Mauritanian ouguiya. The ouguiya (Arabic: ?????????? ?????????????????? (IPA: [u??ija]); sign: UM; code: MRU), at one time spelled "ougiya", is the currency of Mauritania. Each ouguiya constitutes five khoums (meaning "one fifth"). The current ouguiya was introduced in 2018, replacing the old ouguiya at a rate of 1 new ouguiya = 10 old ouguiya, which in turn replaced the CFA franc at a rate of 1 old ouguiya = 5 francs. The name ouguiya (??????????) is the Hassaniya Arabic pronunciation of uqiyyah ??????????????), meaning "ounce". First Ouguiya (MRO) Coins In 1973, coins of ...