hard currency

American  

noun

1. money that is backed by gold reserves and is readily convertible into foreign currencies.

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Example Sentences

But during times of hardship, the regime has often been willing to consider the worms as returning butterflies, tapping hard currency from visiting Cuban-Americans without giving up political control.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026

A severe shortage of hard currency has left the government struggling to import the fuel needed to power its electricity plants.

From Barron's • Jan. 16, 2026

“We could not buy spare parts for machinery, for example. They all had to be paid for in hard currency that we mostly couldn’t access,” he said.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 8, 2026

“It would be really helpful to accumulate hard currency, which is not a minor advantage for Argentina,” said Benjamin Gedan, an Argentina expert and director of the Stimson Center’s Latin America program.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025

As is the case with other Eastern European countries, Bulgaria wants Western technology and also would like to attract more Western tourists to increase its hard currency intake.

From Area Handbook for Bulgaria by Baluyut, Violeta D.