ISO 4217

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

ISO 4217 is the international standard describing three-letter codes (also known as the currency code) to define the names of currencies established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The ISO 4217 code list is the established norm in banking and business all over the world for defining different currencies, and in many countries the 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 define 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.

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 becomes 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 often long outlasts the usage of the term "new" itself. Examples of this include the Mexican peso (MXN) and the Turkish lira (TRY). 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 numeric code. For example, USD (US Dollar) has code 840 which is also the numeric code for US (United States).

The standard also defines the relationship between the major currency unit and any minor currency unit. Often, the minor currency unit has a value that is 1/100 of the major unit, but 1/10 or 1/1000 are also common. 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). Mauritania does not use a decimal division of units, setting 1 ouguiya (UM) = 5 khoums, and Madagascar has 1 ariary = 5 iraimbilanja. This is indicated in the standard by the currency exponent. For example USD has exponent 2, while JPY has exponent 0.

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" while these codes are assigned for privately customized use only (reserved, never for official codes), so 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, had the code XEU.

Contents

[edit] 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 (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), the British Standards Institution, is responsible for maintaining the list of codes.

[edit] Active codes

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

Code Num E[1] Currency Locations using this currency
AED 784 2 United Arab Emirates dirham United Arab Emirates
AFN 971 2 Afghani Afghanistan
ALL 008 2 Lek Albania
AMD 051 2 Armenian dram Armenia
ANG 532 2 Netherlands Antillean guilder Netherlands Antilles
AOA 973 2 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 guilder Aruba
AZN 944 2 Azerbaijanian manat Azerbaijan
BAM 977 2 Convertible marks 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 Ngultrum Bhutan
BWP 072 2 Pula Botswana
BYR 974 0 Belarussian ruble Belarus
BZD 084 2 Belize dollar Belize
CAD 124 2 Canadian dollar Canada
CDF 976 2 Franc Congolais 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 Renminbi Mainland China
COP 170 2 Colombian peso Colombia
COU 970 2 Unidad de Valor Real Colombia
CRC 188 2 Costa Rican colon Costa Rica
CUP 192 2 Cuban peso Cuba
CVE 132 2 Cape Verde escudo Cape Verde
CZK 203 2 Czech koruna Czech Republic
DJF 262 0 Djibouti franc Djibouti
DKK 208 2 Danish krone Denmark, Faroe Islands, Greenland
DOP 214 2 Dominican peso Dominican Republic
DZD 012 2 Algerian dinar Algeria
EEK 233 2 Kroon Estonia
EGP 818 2 Egyptian pound Egypt
ERN 232 2 Nakfa Eritrea
ETB 230 2 Ethiopian birr Ethiopia
EUR 978 2 Euro 15 European Union countries, Andorra, Kosovo, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Vatican; see eurozone
FJD 242 2 Fiji dollar Fiji
FKP 238 2 Falkland Islands pound Falkland Islands
GBP 826 2 Pound sterling United Kingdom, 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 Lari Georgia
GHS 936 2 Cedi Ghana
GIP 292 2 Gibraltar pound Gibraltar
GMD 270 2 Dalasi Gambia
GNF 324 0 Guinea franc Guinea
GTQ 320 2 Quetzal Guatemala
GYD 328 2 Guyana dollar Guyana
HKD 344 2 Hong Kong dollar Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
HNL 340 2 Lempira Honduras
HRK 191 2 Croatian kuna Croatia
HTG 332 2 Haiti gourde Haiti
HUF 348 2 Forint Hungary
IDR 360 2 Rupiah Indonesia
ILS 376 2 Israeli new sheqel Israel
INR 356 2 Indian rupee Bhutan, India
IQD 368 3 Iraqi dinar Iraq
IRR 364 2 Iranian rial Iran
ISK 352 0 Iceland krona 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 Som Kyrgyzstan
KHR 116 2 Riel Cambodia
KMF 174 0 Comoro franc Comoros
KPW 408 2 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 Tenge Kazakhstan
LAK 418 2 Kip Laos
LBP 422 2 Lebanese pound Lebanon
LKR 144 2 Sri Lanka rupee Sri Lanka
LRD 430 2 Liberian dollar Liberia
LSL 426 2 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, Western Sahara
MDL 498 2 Moldovan leu Moldova
MGA 969 0.7 Malagasy ariary Madagascar
MKD 807 2 Denar Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
MMK 104 2 Kyat Myanmar
MNT 496 2 Tugrik Mongolia
MOP 446 2 Pataca Macau Special Administrative Region
MRO 478 0.7 Ouguiya Mauritania
MUR 480 2 Mauritius rupee Mauritius
MVR 462 2 Rufiyaa Maldives
MWK 454 2 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 Metical Mozambique
NAD 516 2 Namibian dollar Namibia
NGN 566 2 Naira Nigeria
NIO 558 2 Cordoba oro Nicaragua
NOK 578 2 Norwegian krone Norway
NPR 524 2 Nepalese rupee Nepal
NZD 554 2 New Zealand dollar Cook Islands, New Zealand, Niue, Pitcairn, Tokelau
OMR 512 3 Rial Omani Oman
PAB 590 2 Balboa Panama
PEN 604 2 Nuevo sol Peru
PGK 598 2 Kina Papua New Guinea
PHP 608 2 Philippine peso Philippines
PKR 586 2 Pakistan rupee Pakistan
PLN 985 2 Zloty Poland
PYG 600 0 Guarani Paraguay
QAR 634 2 Qatari rial Qatar
RON 946 2 Romanian new leu Romania
RSD 941 2 Serbian dinar Serbia
RUB 643 2 Russian ruble Russia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia
RWF 646 0 Rwanda franc Rwanda
SAR 682 2 Saudi riyal Saudi Arabia
SBD 090 2 Solomon Islands dollar Solomon Islands
SCR 690 2 Seychelles rupee Seychelles
SDG 938 2 Sudanese pound Sudan
SEK 752 2 Swedish krona Sweden
SGD 702 2 Singapore dollar Singapore, Brunei
SHP 654 2 Saint Helena pound Saint Helena
SKK 703 2 Slovak koruna Slovakia
SLL 694 2 Leone Sierra Leone
SOS 706 2 Somali shilling Somalia
SRD 968 2 Surinam dollar Suriname
STD 678 2 Dobra São Tomé and Príncipe
SYP 760 2 Syrian pound Syria
SZL 748 2 Lilangeni Swaziland
THB 764 2 Baht Thailand
TJS 972 2 Somoni Tajikistan
TMM 795 2 Manat Turkmenistan
TND 788 3 Tunisian dinar Tunisia
TOP 776 2 Pa'anga Tonga
TRY 949 2 New Turkish lira Turkey
TTD 780 2 Trinidad and Tobago dollar Trinidad and Tobago
TWD 901 2 New Taiwan dollar Taiwan and other islands that are under the effective control of the Republic of China (ROC)
TZS 834 2 Tanzanian shilling Tanzania
UAH 980 2 Hryvnia Ukraine
UGX 800 2 Uganda shilling Uganda
USD 840 2 US dollar American Samoa, British Indian Ocean Territory, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guam, Haiti, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Panama, Puerto Rico, Timor-Leste, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States, Virgin Islands
USN 997 2 United States dollar (next day) (funds code) United States
USS 998 2 United States dollar (same day) (funds code) (one source claims it is no longer used, but it is still on the ISO 4217-MA list) United States
UYU 858 2 Peso Uruguayo Uruguay
UZS 860 2 Uzbekistan som Uzbekistan
VEF 937 2 Venezuelan bolívar fuerte Venezuela
VND 704 2 Vietnamese đồng Vietnam
VUV 548 0 Vatu Vanuatu
WST 882 2 Samoan tala Samoa
XAF 950 0 CFA franc BEAC Cameroon, Central African Republic, 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 Kwacha Zambia
ZWD 716 2 Zimbabwe dollar Zimbabwe

[edit] Explanation of USD/USS/USN

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.

[edit] Without currency code

A number of territories are not included in ISO 4217, because their currencies are not per se an independent currency, but a variant of another currency. These currencies are:

  1. Faroese króna (1:1 pegged to the Danish krone)
  2. Guernsey pound (1:1 pegged to the pound sterling)
  3. Jersey pound (1:1 pegged to the pound sterling)
  4. Isle of Man pound (1:1 pegged to the pound sterling)
  5. Tuvaluan dollar (1:1 pegged to the Australian dollar).
  6. Cook Islands dollar (1:1 pegged to the New Zealand dollar).
  7. Cuban convertible peso (pegged to the US dollar)

The following non-ISO codes are, however, sometimes used commercially:[2]

  Guernsey pound   GGP
Jersey pound JEP
Isle of Man pound IMP
Tuvalu dollar TVD

[edit] Obsolete currency codes

A number of currencies were official ISO 4217 currency codes and currency names until their replacement by the euro.

Note that the currency names used below may not match the currency names used in the ISO standard itself, but the codes do match.

Code Num Currency Replaced by When
Replaced by the euro
ADF ... Andorran franc (1:1 peg to the French franc) EUR 1999
ADP 020 Andorran peseta (1:1 peg to the Spanish peseta) EUR 1999
ATS 040 Austrian schilling EUR 1999
BEF 056 Belgian franc (currency union with LUF) EUR 1999
CYP 196 Cypriot pound EUR 2008
DEM 276 German mark EUR 1999
ESP 724 Spanish peseta EUR 1999
FIM 246 Finnish markka EUR 1999
FRF 250 French franc EUR 1999
GRD 300 Greek drachma EUR 2001
IEP 372 Irish pound (punt in Irish language) EUR 1999
ITL 380 Italian lira EUR 1999
LUF 442 Luxembourg franc (currency union with BEF) EUR 1999
MCF ... Monegasque franc (currency union with FRF) EUR 1999
MTL 470 Maltese lira EUR 2008
NLG 528 Netherlands guilder EUR 1999
PTE 620 Portuguese escudo EUR 1999
SIT 705 Slovenian tolar EUR 2007
SML ... San Marinese lira (currency union with ITL and VAL) EUR 1999
VAL ... Vatican lira (currency union with ITL and SML) EUR 1999
XEU 954 European Currency Unit (1 XEU = 1 EUR) EUR 1999
Replaced for other reasons
AFA 004 Afghani AFN 2003
ALK ... Albanian old lek ALL
AON 024 Angolan new kwanza AOR 1995
AOR 982 Angolan kwanza readjustado AOA 1999
ARM ... Argentine peso moneda nacional ARL 1970
ARL ... Argentine peso ley ARP 1983
ARP ... Peso argentino ARA 1985
ARA ... Argentine austral ARS 1991
AZM 031 Azerbaijani manat AZN 2006
BEC 993 Belgian franc (convertible)
BEL 992 Belgian franc (financial)
BGJ ... Bulgarian lev A/52 BGK 1952
BGK ... Bulgarian lev A/62 BGL 1962
BGL 100 Bulgarian lev A/99 BGN 1999
BOP ... Bolivian peso BOB 1987
BRB ... Brazilian cruzeiro novo BRC 1986
BRC ... Brazilian cruzado BRN 1989
BRE ... Brazilian cruzeiro BRR 1993
BRN ... Brazilian cruzado novo BRE 1990
BRR ... Brazilian cruzeiro real BRL 1994
BRZ ... Brazilian cruzeiro BRB 1967
CLE ... Chilean escudo CLP 1975
CNX ... Chinese People's Bank dollar CNY
CSD 891 Serbian dinar RSD 2006
CSJ ... Czechoslovak koruna A/53 CSK 1953
CSK 200 Czechoslovak koruna CZK and SKK 1993
DDM 278 East German Mark of the GDR (East Germany) DEM
ECS 218 Ecuador sucre USD 2000
ECV 983 Ecuador Unidad de Valor Constante (funds code) (discontinued)
EQE ... Equatorial Guinean ekwele XAF
ESA 996 Spanish peseta (account A) ESP
ESB 995 Spanish peseta (account B) ESP
GNE ... Guinean syli XOF
GHC 288 Ghanaian cedi GHS 2007
GWP 624 Guinea-Bissau peso XOF
ILP ... Israeli lira ILR 1980
ILR ... Israeli old sheqel ILS 1985
ISJ ... Icelandic old krona ISK
LAJ ... Lao kip LAK
MGF 450 Malagasy franc MGA
MKN ... Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia denar A/93 MKD 1993
MLF ... Mali franc XOF
MVQ ... Maldive rupee MVR 1981
MXP ... Mexican peso MXN
MZM 508 Mozambican metical MZN 2006
NFD ... Newfoundland dollar CAD 1949
PEH ... Peruvian sol PEI
PEI ... Peruvian inti PEN
PLZ 616 Polish zloty A/94 PLN 1995
RON ... Romanian leu A/52 ROL 1952
ROL 642 Romanian leu A/05 RON 2005
RUR 810 Russian ruble A/97 RUB 1997
SDD 736 Sudanese dinar SDG 2007
SRG 740 Suriname guilder SRD 2004
SUR ... Soviet Union ruble RUB 1991
SVC 222 Salvadoran colón USD
TJR 762 Tajikistan ruble TJS 2000
TPE 626 Portuguese Timorese escudo IDR
TRL 792 Turkish lira A/05 TRY 2005
UAK 804 Ukrainian karbovanets UAH
UGS ... Ugandan shilling A/87 UGX 1987
UYN ... Uruguay old peso UYU
VEB 862 Venezuelan bolívar VEF 2008
VNC ... Vietnamese old dong VND
XFO ... Gold franc (special settlement currency) XDR 2003
YDD 720 South Yemeni dinar YER
YUD ... New Yugoslav dinar CSD
YUM 891 Yugoslav dinar CSD
ZAL 991 South African financial rand (funds code) (discontinued)
ZRN 180 Zaïrean new zaïre CDF
ZRZ ... Zaïrean zaïre ZRN
ZWC ... Zimbabwe Rhodesian dollar ZWD

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Number of digits after the decimal point.
  2. ^ Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets – Countries' currencies and codes

[edit] External links

[edit] Currency conversion