1) Since 1912, when the National Bank of Nicaragua was founded, the official unit of currency used in Nicaragua has been the Córdoba Oro. It was named after Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, a Spanish Captain and Conquistador (conqueror), generally accepted as the founder of Nicaragua.
2) In August of 1990, the Córdoba was replaced by the modern Córdoba Oro (NIO). In that same year it was “pegged” against the US Dollar which allows for a rate of crawl (depreciation) of the Nicaraguan Córdoba against the US Dollar. At that time the devaluation was based on 5% per year.
On November 1st 2019 that changed to 3% per year and on December 1st 2020 it was further reduced to 2%.
This is a system designed to minimize economic instability caused by sudden adjustments in the exchange rate.
3) The Córdoba is still called a “Peso” by many Nicaraguans, especially the older ones. The Peso was the post-independence currency in circulation in Nicaragua and issued by the Central American Republic. Today, most Ex-Pats shorten the word Córdoba to “Cord” or “Cords”, however; most Nicaraguans use the full word.
4) The current polymer substrate (plastic) longer lasting banknotes were introduced in 2009. All the current notes are 67mm high, however they increase in width by 5mm as they go up in denomination starting with the commemorative 5 Córdoba note at 126 mm in length up to the 156mm wide 500 and 1,000 Córdoba bills, which for some reason (since 2019) are now the same width.
5) Although the Córdoba is the official currency of Nicaragua, the US Dollar is accepted almost everywhere, especially in the larger cities and towns as well as tourist locations. Some financial experts have floated the concept of adopting the US Dollar as the official currency. They were supported by recent estimates from the BCN (Central Bank of Nicaragua) that 70% of all bank deposits and 90% of all loans are made in U.S. Dollars. In addition, the Córdoba Oro represents only 20% of the total liquidity of Nicaragua’s economy. However, despite almost 80% of the economy being effectively dollarized, the Córdoba remains the official currency of Nicaragua.
