Software that stores or exchanges currency data needs a consistent way to identify currencies. ISO 4217 provides alphabetic and numeric codes, along with minor-unit information.
What is the ISO standard for currency codes?
ISO 4217 defines alphabetic and numeric codes for currencies and funds, as well as minor-unit information. SIX Group serves as the maintenance agency for the standard.
The standard’s tables include:
- Table A.1 – Current currency and funds codes.
- Table A.2 – Current funds codes.
- Table A.3 – Historic denominations of currencies and funds.
What is the difference between alphabetic and numeric currency codes?
An ISO 4217 alphabetic code has three letters. Codes are often related to a country’s two-letter code, but that pattern is not universal. For example, Japan’s currency code is JPY.
ISO 4217 numeric codes have three digits. For example, the codes for USD and EUR are 840 and 978, respectively. The standard also includes minor-unit information, which indicates the subdivision used for a currency.
How should applications handle special currency codes?
Not every currency code corresponds to a single country. Examples of codes beginning with X include XCD for the East Caribbean dollar, XOF and XAF for CFA franc currencies, and XAU and XAG for gold and silver. XDR is the code for Special Drawing Rights.
How can developers use currency codes in an application?
Use a maintained ISO 4217 reference when your application needs currency codes, and keep the code and minor-unit information together in your data model. For country and administrative reference data used in address forms, explore the Country Data API documentation and the country reference data.
If you are building address capture workflows, Country Data API also provides address autocomplete and validation. See the available options on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
What organization maintains the ISO 4217 standard?
SIX Group serves as the maintenance agency for ISO 4217.
What do codes starting with the letter 'X' represent?
Examples include codes for currencies not tied to a single country, precious metals, and special units such as Special Drawing Rights.
Sources
This article was produced with the help of AI and reviewed for accuracy against the cited sources.