Currency of Samoa

The currency of the Independent State of Samoa is known as “Tala”. One tala contains a hundred sene. The ISO (International Standardization Organization) code for Tala is Wst. In the Samoan language, “Tala” means dollars and “sene” means cent. The symbol representing tala is WS$. The letters “W” and “S” stand for Western Samoa which is the country’s former name. Banknotes available in Samoa are for 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Tala.

The Independent State of Samoa came into existence in 1962 after gaining independence from New Zealand. Till then, the currency used in this region was the New Zealand Pound. The use of pound was continued till 1967 after which, Tala was introduced for the first time. New coins and banknotes were then issued by the “Bank of Western Samoa”, which was replaced by the Central bank of Samoa years later in 1985.

In 1991, on the 29th of September, a polymer banknote was issued for the first time in Samoa in order to mark the 50th anniversary of the head of state, Malietoa Tanumafili. It was a note for 2 Tala. The issuance of this banknote was, however, discontinued in 2011 when a coin was introduced for 2 Tala.