Exchange rates display at a Bureau de change listing currency names in English and their ISO 4217 codes. This list displays the United Kingdom as 'England', one of its constituent countries, in addition to displaying the Republic of China as 'Taiwan' and South Korea as 'Korea'.

An airline ticket showing the price in the ISO 4217 code "EUR" (bottom left) and not the currency sign €

ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes (alpha and numeric), and references to minor units in three tables:

• Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list^[1]
• Table A.2 – Current funds codes^[2]
• Table A.3 – List of codes for historic denominations of currencies & funds ^[3]

The tables, history and ongoing discussion is maintained by SIX Interbank Clearing.^[4]

The ISO 4217 code list is used in banking and business globally. In many countries the ISO codes for the more common currencies are so well known publicly that exchange rates published in newspapers or posted in banks use only these to delineate the different currencies, instead of translated currency names or ambiguous currency symbols. ISO 4217 codes are used on airline tickets and international train tickets to remove any ambiguity about the price.

Code formation[link]

The first two letters of the code are the two letters of ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes (which are also used as the basis for national top-level domains on the Internet) and the third is usually the initial of the currency itself. So Japan's currency code is JPY—JP for Japan and Y for yen. This eliminates the problem caused by the names dollar, franc and pound being used in dozens of different countries, each having significantly differing values. Also, if a currency is revalued, the currency code's last letter is changed to distinguish it from the old currency. In some cases, the third letter is the initial for "new" in that country's language, to distinguish it from an older currency that was revalued; the code sometimes outlasts the usage of the term "new" itself (for example, the code for the Mexican peso is MXN). Other changes can be seen, however; the Russian ruble, for example, changed from RUR to RUB, where the B comes from the third letter in the word "ruble".

There is also a three-digit code number assigned to each currency, in the same manner as there is also a three-digit code number assigned to each country as part of ISO 3166. This numeric code is usually the same as the ISO 3166-1 numeric code. For example, USD (United States dollar) has code 840 which is also the numeric code for the US (United States).

The standard also defines the relationship between the major currency unit and any minor currency unit. Usually, the minor currency unit has a value that is 1/100 of the major unit, but 1/1000 is also used. Some currencies do not have any minor currency unit at all. In others, the major currency unit has so little value that the minor unit is no longer generally used (e.g. the Japanese sen, 1/100th of a yen). This is indicated in the standard by the currency exponent. For example, USD has exponent 2, while JPY has exponent 0. Mauritania does not use a decimal division of units, setting 1 ouguiya (UM) = 5 khoums, and Madagascar has 1 ariary = 5 iraimbilanja.

ISO 4217 includes codes not only for currencies, but also for precious metals (gold, silver, palladium and platinum; by definition expressed per one troy ounce, as compared to "1 USD") and certain other entities used in international finance, e.g. special drawing rights. There are also special codes allocated for testing purposes (XTS), and to indicate no currency transactions (XXX). These codes all begin with the letter "X". The precious metals use "X" plus the metal's chemical symbol; silver, for example, is XAG. ISO 3166 never assigns country codes beginning with "X", these codes being assigned for privately customized use only (reserved, never for official codes)—for instance, the ISO 3166-based NATO country codes (STANAG 1059, 9th edition) use "X" codes for imaginary exercise countries ranging from XXB for "Brownland" to XXR for "Redland", as well as for major commands such as XXE for SHAPE or XXS for SACLANT. Consequently, ISO 4217 can use "X" codes for non-country-specific currencies without risk of clashing with future country codes.

Supranational currencies, such as the East Caribbean dollar, the CFP franc, the CFA franc BEAC and the CFA franc BCEAO are normally also represented by codes beginning with an "X". The euro is represented by the code EUR (EU is included in the ISO 3166-1 reserved codes list to represent the European Union). The predecessor to the euro, the European Currency Unit (ECU), had the code XEU.

Position of ISO 4217 code in amounts[link]

According to the European Union's Publication Office,^[5] in English, Irish, Latvian and Maltese texts, the ISO 4217 code is followed by a fixed space and the amount:

a sum of EUR 30

In Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish and Swedish the order is reversed; the amount is followed by a fixed space and the ISO 4217 code:

une somme de 30 EUR

History[link]

In 1973, the ISO Technical Committee 68 decided to develop codes for the representation of currencies and funds for use in any application of trade, commerce or banking. At the 17th session (February 1978) of the related UN/ECE Group of Experts agreed that the three-letter alphabetic codes for International Standard ISO 4217, "Codes for the representation of currencies and funds", would be suitable for use in international trade.

Over time, new currencies are created and old currencies are discontinued. Frequently, these changes are due to new governments (through war or a new constitution), treaties between countries standardizing on a currency, or revaluation of the currency due to excessive inflation. As a result, the list of codes must be updated from time to time. The ISO 4217 maintenance agency (MA), SIX Interbank Clearing, is responsible for maintaining the list of codes.

Active codes[link]

The following is a list of active codes of official ISO 4217 currency names.

Code	Num	E[6]	Currency	Locations using this currency
AED	784	2	United Arab Emirates dirham	United Arab Emirates
AFN	971	2	Afghan afghani	Afghanistan
ALL	008	2	Albanian lek	Albania
AMD	051	2	Armenian dram	Armenia
ANG	532	2	Netherlands Antillean guilder	Curaçao,  Sint Maarten
AOA	973	2	Angolan kwanza	Angola
ARS	032	2	Argentine peso	Argentina
AUD	036	2	Australian dollar	Australia, Australian Antarctic Territory,  Christmas Island,  Cocos (Keeling) Islands,  Heard and McDonald Islands,  Kiribati,  Nauru,  Norfolk Island,  Tuvalu
AWG	533	2	Aruban florin	Aruba
AZN	944	2	Azerbaijani manat	Azerbaijan
BAM	977	2	Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark	Bosnia and Herzegovina
BBD	052	2	Barbados dollar	Barbados
BDT	050	2	Bangladeshi taka	Bangladesh
BGN	975	2	Bulgarian lev	Bulgaria
BHD	048	3	Bahraini dinar	Bahrain
BIF	108	0	Burundian franc	Burundi
BMD	060	2	Bermudian dollar (customarily known as Bermuda dollar)	Bermuda
BND	096	2	Brunei dollar	Brunei,  Singapore
BOB	068	2	Boliviano	Bolivia
BOV	984	2	Bolivian Mvdol (funds code)	Bolivia
BRL	986	2	Brazilian real	Brazil
BSD	044	2	Bahamian dollar	Bahamas
BTN	064	2	Bhutanese ngultrum	Bhutan
BWP	072	2	Botswana pula	Botswana
BYR	974	0	Belarusian ruble	Belarus
BZD	084	2	Belize dollar	Belize
CAD	124	2	Canadian dollar	Canada
CDF	976	2	Congolese franc	Democratic Republic of Congo
CHE	947	2	WIR Euro (complementary currency)	Switzerland
CHF	756	2	Swiss franc	Switzerland,  Liechtenstein
CHW	948	2	WIR Franc (complementary currency)	Switzerland
CLF	990	0	Unidad de Fomento (funds code)	Chile
CLP	152	0	Chilean peso	Chile
CNY	156	2	Chinese yuan	China
COP	170	2	Colombian peso	Colombia
COU	970	2	Unidad de Valor Real	Colombia
CRC	188	2	Costa Rican colon	Costa Rica
CUC	931	2	Cuban convertible peso	Cuba
CUP	192	2	Cuban peso	Cuba
CVE	132	0	Cape Verde escudo	Cape Verde
CZK	203	2	Czech koruna	Czech Republic
DJF	262	0	Djiboutian franc	Djibouti
DKK	208	2	Danish krone	Denmark,  Faroe Islands,  Greenland
DOP	214	2	Dominican peso	Dominican Republic
DZD	012	2	Algerian dinar	Algeria
EGP	818	2	Egyptian pound	Egypt
ERN	232	2	Eritrean nakfa	Eritrea
ETB	230	2	Ethiopian birr	Ethiopia
EUR	978	2	Euro	27  European Union countries,  Andorra,  Kosovo,  Monaco,  Montenegro,  San Marino,  Vatican City; see eurozone
FJD	242	2	Fiji dollar	Fiji
FKP	238	2	Falkland Islands pound	Falkland Islands
GBP	826	2	Pound sterling	United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies (the  Isle of Man and the Channel Islands), certain British Overseas Territories ( South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands,  British Antarctic Territory and  British Indian Ocean Territory)
GEL	981	2	Georgian lari	Georgia (country)
GHS	936	2	Ghanaian cedi	Ghana
GIP	292	2	Gibraltar pound	Gibraltar
GMD	270	2	Gambian dalasi	Gambia
GNF	324	0	Guinean franc	Guinea
GTQ	320	2	Guatemalan quetzal	Guatemala
GYD	328	2	Guyanese dollar	Guyana
HKD	344	2	Hong Kong dollar	Hong Kong,  Macao
HNL	340	2	Honduran lempira	Honduras
HRK	191	2	Croatian kuna	Croatia
HTG	332	2	Haitian gourde	Haiti
HUF	348	2	Hungarian forint	Hungary
IDR	360	0	Indonesian rupiah	Indonesia
ILS	376	2	Israeli new sheqel	Israel,  Palestinian territories[7]
INR	356	2	Indian rupee	India
IQD	368	3	Iraqi dinar	Iraq
IRR	364	0	Iranian rial	Iran
ISK	352	0	Icelandic króna	Iceland
JMD	388	2	Jamaican dollar	Jamaica
JOD	400	3	Jordanian dinar	Jordan
JPY	392	0	Japanese yen	Japan
KES	404	2	Kenyan shilling	Kenya
KGS	417	2	Kyrgyzstani som	Kyrgyzstan
KHR	116	2	Cambodian riel	Cambodia
KMF	174	0	Comoro franc	Comoros
KPW	408	0	North Korean won	North Korea
KRW	410	0	South Korean won	South Korea
KWD	414	3	Kuwaiti dinar	Kuwait
KYD	136	2	Cayman Islands dollar	Cayman Islands
KZT	398	2	Kazakhstani tenge	Kazakhstan
LAK	418	0	Lao kip	Laos
LBP	422	0	Lebanese pound	Lebanon
LKR	144	2	Sri Lankan rupee	Sri Lanka
LRD	430	2	Liberian dollar	Liberia
LSL	426	2	Lesotho loti	Lesotho
LTL	440	2	Lithuanian litas	Lithuania
LVL	428	2	Latvian lats	Latvia
LYD	434	3	Libyan dinar	Libya
MAD	504	2	Moroccan dirham	Morocco
MDL	498	2	Moldovan leu	Moldova (except  Transnistria)
MGA	969	0.7[8]	Malagasy ariary	Madagascar
MKD	807	2	Macedonian denar	Republic of Macedonia
MMK	104	0	Myanma kyat	Myanmar
MNT	496	2	Mongolian tugrik	Mongolia
MOP	446	2	Macanese pataca	Macao
MRO	478	0.7[8]	Mauritanian ouguiya	Mauritania
MUR	480	2	Mauritian rupee	Mauritius
MVR	462	2	Maldivian rufiyaa	Maldives
MWK	454	2	Malawian kwacha	Malawi
MXN	484	2	Mexican peso	Mexico
MXV	979	2	Mexican Unidad de Inversion (UDI) (funds code)	Mexico
MYR	458	2	Malaysian ringgit	Malaysia
MZN	943	2	Mozambican metical	Mozambique
NAD	516	2	Namibian dollar	Namibia
NGN	566	2	Nigerian naira	Nigeria
NIO	558	2	Nicaraguan córdoba	Nicaragua
NOK	578	2	Norwegian krone	Norway,  Svalbard,  Jan Mayen,  Bouvet Island, Queen Maud Land, Peter I Island
NPR	524	2	Nepalese rupee	Nepal
NZD	554	2	New Zealand dollar	Cook Islands,  New Zealand,  Niue,  Pitcairn,  Tokelau, Ross Dependency
OMR	512	3	Omani rial	Oman
PAB	590	2	Panamanian balboa	Panama
PEN	604	2	Peruvian nuevo sol	Peru
PGK	598	2	Papua New Guinean kina	Papua New Guinea
PHP	608	2	Philippine peso	Philippines
PKR	586	2	Pakistani rupee	Pakistan
PLN	985	2	Polish złoty	Poland
PYG	600	0	Paraguayan guaraní	Paraguay
QAR	634	2	Qatari riyal	Qatar
RON	946	2	Romanian new leu	Romania
RSD	941	2	Serbian dinar	Serbia
RUB	643	2	Russian rouble	Russia,  Abkhazia,  South Ossetia
RWF	646	0	Rwandan franc	Rwanda
SAR	682	2	Saudi riyal	Saudi Arabia
SBD	090	2	Solomon Islands dollar	Solomon Islands
SCR	690	2	Seychelles rupee	22x20px Seychelles
SDG	938	2	Sudanese pound	Sudan
SEK	752	2	Swedish krona/kronor	Sweden
SGD	702	2	Singapore dollar	Singapore,  Brunei
SHP	654	2	Saint Helena pound	Saint Helena
SLL	694	0	Sierra Leonean leone	Sierra Leone
SOS	706	2	Somali shilling	Somalia (except  Somaliland)
SRD	968	2	Surinamese dollar	Suriname
SSP	728	2	South Sudanese pound	South Sudan
STD	678	0	São Tomé and Príncipe dobra	São Tomé and Príncipe
SYP	760	2	Syrian pound	Syria
SZL	748	2	Swazi lilangeni	Swaziland
THB	764	2	Thai baht	Thailand
TJS	972	2	Tajikistani somoni	Tajikistan
TMT	934	2	Turkmenistani manat	Turkmenistan
TND	788	3	Tunisian dinar	Tunisia
TOP	776	2	Tongan paʻanga	Tonga
TRY	949	2	Turkish lira	Turkey,  Northern Cyprus
TTD	780	2	Trinidad and Tobago dollar	Trinidad and Tobago
TWD	901	2	New Taiwan dollar	Taiwan
TZS	834	2	Tanzanian shilling	Tanzania
UAH	980	2	Ukrainian hryvnia	Ukraine
UGX	800	2	Ugandan shilling	Uganda
USD	840	2	United States dollar	American Samoa,  British Indian Ocean Territory,  British Virgin Islands, Caribbean Netherlands,  Ecuador,  El Salvador,  Guam,  Haiti,  Marshall Islands, Micronesia,  Northern Mariana Islands,  Palau,  Panama,  Puerto Rico,  Timor-Leste,  Turks and Caicos Islands,  United States,  U.S. Virgin Islands,  Barbados (as well as Barbados Dollar),  Bermuda (as well as Bermudian Dollar),  Zimbabwe
USN	997	2	United States dollar (next day) (funds code)	United States
USS	998	2	United States dollar (same day) (funds code) (one source[who?] claims it is no longer used, but it is still on the ISO 4217-MA list)	United States
UYI	940	0	Uruguay Peso en Unidades Indexadas (URUIURUI) (funds code)	Uruguay
UYU	858	2	Uruguayan peso	Uruguay
UZS	860	2	Uzbekistan som	Uzbekistan
VEF	937	2	Venezuelan bolívar fuerte	Venezuela
VND	704	0	Vietnamese đồng	Vietnam
VUV	548	0	Vanuatu vatu	Vanuatu
WST	882	2	Samoan tala	Samoa
XAF	950	0	CFA franc BEAC	Cameroon,  Central African Republic,  Republic of the Congo,  Chad,  Equatorial Guinea,  Gabon
XAG	961	.	Silver (one troy ounce)
XAU	959	.	Gold (one troy ounce)
XBA	955	.	European Composite Unit (EURCO) (bond market unit)
XBB	956	.	European Monetary Unit (E.M.U.-6) (bond market unit)
XBC	957	.	European Unit of Account 9 (E.U.A.-9) (bond market unit)
XBD	958	.	European Unit of Account 17 (E.U.A.-17) (bond market unit)
XCD	951	2	East Caribbean dollar	Anguilla,  Antigua and Barbuda,  Dominica,  Grenada,  Montserrat,  Saint Kitts and Nevis,  Saint Lucia,  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
XDR	960	.	Special drawing rights	International Monetary Fund
XFU	Nil	.	UIC franc (special settlement currency)	International Union of Railways
XOF	952	0	CFA Franc BCEAO	Benin,  Burkina Faso,  Côte d'Ivoire,  Guinea-Bissau,  Mali,  Niger,  Senegal,  Togo
XPD	964	.	Palladium (one troy ounce)
XPF	953	0	CFP franc	French Polynesia,  New Caledonia,  Wallis and Futuna
XPT	962	.	Platinum (one troy ounce)
XTS	963	.	Code reserved for testing purposes
XXX	999	.	No currency
YER	886	2	Yemeni rial	Yemen
ZAR	710	2	South African rand	South Africa
ZMK	894	2	Zambian kwacha	Zambia
ZWL	932	2	Zimbabwe dollar	Zimbabwe

Explanation of USD/USS/USN[link]

The US dollar actually has three codes assigned: USD, USS (same day) and USN (next day). According to UN/CEFACT recommendation 9, paragraphs 8-9 ECE/TRADE/203, 1996, available online:

8. In applications where monetary resources associated with a currency (i.e. funds) need not be specified and where a field identifier indicating currency is used, the first two (leftmost) characters are sufficient to identify a currency–example: US for United States dollars for general, unspecified purposes where a field identifier indicating currency is present. (A field identifier can be a preprinted field heading in an aligned document or a similarly-agreed application in electronic transmission of data.)

9. In applications where there is a need to distinguish between different types of currencies, or where funds are required as in the banking environment, or where there is no field identifier, the third (rightmost) character of the alphabetic code is an indicator, preferably mnemonic, derived from the name of the major currency unit or fund – example: USD for general, unspecified purposes; USN for United States dollar next-day funds, and USS for funds which are immediately available for Federal Reserve transfer, withdrawal in cash or transfer in like funds (same-day funds). Since there is no need for such a distinction in international trade applications, the funds codes have not been included in the Annex to the present Recommendation.

Without currency code[link]

A number of territories are not included in ISO 4217, because their currencies are: (a) not per se an independent currency but a variant of another currency, (b) a legal tender only issued as commemorative banknotes or coinage, or (c) a currency of an unrecognized or partially recognized state. These currencies are:

1. Alderney pound (1:1 pegged to the pound sterling)
2. Cook Islands dollar (1:1 pegged to the New Zealand dollar)
3. Faroese króna (1:1 pegged to the Danish krone)
4. Guernsey pound (1:1 pegged to the pound sterling)
5. Isle of Man pound (1:1 pegged to the pound sterling)
6. Jersey pound (1:1 pegged to the pound sterling)
7. Kiribati dollar (1:1 pegged to the Australian dollar)
8. Maltese scudo (1:0.24 pegged to the euro^[9])
9. Somaliland shilling (state of issue is viewed as de jure part of Somalia, exchange rate not fixed)
10. Transnistrian ruble (state of issue is viewed as de jure part of Moldova)
11. Tuvaluan dollar (1:1 pegged to the Australian dollar)

The following non-ISO codes are, however, sometimes used commercially:^[10]

In addition, GBX is sometimes used (for example on the London Stock Exchange) to denote Penny sterling, a subdivision of pound sterling, the currency for the United Kingdom.

Historical currency codes[link]

A number of currencies were official ISO 4217 currency codes and currency names until their replacement by the euro or other currencies. The table below shows the ISO currency codes of former currencies and their common names (which do not always match the ISO 4217 name).