savings), etc.). When supply is higher than demand, the value of the goods ( dollars and euros are also a kind of “commodity”. - Prim.) falls.
- Decline demand for dollars and euros from the business;
- Seasonal factor (the population spends more currency during the New Year holidays).
Citizens of Belarus are getting used to new banknotes and are weaned to be "millionaires"
Photo: Victor Drachev / TASS
On July 1, 2016, a denomination started in Belarus. The corresponding decree was signed by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko on November 5, 2015. About how the Belarusian ruble began a new life without four zeros, in a special report by Banki.ru from Minsk.
The denomination in Belarus is quite calm. Apparently, the preparation process is making itself felt, which officially began in the fall of 2015. Then the journalists were shown new money, they were even allowed to touch and photograph them. And the banks were given recommendations for the denomination.
Just a few weeks after the announcement of the denomination, the media reported that some “enterprising citizens” went to lonely pensioners to exchange old money for “new” ones, but law enforcement authorities quickly explained to the population how to behave in this situation.
Perhaps the criminal aspect was the only negative point in the process of “cutting off zeros” from the national currency in Belarus. On the night of June 30 to July 1, the Belarusian ruble lost four zeros and changed the encoding. Now its code is BYN, not BYR.
In preparation for the denomination, June was the most stressful period: banks were finalizing the software, reconfiguring the equipment and training cashiers.
- stock up on cash for the first two to three days;
- pay in advance for communication services and the Internet, make payments on loans, make tax and other payments (the peak of utility payments in Belarus falls on the 20th-25th of the month, after which the bases are blocked).
The National Bank and Belarusian banks also clarified that on the night of the denomination:
- all cards issued by Belarusian banks (in all currencies) will stop working on the territory of all countries;
- operations in the RB channels will be unavailable, ATMs, information kiosks and terminal equipment will “freeze”.
Cash at ATMs quickly came to an end, but in general, banks quite successfully managed to issue a large amount of cash. True, there were some oddities — some took all their savings from the cards. So, just in case.
On the night of the denomination, at 23:00 on June 30, banking life in Belarus stopped. ATMs, information kiosks, remote banking systems stopped working. At this moment, hundreds of specialists in Belarusian banks reconfigured electronics.
By 10 a.m. on July 1, most of the ATMs of Belarusian banks were already fully operational. And they gave customers new paper money. With coins, everything is much more complicated, ATMs are simply not configured to work with them. A whole generation has grown up in Belarus that does not know what coins are, the last metal money has disappeared from circulation with the collapse of the USSR. By the way, both new Belarusian banknotes and new Belarusian coins in design are very similar to the euro.
Certain issues have arisen with remote banking systems. Some banks took time out to reconfigure.
Officially, the National Bank of Belarus allowed credit organizations not to work with clients on the day of denomination. However, already in the early hours of July 1, round-the-clock exchange offices (in particular, at railway stations) began to issue new money. Collector cars are now transporting new banknotes and coins to trade and service organizations across the country.
The excitement is observed only by young people and journalists who are hunting for new banknotes. As cashiers in regular and online stores admit, so far almost all are settled with old money. No unforeseen excesses occurred. It can be stated that preparations for the denomination took place at a fairly high level and Belarus is slowly moving to new means of payment.
By the way, new banknotes - a sample back in 2009 (all these years they were stored in the depository of the National Bank of Belarus). These banknotes bear the signature of Pyotr Prokopovich, who left the post of head of the Belarusian regulator more than five years ago, in the spring of 2011. The psychological aspect of the denomination is also important - the inhabitants of Belarus are accustomed to the fact that they are "millionaires." The average salary in the country was 6-7 million rubles (about 20 thousand Russian rubles). Now with the status of "millionaires" will have to part. 1 million old rubles is 100 new. For 1 dollar they ask for 2 new Belarusian rubles, for 1 Russian ruble they give 3 new pennies. But so far no one is complaining about it.
By the end of the year, price tags in Belarusian stores will be in both old and new money.
And the denomination will continue. Old rubles will officially go on par with the new ones until December 31, 2016.
The Russian ruble is declining against all currencies, including against the Belarusian ruble, ”says Alpari senior analyst Vadim Iosub.
According to him, the main reason for the fall of the Russian currency is American sanctions. The expert recalls that in April the United States imposed sanctions against 24 major Russian businessmen and officials. Since yesterday, sanctions have been imposed due to the poisoning of the Skripals.
These purely Russian affairs were superimposed on the currency crisis in almost all developing countries: there was a serious drop in the Turkish lira and the Brazilian real, fell back in Mexico, in South Africa, the economist says.
The expert emphasizes that almost all the currencies of the CIS countries are decreasing against the dollar. However, the Belarusian ruble looks even better than the currencies of other developing countries where there are foreign investors.
But not because we have such a strong ruble or a strong economy. There are simply no foreign investors in the public debt market nominated in Belarusian rubles. They didn’t come here, so they don’t leave here, ”the analyst notes.
Apparently, the current US sanctions against Russia are not the last. On August 21, Congress held hearings on new anti-Russian sanctions related to Crimea, the Donbass, as well as interference with elections in the United States.
For the future, everything is not very simple. The consequences of the tax maneuver can be very painful for the Belarusian economy. The issue of duty-free supplies of petroleum products to Belarus has become more acute, ”the economist says.
Also, according to him, it is not yet clear whether official Minsk will receive a Russian state loan of $ 1 billion.
According to the expert, if the Belarusian government resolves oil issues with Russia and agrees on a loan, the weakening Russian ruble will fall to the Belarusian one.
If we do not solve our problems, then the Belarusian and Russian rubles will fall simultaneously. And the dollar will grow stronger against the Belarusian ruble, ”predicts Vadim Iosub.
He believes that it is not worth making changes in the currency basket of Belarus, where today 50% is the Russian ruble, 30% is the dollar and 20% is the euro.
While almost 50% of Belarusian exports go to Russia, it is quite reasonable that the Russian ruble also occupies half in the basket. If the geographic and currency structure of our exports changes dramatically, then only will there be an occasion to talk about a change in the currency basket, ”says Alpari, a senior analyst.
The economist recalls: the Belarusian leadership says a lot about the need to diversify the geography of exports, but in fact nothing changes: Russia remains the main market.
This addiction is harmful and painful. A blow to the Russian economy automatically means a decrease in demand for Belarusian products, ”emphasizes Vadim Iosub.
We’ll tell you what currency is currently used in Belarus and why it is called “bunnies”. We will dwell separately on exchangers and the current rate.
In Belarus, their rubles are in use. They are similar to Russian only in name, and even locals often call them “bunnies”. Where did such a diminutive name come from, and what is remarkable for this currency? Let's start from afar.
Since 1 2016, the ISO code of the Belarusian ruble is BYN (before that it was BYR). To determine the exact exchange rate to the Russian ruble, euro or dollar, use a special calculator.
A brief background for the most meticulous
The Belarusian currency is relatively young. Until 1991, only Soviet rubles were used in the country, but with the collapse of the USSR, the question arose of the need to create their own banknotes. The fact is that, in comparison with other countries of the Soviet Union, Belarus had the lowest prices for food products, and in order to prevent their mass export by foreigners, the government introduced special coupons for goods.
At first, coupons were used along with Soviet rubles, and at the end of 1992 the country switched to settlement tickets, the rate of which was 10 Soviet rubles. The new national currency itself at that time lay on electronic accounts and was waiting in the wings.
Some public figures at first suggested calling the payment medium “thaler” - in honor of an old German coin. Sketches of banknotes and coins ("pennies") were even developed. However, in the end, only the poet Nil Gilevich supported this name, while the majority spoke in favor of the more familiar name - “Belarusian ruble” or “ruble”.
Since mid-1993, Soviet money was gradually withdrawn from circulation, and in 1994 the local ruble acquired the status of the only legal means to make payments in the territory of an independent state.
Where did those “bunnies” come from
In order to get as far away from the political topic as possible, it was decided to use neutral images for the design of notes. So, various animals appeared on the banknotes: bison, bear, squirrel, lynx, elk, wolves, beavers and the notorious hare, thanks to which people began to call new money “bunnies” (hare \u003d 1 ruble).
Animals decorated banknotes of up to 100 rubles. But on larger banknotes there are images of architectural monuments.
There are no animals on the banknotes of the new sample (2011 modification); instead, the images on the banknotes are devoted to different regions of the country. Nevertheless, Belarusians still habitually call local money “bunnies”.
Denominations and the modern course
The currency of Belarus has gone through difficult times. If in 1992-1994. one local ruble could be purchased for 10 Soviet rubles, then in subsequent years its rate began to fall steadily under the influence of inflation.
In 1994, the Bank of Belarus held the first denomination of its currency 10 times. After 6 years, another denomination was required - this time 1000 times! And on July 1, 2016, a denomination of 10,000 times took place, and for the first time coins with a face value of 1 kopek to 2 rubles appeared. Previously, only commemorative coins were issued in the country.
Where is it better to exchange Russian rubles for local
Since the Belarusian ruble is a non-convertible currency, it is impossible to buy it outside the republic. But inside the country, any currency can be freely exchanged for national. This can be done at exchange offices located at airports, at bus stations, in hotels and in large shopping centers.
An exchange procedure may require a passport. The receipts and checks received during the exchange should be retained: they will be required when traveling outside the country.