新西兰元（货币代码：NZD）是新西兰、库克群岛、纽埃、托克劳及皮特凯恩群岛的法定货币，于1967年起使用。通常简称为$、NZ$或纽元，英语俗称Kiwi。一纽元可分为100新西兰仙。

新西兰元代替原本是新西兰法定货币的新西兰镑。2006年7月31日，新西兰储备银行引入新硬币，取消5仙硬币的流通地位，并以较细小的新硬币取代沿用的1毫，2毫及5毫硬币；而1元及2元则继续使用。

新西兰元，由新西兰中央银行——新西兰储备银行发行。

在1840年之前，新西兰市场流通的货币紧要是英国的硬币，此外还有法国、荷兰等国的硬币。纸币很少，一般是由私营银行发行，用途只限于大额的支付。 1840 年新西兰首任总督根据1816年“英国皇家铸市法”宣布当时在新西兰流通的所有硬币为合法货币，包含各种用黄金、白银和青铜制造的硬币。1870年新西兰实施“皇家铸市法”，使皇家铸币成为官方货币。这一时期纸币的使用增加了。有六家银行各自发行自己的银行券，这些银行券的规格和图案都不一样，互相兑换也很困难。到 1924年，这些银行统一了银行券的规格和颜色，但仍不能互相兑换。1934年新西兰建立了储备银行，行使中央银行职责，开始发行统一的钞票。钞票面额为１镑、5镑和50镑，实行20进位制。1961年新西兰加入国际货币基金组织后规范新西兰镑含金量为2.47130克。1967年发行十进位的新货币新西兰元，含金量1．23565克，与英镑挂钩。1971年美元实行浮动汇率后，新西兰元改盯美元。1973年当美元再次贬值时，新西兰政府宣布放弃新西兰元与美元联系，实行有经营管理的自由浮动，其有效汇率值由该国紧要贸易伙伴的一揽子货币决定。1983年8月，新西兰储备银行废除每日制定美元汇率的做法，允许新西兰元随国际金融市场上的行情变化而波动。1984 年底，取消几乎所有的外汇管制。1985年，新西兰采取伸缩性汇率制度，新西兰储备银行停止报出新西兰元的官方买卖价，但允许中央银行在市场失去秩序时干预市场，同时终止了与一揽子贸易加权货币挂钩。

现流通的纸币有：1、2、5、10、20、50、100元等面额

现流通的铸币有：1、2、5、 10、20、50分及1、2元。

１新西兰元等于100分（Cents）

The New Zealand Pound (1840 - 1967)

The pound was the currency of New Zealand between 1840 and 1967. Like the British pound, it was subdivided into 240 pennies or 20 shillings. 1 shilling = 12 pence. The currency was part of the sterling zone. It was replaced in 1967 by the dollar at a rate of 2 dollars = 1 pound (1 dollar = 10 shillings).

Written and Verbal Conventions

In writing, there were several conventions for representing amounts of money in pounds, shillings and pence:

£2.3s.6d. (two pounds, three shillings and six pence)

1/- (one shilling) (slang: a bob)

11d. (eleven pence)

1½d (a penny halfpenny, three halfpence – note that the "lf" in halfpenny/halfpence was always silent - they were pronounced 'haypenny' and 'haypence' - hence the occasional spellings "ha'penny" and "ha'pence")

2/6 (two shillings and six pence, usually pronounced as "two-and-six" or "half a crown")

2/- (two shillings, or one florin) (two bob)

4s.3d. ("four-and-threepence")

5s. (five shillings) (one crown) (five bob)

14-8-2 (fourteen pounds, eight shillings and tuppence – in columns of figures, such as in a ledger)

£1.10s.- (one pound, ten shillings) (thirty bob)

Halfpennies and farthings (quarter of a penny) were represented by the appropriate symbol after the whole pence.

A convention frequently used in retail pricing was to list prices over one pound all in shillings, rather than in pounds and shillings; for example, £4-18-0 would be written as 98/-.

The New Zealand Pre-decimal Coins

Intitally, British and Australian coins circulated in New Zealand. Distinct coins were introduced in 1933 in denominations of 3 and 6 pence, 1 shilling, 1 florin (2 shillings) and ½ crown (2½ shillings). All were minted in silver until 1947. In 1940, bronze ½ and 1 penny coins were introduced. All denominations were issued until 1965.

Commemorative crowns (5 shillings) were minted in 1935, 1949 and 1953 for the Treaty of Waitangi, a royal visit and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, respectively.

Designs of New Zealand Pre-decimal Coins

The New Zealand Pre-decimal Banknotes

Private trading banks originally issued all banknotes in New Zealand. The first bank notes were issued in New Zealand in 1840 by the Union Bank of Australia. In 1934 the Government of New Zealand passed the Reserve Bank Act which created the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. By virtue of the Act the Reserve Bank was given the sole right to issue New Zealand legal tender banknotes and coins.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand introduced notes in 1934 for 10 shillings, 1, 5 and 50 pounds. In 1940, 10 pound notes were added. Only two series of notes were printed, the first (1934-40) featured the portrait of a Māori king, the second (1940-67) featured Captain James Cook.

The New Zealand Dollar (1967 - present)

In 1967, when the country decimalized its currency, the dollar replaced the New Zealand pound at a rate of 2 dollars = 1 pound. Like other dollar denominated currencies, the dollar sign "$" is used to express prices in New Zealand dollars, sometimes prices are written using NZ$ to distinguish it from other dollar currencies. The New Zealand dollar's ISO 4217 code is NZD. The value of the New Zealand dollar was initially pegged to the US dollar at a rate of US$1.39 = NZ$1. This rate changed on 21 November 1967 to US$1.12 = NZ$1 after the devaluation of the British pound, although the New Zealand dollar was devalued to a greater extent than the British pound sterling.

In 1971, the U.S.A. devalued its dollar relative to gold, leading New Zealand to peg its dollar at a value of US$1.216 with a 4.5% fluctuation range on 23 December (keeping the same gold value). From 9 July 1973 to 4 March 1985 the dollar's value was determined from a trade-weighted basket of currencies. Since 4 March 1985 the dollar's value has been determined by the financial markets, and has been in the range of about 0.39–0.74 United States dollars. The dollar's most recent minimum average daily value was 0.3922 U.S. dollars on 22 November 2000, and its most recent maximum was 0.7442 U.S. dollars on 17 March 2005. Much of this medium-term variation in the exchange rate has been attributed to differences in interest rates.

New Zealand Decimal Coins

In 1967, coins were introduced for 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents. The 1 and 2 cent coins were minted in bronze, with the other denominations in cupro-nickel. The 5, 10 and 20 cents were the same size as the earlier, equivalent 6 pence, 1 shilling and 1 florin. Indeed, until 1970, the 10 cents coin bore the additional legend "One Shilling". The obverse designs of all the coins featured Arnold Machin's portrait of Elizabeth II, with the legend ELIZABETH II NEW ZEALAND [date]. The reverse sides of coins introduced in 1967 did not follow the designs that were originally indended for them. Those modern art and sculpture themed designs were leaked to a newspaper and met a very negative public reaction. The final releases were given more conservative designs in line with public expectations.

In 1986, New Zealand adopted Raphael Maklouf's new portrait of the Queen on all its coins. The 1 and 2 cent coins were last minted for circulation in 1987, with collector coins being made for 1988. The coins were demonetised on 1 May 1990. The lack of 1 and 2 cent coins meant that cash transactions were normally rounded to the nearest 5 cents (10 cents as of 2006), a process known as Swedish rounding. Some larger retailers (notably one supermarket chain), in the interests of public relations, elected to round the total price down (so that $4.99 became $4.95 instead of $5.00). Alternatively, many retailers rounded all their prices to the nearest 5 cents to avoid the issue entirely, so a New Zealand shopper often encountered products for sale at prices like $4.95.

In 1990, aluminium-bronze 1 and 2 dollar coins were introduced to replace existing $1 and $2 notes. In 1999, Ian Rank-Broadley's portrait of the Queen was introduced and the legend rearranged to read NEW ZEALAND ELIZABETH II [date].

On 11 November 2004, the Reserve Bank announced that it proposed to take the 5¢ coin out of circulation and to make the existing 50, 20 and 10 cent coins smaller and use plated steel to make them lighter. After a three-month public submission period that ended on 4 February 2005, the Reserve Bank announced on 31 March it would go ahead with the proposed changes. The changeover period started on 31 July 2006, with the old coins usable up until 31 October 2006. The older 50, 20, 10 and 5 cent pieces are now no longer legal tender, but are still redeemable at the Reserve Bank.

New Zealand Dollar Banknotes

In 1967, notes were introduced by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 100 dollars. 50 dollar notes were added in 1983, whilst 1 and 2 dollar notes were discontinued in 1991. The first two series of notes (1967-81 and 1981-92) differed only in the portait of the Queen featured on the obverse. The reverses all depicted native birds and plants and remained unchanged through both series.

In 1992 A completely redesigned new series of banknotes was introduced by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and except for the 20 dollars, the portrait of the Queen was dropped from all notes.

New Zealand banknotes, since 1999, have been printed on plastic polymer instead of conventional rag paper used for banknote production. There was a slight controversy, but this move was mostly met with curiosity by the public. Such polymer notes have many advantages, notably a photocopy can effortlessly be distinguished from the real thing by touch, and many people have been thankful that the notes go through a washing machine with no ill effects. The notes are also difficult to tear without the aid of a cutting tool, but will tear more easily than the paper notes if a tear is started. Initial versions of the polymer $5 note had issues with the ink wearing and aging prematurely, but this was rectified in later production runs. The Reserve Bank states that polymer banknotes last at least four times as long as the old conventional paper banknotes. The polymer banknotes also have vastly improved security features and are very difficult to counterfeit.

Reserve Bank of New Zealand - Pre-decimal Currency (1934 - 1967)

1 New Zealand Pound = 20 Shillings = 240 Pence

Reserve Bank of New Zealand - Decimal Currency (1967 - Present)

2 New Zealand Dollars = 1 New Zealand Pound

1 New Zealand Dollar = 100 Cents