Paisa

The paisa (Nepali: पैसा, Hindi: पैसा, Urdu: پیسہ‎) or poisha (Bengali: পয়সা, in Bangladesh) is a monetary unit in several countries; cognate terms include baisa (Arabic: بيسة‎, in Oman).

In India, Nepal and Pakistan, the paisa currently equals ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a rupee. In Bangladesh, the poisha equals ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a Bangladeshi taka. In Oman, the baisa equals ¹⁄₁₀₀₀ of an Omani rial. The colloquial term for money in Burmese, paiksan (ပိုက်ဆံ), derives from the Hindi term paisa.

The word paisa is from Hindi and Urdu paisā, a quarter-anna coin, ultimately from Sanskrit term padāṁśa meaning 'quarter part', from pada "foot or quarter" and aṁśa "part". Another explanation is that the word derives from Spanish and Portuguese ´pesa´ from which peso and diminutive peseta are derived. The pesa was also in use in colonial Kenya.

Until the 1950s in India and Pakistan (and before 1947 in British India), the paisa was equivalent to 3 pies, ¼ of an anna, or ¹⁄₆₄ of a rupee. After the transition from a non-decimal currency to a decimal currency, the paisa equaled ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a rupee and was known as a naya paisa ("new paisa") for a few years to distinguish it from the old paisa that was ¹⁄₆₄ of a rupee.