- ISO 4217
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"Currency code" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Currency sign.
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.
Contents
Code formation
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
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
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
The following is a list of active codes of official ISO 4217 currency names.
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.
Without currency code
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:
- Alderney pound (1:1 pegged to the pound sterling)
- Cook Islands dollar (1:1 pegged to the New Zealand dollar)
- Faroese króna (1:1 pegged to the Danish krone)
- Guernsey pound (1:1 pegged to the pound sterling)
- Isle of Man pound (1:1 pegged to the pound sterling)
- Jersey pound (1:1 pegged to the pound sterling)
- Kiribati dollar (1:1 pegged to the Australian dollar)
- Maltese scudo (1:0.24 pegged to the euro[9])
- Somaliland shilling (state of issue is viewed as de jure part of Somalia, exchange rate not fixed)
- Transnistrian ruble (state of issue is viewed as de jure part of Moldova)
- Tuvaluan dollar (1:1 pegged to the Australian dollar)
The following non-ISO codes are, however, sometimes used commercially:[10]
Code Num E[6] Currency Locations using this currency GGP - 2 Guernsey pound Guernsey JEP - 2 Jersey pound Jersey IMP - 2 Isle of Man pound also Manx pound Isle of Man KRI - 2 Kiribati dollar Kiribati SLS, SLSH - 2 Somaliland shilling Somaliland PRB - 2 Transnistrian ruble Transnistria TVD - 2 Tuvalu dollar Tuvalu 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
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).
Code Num E[6] Currency From Until Replaced by ADF ... 2 Andorran franc (1:1 peg to the French franc) ? 1999-01-01 EUR ADP 020 0 Andorran peseta (1:1 peg to the Spanish peseta) ? 1999-01-01 EUR ATS 040 2 Austrian schilling 1945 1999-01-01 EUR BEF 056 1 Belgian franc (currency union with LUF) 1832 1999-01-01 EUR CYP 196 2 Cypriot pound 1879 2008-01-01 EUR DEM 276 2 German mark 1948 1999-01-01 EUR EEK 233 2 Estonian kroon 1992 2011-01-01 EUR ESP 724 0 Spanish peseta 1869 1999-01-01 EUR FIM 246 2 Finnish markka 1860 1999-01-01 EUR FRF 250 2 French franc 1960 1999-01-01 EUR GRD 300 0 Greek drachma 1954 2001-01-01 EUR IEP 372 2 Irish pound (punt in Irish language) 1938 1999-01-01 EUR ITL 380 0 Italian lira 1861 1999-01-01 EUR LUF 442 1 Luxembourg franc (currency union with BEF) 1944 1999-01-01 EUR MCF ... 1 Monegasque franc (currency union with FRF) 1960 1999-01-01 EUR MAF ... – Moroccan franc 1921 1960–1976 MAD MTL 470 2 Maltese lira 1968[11] 2008-01-01 EUR NLG 528 2 Netherlands guilder 1810s 1999-01-01 EUR PTE 620 0 Portuguese escudo 1911-05-22 1999-01-01 EUR SIT 705 1 Slovenian tolar 1991-10-08 2007-01-01 EUR SKK 703 1 Slovak koruna 1993-02-08 2009-01-01 EUR SML ... 0 San Marinese lira (currency union with ITL and VAL) 1864 1999-01-01 EUR VAL ... 0 Vatican lira (currency union with ITL and SML) 1929 1999-01-01 EUR XEU 954 . European Currency Unit (1 XEU = 1 EUR) ? 1999-01-01 EUR AFA 004 Afghan afghani 1925 2003 AFN AON 024 0 Angolan new kwanza 1990 1995 AOR AOR 982 0 Angolan kwanza readjustado 1995 1999 AOA ARL ... 2 Argentine peso ley 1970-01-01 1983-05-05 ARP ARP ... 2 Argentine peso argentino 1983-06-06 1985-06-14 ARA ARA ... 2 Argentine austral 1985-06-15 1991-12-31 ARS AZM 031 0 Azerbaijani manat 1992-08-15 2006-01-01 AZN BGL 100 2 Bulgarian lev A/99 1962 1999-07-05 BGN BOP ... 2 Bolivian peso 1963-01-01 1987-01-01 BOB BRB ... 2 Brazilian cruzeiro novo 1967 1986 BRC BRC ... 2 Brazilian cruzado 1986 1989 BRN BRE ... 2 Brazilian cruzeiro 1990 1993 BRR BRN ... 2 Brazilian cruzado novo 1989-01-15 1990-03-15 BRE BRR ... 2 Brazilian cruzeiro real 1993-08-01 1994 BRL CLE ... Chilean escudo 1960-01-01 1975 CLP CSD 891 2 Serbian dinar 2003-07-03 2006 RSD CSK 200 Czechoslovak koruna ? 1993-02-08 CZK and SKK DDM 278 East German Mark of the GDR (East Germany) 1948-06-21 1990-07-01 DEM ECS 218 0 Ecuadorian sucre ? 2000 USD ECV 983 . Ecuador Unidad de Valor Constante (funds code) (discontinued) 1993 2000-01-09 - GQE ... Equatorial Guinean ekwele 1975 1985 XAF ESA 996 Spanish peseta (account A) ? ? ESP ESB 995 Spanish peseta (account B) ? ? ESP GNE ... Guinean syli 1971 1985 GNF GHC 288 0 Ghanaian cedi 1967 2007-07-01 GHS GWP 624 Guinea-Bissau peso 1975 1997 XOF ILP ... 3, 2 Israeli lira 1948 1980 ILR ILR ... 2 Israeli shekel 1980-02-24 1985-12-31 ILS ISJ ... 0 Icelandic old krona ? 1981 ISK LAJ ... Lao kip ? 1979 LAK MGF 450 Malagasy franc 1963-07-01 2005-01-01 MGA MKN ... Old Macedonian denar A/93 ? 1993 MKD MLF ... Mali franc ? 1984 XOF MVQ ... Maldivian rupee ? 1981 MVR MXP ... Mexican peso ? 1993 MXN MZM 508 0 Mozambican metical 1980 2006-06-30 MZN NFD ... 2 Newfoundland dollar 1865 1949 CAD PEH ... Peruvian sol 1863 1985-02-01 PEI PEI ... Peruvian inti 1985-02-01 1991-10-01 PEN PLZ 616 Polish zloty A/94 1950 1995 PLN ROL 642 Romanian leu A/05 1952-01-28 2005 RON RUR 810 Russian rouble A/97 1992 1997-12-31 RUB SDD 736 Sudanese dinar 1992-06-08 2007-01-10 SDG SDP 736 Sudanese old pound 1956 1992-06-08 SDD SRG 740 Suriname guilder ? 2004 SRD SUR ... Soviet Union rouble 1961 1991 RUR SVC 222 2 Salvadoran colón 1892 2001 USD TJR 762 Tajikistani ruble 1995-05-10 2000-10-30 TJS TMM 795 0 Turkmenistani manat 1993-11-01 2008-12-31 TMT TRL 792 0 Turkish lira A/05 ? 2005 TRY UAK 804 Ukrainian karbovanets ? 1996-09-02 UAH UGS ... Ugandan shilling A/87 ? 1987 UGX UYN ... Uruguay old peso ? 1993-03-01 UYU VEB 862 2 Venezuelan bolívar ? 2008-01-01 VEF XFO ... Gold franc (special settlement currency) ? 2003 XDR YDD 720 South Yemeni dinar ? 1996-06-11 YER YUD ... 2 Yugoslav dinar 1966-01-01 1989-12-31 YUN YUN ... 2 Yugoslav dinar 1990-01-01 1992-06-30 YUR YUR ... 2 Yugoslav dinar 1992-07-01 1993-09-30 YUO YUO ... 2 Yugoslav dinar 1993-10-01 1993-12-31 YUG YUG ... 2 Yugoslav dinar 1994-01-01 1994-01-23 YUM YUM 891 2 Yugoslav dinar 1994-01-24 2003-07-02 CSD ZAL 991 . South African financial rand (funds code) (discontinued) 1985-09-01 1995-03-13 - ZRN 180 2 Zaïrean new zaïre 1993 1997 CDF ZRZ ... 3 Zaïrean zaïre 1967 1993 ZRN ZWC ... 2 Rhodesian dollar 1970-02-17 1980 ZWD ZWD 716 2 Zimbabwean dollar A/06 1980-04-18 2006-07-31 ZWN ZWN 942 2 Zimbabwean dollar A/08 2006-08-01 2008-07-31 ZWR ZWR 935 2 Zimbabwean dollar A/09 2008-08-01 2009-02-02 ZWL See also
- List of circulating currencies
- Currency
- Tables of historical exchange rates
- List of international trade topics
- SWIFT and SWIFT code
References
- ^ Current currencies & funds
- ^ Current funds
- ^ Historic denominations
- ^ SIX Interbank Clearing
- ^ Rules for expressing monetary units
- ^ a b c Number of digits after the decimal separator.
- ^ According to Article 4 of the 1994 Paris Protocol [1]. The Protocol allows the Palestinian Authority to adopt additional currencies. In West Bank the Jordanian dinar is widely accepted and in Gaza Strip the Egyptian pound is often used.
- ^ a b The Malagasy ariary and the Mauritanian ouguiya are divided into five subunits (the iraimbilanja and khoum respectively) rather than by a power of ten. 5 is 10 to the power of 0.69897...
- ^ "The Order of Malta, A little history". http://www.orderofmalta.org/catalogue/38626/a-little-history/?lang=en. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
- ^ "Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets – Countries' currencies and codes". Lloydstsbcorporatemarkets.com. http://www.lloydstsbcorporatemarkets.com/glossary/currencies.asp. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
- ^ "Fate of Paper Money". News.goldseek.com. 2008-06-30. http://news.goldseek.com/GoldSeek/1214842037.php. Retrieved 2010-09-01.
External links
- The official list of ISO 4217 alphabetic and numeric codes
- ISO 4217 Maintenance Agency
- An older list of ISO 4217 alphabetic codes that contains some history of ISO 4217 (PDF file)
- Another list of numeric and alphabetic ISO 4217 currency codes
- Extended list of international currencies and their abbreviation form
- A C++ library for handling ISO currencies
- Currency Codes Search
- Position of the ISO code or euro sign in amounts
Categories:- Currency
- Encodings
- International economics
- International trade
- ISO standards
- Financial regulation
- Financial routing standards
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