Currency

Brazil’s currency is called the "Real" – but that is not to suggest that everything is "Real" expensive. It is actually pronounced with a silent "R" and an "H" sound. The plural is known as Reais and you will see the currency referenced with the symbol R$. The currency exchange symbol is shown as (BRL). The currency denominations are very similar to the U.S. Dollar ($ - USD) and Euro (€ - EUR). Although, the note denominations are similar, it is important to recognize that Brazilians use a comma (,) where Americans and Europeans would use a period (.) – As an example: An amount in U.S. Dollars (USD) of $ 5,422.50 would appear as R$ 5.422,50 in Rio.

Paper Notes	Coins
Real / Reais	Centavo / Centavos
R$ 1,00 Real *	1 Centavo *
R$ 2,00 Reais	5 Centavos
R$ 5,00 Reais	10 Centavos
R$ 10,00 Reais	25 Centavos
R$ 20,00 Reais	50 Centavos
R$ 50,00 Reais	R$ 1,00 Real Coin
R$ 100,00 Reais
* no longer produced

Brazil has begun to introduce new versions of the paper currency with some subtle changes. The biggest change that one would easily recognize is the size of the bill. The "old" bills were all the same size. The new bills have different sizes depending on the denomination. The new bills will be introduced over time - currently, one can find the R$ 10,00; R$ 20,00; R$ 50,00 and R$ 100,00 bills in circulation.

To commemorate the 500^th anniversary of the Portuguese arriving in Brazil, the central bank also produced another version of the R$ 10,00 bank note. It includes the image of Pedro Álvares Cabral, the Portuguese sea captain credited with the discovery of Brazil. Don’t worry, its real (no pun intended).

Check out the currency conversion tool. You can identify the current exchange rate for the Brazilian Real vs. your "home" currency.