South Africa abolishes financial Rand

The financial Rand, used as a parallel currency to the commercial Rand, was abolished on 10 March 1995. The currency was introduced in the 1960’s and only widely used in the 1980’s and 1990’s.  Created by the sale of nonresidents’ assets in the country, it was available only to foreigners and for investment in South Africa. The financial Rand usually stood at a discount to the commercial Rand. After it was abolished, effective on 13 March 1995, the newly unified currency traded well on international currency markets.