New Zealand Dollar (NZD)

About the New Zealand Dollar

The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) is the official currency of New Zealand, issued by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand — Te Pūtea Matua, the country's central bank. Written with the dollar sign $, often NZ$ to distinguish it from other dollar currencies, it divides into 100 cents. Under ISO 4217 the New Zealand dollar is also the currency of the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau and the Pitcairn Islands, and foreign-exchange markets know it by the nickname 'kiwi'.

The New Zealand dollar is a free-floating currency, a regime that has been in place since 4 March 1985. The Reserve Bank does not maintain a target level for the currency: the exchange rate reflects market supply and demand, and intervention is reserved for rare circumstances such as extreme market dysfunction or exceptional misalignment. Monetary policy instead targets consumer-price inflation of 1–3% over the medium term, with a focus on the 2% midpoint, using the Official Cash Rate (OCR) as its main instrument.

New Zealand adopted its dollar on 'Decimal Currency Day', 10 July 1967, replacing the New Zealand pound at a rate of two dollars per pound and ending a system of pounds, shillings and pence in which 240 pennies made a pound. The changeover was prepared by a national publicity campaign fronted by the cartoon character 'Mr Dollar', and the first decimal coins issued were the 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent pieces.

The New Zealand dollar is a significant currency in global markets relative to the size of the country's economy. In the Bank for International Settlements' 2025 Triennial Central Bank Survey it ranked 15th among the world's most traded currencies, with average daily turnover of about US$147 billion in April 2025 — roughly 1.5% of the US$9.6 trillion global total.

Cash consists of five polymer banknotes — $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 — and five coins: 10, 20 and 50 cents, $1 and $2. The Series 7 notes pair notable New Zealanders, among them Sir Edmund Hillary ($5), suffragist Kate Sheppard ($10) and physicist Lord Rutherford of Nelson ($100), with native birds. Coins in circulation carry Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse; 10-cent coins bearing King Charles III are expected around 2027.