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20 Dollars Foreign Exchange Certificate
| Issuer | Central Bank of Myanmar |
|---|---|
| Year | 1993 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Dollar |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Orange and red tones on a guilloché underprint. A large oval blank vignette occupies the left field, framed by intricate latticework. To the right, an intaglio vignette of a classical Burmese celestial figure (nat) stands on a lotus pedestal beside decorative column motifs. The denomination "20" appears in large numerals at centre-right. |
|---|---|
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| Protection type | Watermark |
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| Comments |
Myanmar's Foreign Exchange Certificates were introduced in 1993 as a mechanism to capture hard currency from tourists and business travelers, who were legally required to exchange a minimum amount of foreign currency into FECs upon entry. The certificates traded at par with the US dollar in official channels but rarely held that value in practice — on the parallel market they consistently traded at a discount, undermining the entire premise of the scheme.
The FEC system was abolished in 2003, a decade after introduction, having failed to stabilize the kyat or meaningfully increase foreign exchange reserves. Notes from the 1993 issue survived in reasonable numbers, largely because the parallel market meant many were hoarded rather than spent.