Paisa

fractional monetary unit, used to represent one hundredth of a basic monetary unit in some countries From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Paisa (also called pice, pesa, poysha, poisha, and baisa) is a small unit of money. The word means money or wealth. In India, Nepal, and Pakistan, one paisa is 1/100 of a rupee. In Bangladesh, one poysha is 1/100 of a Bangladeshi taka. One baisa in Oman equals 1/1000 of an Omani rial.

Etymology

The word paisa originates from the Sanskrit word padāṁśa. Padāṁśa means quarter part and unit.^[1]^[2] The pesa was used in colonial Kenya.^[3]

History

Chaulukya coins were known as Gadhaiya Paise.^[4] In India and Pakistan the paisa or pice was equal to 3 pies or 1/64 of a rupee until the 1950's. When these countries switched to a decimal system, the paisa became 1/100 of a rupee.

Terminology

In languages like Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, and Nepali, the word paisa means money. In East Africa, the word pesa for money is still used.^[5] An example is Kenya’s M-Pesa, which means "mobile pesa" or "mobile money."

Usage

Poysha = ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a Bangladeshi taka (no longer in circulation)
Paisa = ¹⁄₁₀₀ of an Indian rupee (only 50 paisa coins are de facto valid but no longer in circulation)
Paisa = ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a Nepalese rupee (no longer in circulation)
Baisa = ¹⁄₁₀₀₀ of an Omani rial
Paisa = ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a Pakistani rupee (Officially demonetized from 1 October 2014)^[6]