The currency in Oman is the Omani Rial (in Arabic: ريال). The name of the Rial omani, abbreviated to the ISO code OMR, comes from the Spanish word Rey, which means king.
Worldwide, the OMR is one of the currencies with the highest monetary value. It is in third place after the Kuwaiti Dinar and the Bahraini Dinar. However, it is to be replaced by a new currency soon, as the Arab countries are planning a currency union.
History of the currency of Oman
The rial was also used as a means of payment in Spain for centuries. Since 1973 this currency has replaced the Rial Saidi in Oman, which corresponded to the value of the British pound. Previously, you also paid with Indian rupees and Maria Theresa Thaler.
Due to its peg to the dollar, the currency is relatively stable, even if the exchange rate has been adjusted several times in recent years. Since 1986 you get $ 2,6008 for a rial.
There is hardly any inflation in Oman; the currency tends to be more prone to deflation. In addition to the sharp rise in oil prices, the stability of the currency has contributed to the positive economic development of Oman.
The Omani real is issued by the Omani Central Bank. There is also a sub-unit of the rial, the baisa. A thousand baisas are equal to one rial. For one euro you get around 0.51 rials and vice versa 1.96 euros for a real. The exchange rate is of course dependent on the exchange rate between the euro and the dollar.
Sultan Qaboos, who has been the head of state of Oman since 1970, is depicted on most real bills. Even 100 Baisa, which have a value of around 20 cents, are already available as banknotes. Coins are only available for 50, 25, 10 and 5 Baisa.
The next higher value after 100 Baisa is half a real and the largest existing note is a 50 Rial note.
Exchange into Omani currency
If you want to travel in Oman, you should always have rials with you, as euros or dollars are rarely accepted.
All Omani banks usually exchange dollars for Omani rials without commission.