The ariary was first used in 1961. It was equal to 5 Malagasy francs. Coins and banknotes were printed in both francs and ariary. The sub-unit of the ariary, the "iraimbilanja", was worth ⅕ of an ariary. Because of this, it was equal to one franc. The ariary replaced the franc as the official currency of Madagascar on January 1, 2005.