ISO 4217


ISO 4217 is a standard first published by International Organization for Standardization in 1978, which delineates currency designators, country codes, and references to minor units in three tables:
The tables, history and ongoing discussion are maintained by SIX Interbank Clearing on behalf of ISO and the Swiss Association for Standardization.
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 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

The first two letters of the code are the two letters of the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes 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, peso and pound being used in dozens of 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. 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".
Another example of the third letter not being the initial of the unit's name is EUR for the euro.

X currencies

In addition to codes for most active national currencies ISO 4217 provides codes for "supranational" currencies, procedural purposes, and several things which are "similar to" currencies:
The use of an initial letter "X" for these purposes is facilitated by the ISO 3166 rule that no official country code beginning with X will ever be assigned. Because of this rule ISO 4217 can use "X" codes for non-country-specific currencies without risk of clashing with a future country code. ISO 3166 country codes beginning with "X" are used for private custom use, never for official codes. For instance, the ISO 3166-based NATO country codes 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.
The inclusion of EU in the ISO 3166-1 reserved codes list, allows the euro to be coded as EUR rather than assigned a code beginning with X, even though it is a supranational currency.

Treatment of minor currency units (the "exponent")

The ISO 4217 standard includes a crude mechanism for expressing the relationship between a major currency unit and its corresponding minor currency unit. This mechanism is called the currency "exponent" and assumes a base of 10. For example, USD is equal to 100 of its minor currency unit the "cent". So the USD has exponent 2. The code JPY is given the exponent 0, because its minor unit, the sen, although nominally valued at 1/100 of a yen, is of such value that it is no longer used. Usually, as with the USD, the minor currency unit has a value that is 1/100 of the major unit, but in some cases 1/1000 is used, and sometimes ratios apply which are not integer powers of 10. Mauritania does not use a decimal division of units, setting 1 ouguiya equal to 5 khoums, and Madagascar has 1 ariary = 5 iraimbilanja. Some currencies do not have any minor currency unit at all and these are given an exponent of 0, as with currencies whose minor units are unused due to negligible value.

Currency numbers

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 has code 840 which is also the numeric code for the US.

Position of ISO 4217 code in amounts

The ISO standard does not regulate either the spacing, prefixing or suffixing in usage of currency codes. According however to the European Union's Publication Office, in English, Irish, Latvian and Maltese texts, the ISO 4217 code is to be followed by a hard space and the amount:
In Bulgarian, Croatian, 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 hard space and the ISO 4217 code:
Note that, as illustrated, the order is determined not by the currency, but by the native language of the document context.

History

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, 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. Such changes usually originate from the formation of new countries, treaties between countries on shared currencies or monetary unions, or redenomination from an existing currency due to excessive inflation. As a result, the list of codes must be updated from time to time. The ISO 4217 maintenance agency, , is responsible for maintaining the list of codes.

Active codes

The following is a list of active codes of official ISO 4217 currency names.
In the standard the values are called "alphabetic code", "numeric code", and "minor unit".
CodeNumCurrencyLocations using this currency
AED7842United Arab Emirates dirham
AFN9712Afghan afghani
ALL0082Albanian lek
AMD0512Armenian dram
ANG5322Netherlands Antillean guilder,
AOA9732Angolan kwanza
ARS0322Argentine peso
AUD0362Australian dollar, , , , , , ,
AWG5332Aruban florin
AZN9442Azerbaijani manat
BAM9772Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark
BBD0522Barbados dollar
BDT0502Bangladeshi taka
BGN9752Bulgarian lev
BHD0483Bahraini dinar
BIF1080Burundian franc
BMD0602Bermudian dollar
BND0962Brunei dollar
BOB0682Boliviano
BOV9842Bolivian Mvdol
BRL9862Brazilian real
BSD0442Bahamian dollar
BTN0642Bhutanese ngultrum
BWP0722Botswana pula
BYN9332Belarusian ruble
BZD0842Belize dollar
CAD1242Canadian dollar
CDF9762Congolese franc
CHE9472WIR Euro
CHF7562Swiss franc,
CHW9482WIR Franc
CLF9904Unidad de Fomento
CLP1520Chilean peso
CNY1562Chinese yuan
COP1702Colombian peso
COU9702
CRC1882Costa Rican colon
CUC9312Cuban convertible peso
CUP1922Cuban peso
CVE1322Cape Verdean escudo
CZK2032Czech koruna
DJF2620Djiboutian franc
DKK2082Danish krone, ,
DOP2142Dominican peso
DZD0122Algerian dinar
EGP8182Egyptian pound
ERN2322Eritrean nakfa
ETB2302Ethiopian birr
EUR9782Euro, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
FJD2422Fiji dollar
FKP2382Falkland Islands pound
GBP8262Pound sterling, , the , , and
GEL9812Georgian lari
GHS9362Ghanaian cedi
GIP2922Gibraltar pound
GMD2702Gambian dalasi
GNF3240Guinean franc
GTQ3202Guatemalan quetzal
GYD3282Guyanese dollar
HKD3442Hong Kong dollar
HNL3402Honduran lempira
HRK1912Croatian kuna
HTG3322Haitian gourde
HUF3482Hungarian forint
IDR3602Indonesian rupiah
ILS3762Israeli new shekel,
INR3562Indian rupee,
IQD3683Iraqi dinar
IRR3642Iranian rial
ISK3520Icelandic króna
JMD3882Jamaican dollar
JOD4003Jordanian dinar
JPY3920Japanese yen
KES4042Kenyan shilling
KGS4172Kyrgyzstani som
KHR1162Cambodian riel
KMF1740Comoro franc
KPW4082North Korean won
KRW4100South Korean won
KWD4143Kuwaiti dinar
KYD1362Cayman Islands dollar
KZT3982Kazakhstani tenge
LAK4182Lao kip
LBP4222Lebanese pound
LKR1442Sri Lankan rupee
LRD4302Liberian dollar
LSL4262Lesotho loti
LYD4343Libyan dinar
MAD5042Moroccan dirham,
MDL4982Moldovan leu
MGA9692Malagasy ariary
MKD8072Macedonian denar
MMK1042Myanmar kyat
MNT4962Mongolian tögrög
MOP4462Macanese pataca
MRU9292Mauritanian ouguiya
MUR4802Mauritian rupee
MVR4622Maldivian rufiyaa
MWK4542Malawian kwacha
MXN4842Mexican peso
MXV9792Mexican Unidad de Inversion
MYR4582Malaysian ringgit
MZN9432Mozambican metical
NAD5162Namibian dollar
NGN5662Nigerian naira
NIO5582Nicaraguan córdoba
NOK5782Norwegian krone, and ,
NPR5242Nepalese rupee
NZD5542New Zealand dollar, , , ,
OMR5123Omani rial
PAB5902Panamanian balboa
PEN6042Peruvian sol
PGK5982Papua New Guinean kina
PHP6082Philippine peso
PKR5862Pakistani rupee
PLN9852Polish złoty
PYG6000Paraguayan guaraní
QAR6342Qatari riyal
RON9462Romanian leu
RSD9412Serbian dinar
RUB6432Russian ruble
RWF6460Rwandan franc
SAR6822Saudi riyal
SBD0902Solomon Islands dollar
SCR6902Seychelles rupee
SDG9382Sudanese pound
SEK7522Swedish krona/kronor
SGD7022Singapore dollar
SHP6542Saint Helena pound, ,
SLL6942Sierra Leonean leone
SOS7062Somali shilling
SRD9682Surinamese dollar
SSP7282South Sudanese pound
STN9302São Tomé and Príncipe dobra
SVC2222Salvadoran colón
SYP7602Syrian pound
SZL7482Swazi lilangeni
THB7642Thai baht
TJS9722Tajikistani somoni
TMT9342Turkmenistan manat
TND7883Tunisian dinar
TOP7762Tongan paʻanga
TRY9492Turkish lira
TTD7802Trinidad and Tobago dollar
TWD9012New Taiwan dollar
TZS8342Tanzanian shilling
UAH9802Ukrainian hryvnia
UGX8000Ugandan shilling
USD8402United States dollar, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .
USN9972United States dollar
UYI9400Uruguay Peso en Unidades Indexadas
UYU8582Uruguayan peso
UYW9274Unidad previsional
UZS8602Uzbekistan som
VES9282Venezuelan bolívar soberano
VND7040Vietnamese đồng
VUV5480Vanuatu vatu
WST8822Samoan tala
XAF9500CFA franc BEAC, , , , ,
XAG961.Silver
XAU959.Gold
XBA955.European Composite Unit
XBB956.European Monetary Unit
XBC957.European Unit of Account 9
XBD958.European Unit of Account 17
XCD9512East Caribbean dollar, , , , , , ,
XDR960.Special drawing rightsInternational Monetary Fund
XOF9520CFA franc BCEAO, , , , , , ,
XPD964.Palladium
XPF9530CFP franc French territories of the Pacific Ocean: , ,
XPT962.Platinum
XSU994.SUCREUnified System for Regional Compensation
XTS963.Code reserved for testing
XUA965.ADB Unit of AccountAfrican Development Bank
XXX999.No currency
YER8862Yemeni rial
ZAR7102South African rand,,
ZMW9672Zambian kwacha
ZWL9322Zimbabwean dollar

USD/USS/USN, three currency codes belonging to the US

The US dollar has two codes assigned: USD and USN. The USS code is not in use any longer, and was removed from the list of active ISO 4217 codes in March 2014.
According to UN/CEFACT recommendation 9, paragraphs 8–9 ECE/TRADE/203, 1996, :

Future codes

As of August 2018, there are no new codes planned to be added to the standard.

Non ISO 4217 currencies

Currencies without ISO 4217 currency codes

A number of active currencies do not have an ISO 4217 code, because they may be: a minor currency pegged at par to a larger currency, even if independently regulated, a currency only used for commemorative banknotes or coins, or a currency of an unrecognized or partially recognized state. These currencies include:
See :Category:Fixed exchange rate for a list of all currently pegged currencies.

Unofficial currency codes

Despite having no official recognition in ISO 4217, the following non-ISO codes are sometimes used locally or commercially.
CodeNumCurrencyLocations using this currencyNotes
CNH–2Chinese yuanHong KongUsed for offshore trading.
GGP8312Guernsey poundGuernsey
IMP8332Isle of Man poundIsle of ManAlso known as the Manx pound.
JEP8322Jersey poundJersey
KID2962Kiribati dollarKiribati
NIS3762Israeli new shekelIsraelNIS stands for New Israeli Shekel: NIS conflicts with ISO 4217, because NI stands for Nicaragua.
NTD9012New Taiwan dollarTaiwan
PRB–2Transnistrian rubleTransnistriaPRB conflicts with ISO 4217, because PR stands for Puerto Rico.
SLS–2Somaliland shillingSomalilandSLS conflicts with ISO 4217, because SL stands for Sierra Leone.
RMB1562Renminbi Mainland ChinaRMB is an abbreviation of its official name, RenMinBi.
TVD7982Tuvalu dollarTuvalu
ZWB–2Zimbabwean bondsZimbabweAlso known as the RTGS Dollar.

In addition, GBX is sometimes used to denote Penny sterling, a subdivision of pound sterling, the currency for the United Kingdom.
Another example is ZAC, a subdivision of South African Rand

Cryptocurrencies

Recently, cryptocurrencies have unofficially used ISO-like codes on various cryptocurrency exchanges, for instance LTC for Litecoin, NMC for Namecoin and XRP for the XRP Ledger. SIX Interbank Clearing is currently studying the impact and role of cryptocurrencies and other independent currencies on ISO 4217.
CodeNumCurrencyNotes
DASH_8DashDash does not conform to any standard.
EOS_4EOS
ETH_18EtherETH conflicts with ISO 4217, because ET stands for Ethiopia.
VTC_8Vertcoin
BCH_8Bitcoin Cash
BSV_8Bitcoin SVBSV conflicts with ISO 4217, because BS stands for Bahamas.
BTC, XBT_8BitcoinBTC conflicts with ISO 4217, because BT stands for Bhutan.
BNB_8BinanceBNB conflicts with ISO 4217, because BN stands for Brunei Darussalam.
XLM_8Stellar Lumen
XMR_12Monero
XRP_6Ripple
ZEC_8Zcash
LTC_8LitecoinLTC conflicts with ISO 4217, because LT stands for Lithuania

Historical currency codes

A number of currencies had official ISO 4217 currency codes and currency names until their replacement by another currency. The table below shows the ISO currency codes of former currencies and their common names. These codes were first introduced in December 1988.
CodeNumCurrencyFromUntilReplaced by
ADF...2Andorran franc19601999-01-01EUR
ADP0200Andorran peseta18691999-01-01EUR
AFA0042Afghan afghani19252003AFN
AOK...0Angolan kwanza1977-01-081990-09-24AON
AON0240Angolan novo kwanza1990-09-251995-06-30AOR
AOR9820Angolan kwanza reajustado1995-07-011999-11-30AOA
ARL...2Argentine peso ley1970-01-011983-05-05ARP
ARP0322Argentine peso argentino1983-06-061985-06-14ARA
ARA0322Argentine austral1985-06-151991-12-31ARS
ATS0402Austrian schilling19451999-01-01EUR
AZM0310Azerbaijani manat1992-08-152006-01-01AZN
BAD0702Bosnia and Herzegovina dinar1992-07-011998-02-04BAM
BEF0562Belgian franc18321999-01-01EUR
BGL1002Bulgarian lev19621999-08-31BGN
BOP...2Bolivian peso1963-01-011987-01-01BOB
BRB...2Brazilian cruzeiro19701986-02-28BRC
BRC0762Brazilian cruzado1986-02-281989-01-15BRN
BRN0762Brazilian cruzado novo1989-01-161990-03-15BRE
BRE0762Brazilian cruzeiro1990-03-151993-08-01BRR
BRR9872Brazilian cruzeiro real1993-08-011994-06-30BRL
BYB1122Belarusian ruble19921999-12-31BYR
BYR9740Belarusian ruble2000-01-012016-06-30BYN
CSD8912Serbian dinar2003-07-032006-06-19RSD
CSK200Czechoslovak koruna1919-04-101993-02-08CZK/SKK
CYP1962Cypriot pound18792006-01-01EUR
DDM278East German mark1948-06-211990-07-01DEM
DEM2762German mark19481999-01-01EUR
ECS2180Ecuadorian sucre18842000-02-29USD
ECV983.Ecuador Unidad de Valor Constante 19932000-02-29—
EEK2332Estonian kroon19922010-01-01EUR
ESA996Spanish peseta 19781981ESP
ESB995Spanish peseta ?1994-12ESP
ESP7240Spanish peseta18691999-01-01EUR
FIM2462Finnish markka18601999-01-01EUR
FRF2502French franc19601999-01-01EUR
GNE...Guinean syli19711985-12-31GNF
GHC2880Ghanaian cedi19672007-07-01GHS
GQE...Equatorial Guinean ekwele19751985-12-31XAF
GRD3002Greek drachma1954-05-012001-01-01EUR
GWP624Guinea-Bissau peso19751997-05-31XOF
HRD191Croatian dinar1991-12-231994-05-30HRK
IEP3722Irish pound19381999-01-01EUR
ILP...3, 2Israeli lira19481980-02-20ILR
ILR...2Israeli shekel1980-02-241985-12-31ILS
ISJ...2Icelandic króna19221981-06-30ISK
ITL3800Italian lira18611999-01-01EUR
LAJ...Lao kip19651979-12-31LAK
LTL4402Lithuanian litas19932015-01-01EUR
LUF4422Luxembourg franc19441999-01-01EUR
LVL4282Latvian lats19922013-01-01EUR
MAF...–Moroccan franc19211960–1976MAD
MCF...2Monégasque franc19601995-03-31FRF
MGF4502Malagasy franc1963-07-012005-01-01MGA
MKN...Old Macedonian denar1992-04-271993-06-30MKD
MLF466Malian franc19621984-01-01XOF
MVQ...Maldivian rupee?1981-12-31MVR
MRO4782Mauritanian ouguiya1973-06-292018-01-01MRU
MXP...Mexican peso?1993-03-31MXN
MZM5080Mozambican metical19802006-06-30MZN
MTL4702Maltese lira1972-05-262006-01-01EUR
NIC...2Nicaraguan córdoba19881990-10-31NIO
NLG5282Dutch guilder1810s1999-01-01EUR
PEH...Peruvian old sol18631985-02-01PEI
PEI604Peruvian inti1985-02-011991-10-01PEN
PLZ616Polish zloty1950-10-301994-12-31PLN
PTE6200Portuguese escudo1911-05-221999-01-01EUR
ROL6422Romanian leu1952-01-282005RON
RUR8102Russian ruble19921997-12-31RUB
SDD7360Sudanese dinar1992-06-082007-01-10SDG
SDP...Sudanese old pound19561992-06-08SDD
SIT7052Slovenian tolar1991-10-082005-01-01EUR
SKK7032Slovak koruna1993-02-082007-01-01EUR
SML...0San Marinese lira18641992-08-31ITL
SRG7402Surinamese guilder19422004SRD
STD6782São Tomé and Príncipe dobra19772018-04-01STN
SUR...Soviet Union ruble19611991-12-26RUR
TJR762Tajikistani ruble1995-05-102000-10-30TJS
TMM7950Turkmenistani manat1993-11-12008-12-31TMT
TPE626Portuguese Timorese escudo19591976USD
TRL7920Turkish lira18432005-12-31TRY
UAK804Ukrainian karbovanets1992-10-11996-09-01UAH
UGS...Ugandan shilling19661987-12-31UGX
USS9982United States dollar ?2014-03-28—
UYP...Uruguay peso18961975-07-01UYN
UYN...Uruguay new peso1975-07-011993-03-01UYU
VAL...0Vatican lira19291994-12-31ITL
VEB8622Venezuelan bolívar1879-03-312008-01-01VEF
VEF9372Venezuelan bolívar fuerte2008-01-012018-08-20VES
XEU954.European Currency Unit1979-03-131998-12-31EUR
XFO...Gold franc 18032003XDR
XFU....UIC franc ?2013-11-07EUR
YDD720South Yemeni dinar19651996-06-11YER
YUD...2Yugoslav dinar1966-01-011989-12-31YUN
YUN8902Yugoslav dinar1990-01-011992-06-30YUR
YUR...2Yugoslav dinar1992-07-011993-09-30YUO
YUO...2Yugoslav dinar1993-10-011993-12-31YUG
YUG...2Yugoslav dinar1994-01-011994-01-23YUM
YUM8912Yugoslav dinar1994-01-242003-07-02CSD
ZAL991.South African financial rand 1985-09-011995-03-13—
ZMK8942Zambian kwacha1968-01-162013-01-01ZMW
ZRZ1803Zairean zaire19671993ZRN
ZRN1802Zairean new zaire19931997CDF
ZWC...2Rhodesian dollar1970-02-171980ZWD
ZWD7162Zimbabwean dollar1980-04-182006-07-31ZWN
ZWN9422Zimbabwean dollar2006-08-012008-07-31ZWR
ZWR9352Zimbabwean dollar2008-08-012009-02-02ZWL
ZWL9322Zimbabwean dollar2009-02-032009-04-12USD/RTGS Dollar