Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a weekly cabinet session on Wednesday, Abdonnaser Hemmati said the Central Bank has come up with the proposal to slash four zeros from the Iranian currency to “facilitate” the banking processes and lower certain costs.
At present, the Iranian currency rate in comparison with foreign currencies requires modification, and removal of zeros from rial would make it proportionate to the international currencies, he added.
Hemmati also dismissed reports that the Central Bank has claimed that slashing zeros from the currency would have an impact on inflation or economic growth, saying the removal of four zeros will be only a formal and nominal move.
The Central Bank of Iran has offered a bill to the administration to slash four zeros from the Iranian currency.
In August 2018, Hemmati unveiled a new package of regulations on foreign currency trade which lifted a ban on the activity of money exchange markets.
In December 2016, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet had approved a motion put forward by the Central Bank to change the national currency from rial to toman, leading to a ten-fold decrease in banknote denomination.
Toman has been long used as the unofficial unit of money in Iran, while rial and dinar have been the country’s formal currency and non-decimal currency, respectively.
Rial came into being in 1798 as a coin worth 1,250 dinars.