ISO 4217

ISO 4217 assigns standardized three-letter alphabetic codes and three-digit numeric codes to currencies worldwide.
These codes are widely used in banking, financial services, accounting, and international trade to avoid confusion caused by similar currency names. For example, the US dollar is represented as USD (840), the euro as EUR (978), and the Japanese yen as JPY (392).

Alphabetic codes are derived from ISO 3166, which defines country codes. In most cases, the first two letters correspond to the country code, while the third relates to the currency name (e.g., USD = US + D for dollar). Numeric codes are often aligned with numeric country codes and are especially useful in systems that don’t use Latin scripts.

ISO 4217 also covers minor units (e.g., 1 dollar = 100 cents), precious metals such as gold (XAU) and silver (XAG), and certain special-purpose funds.

🧑‍💻 Who is it for? #️⃣

ISO 4217 is used by banks, payment processors, financial institutions, software developers, and localization professionals. Any system that handles money (from e-commerce platforms to global trading networks) relies on these codes to ensure an accurate and consistent representation of currencies.

☝️ Why is it important? #️⃣

Without standardized currency codes, international transactions would be prone to errors and misunderstandings. ISO 4217 makes financial data exchange more secure, transparent, and efficient by making sure that every currency has a unique, globally recognized identifier.

📌 Key points about ISO 4217 #️⃣

• Lists active, withdrawn, and special-purpose currency codes (including precious metals)
• Defines both alphabetic (3-letter) and numeric (3-digit) codes for currencies
• Essential for banking, trading, accounting, and localization workflows
• Based on ISO 3166 country codes for consistency
• Includes definitions for minor units (e.g., cents)

💱 Example: ISO 4217 codes #️⃣

🌍 ISO 4217 in localization #️⃣

In localization workflows, ISO 4217 ensures that currencies are displayed correctly across regions. It helps software teams correctly format prices, invoices, and payment information across regions, improving user trust and avoiding costly mistakes.

Note: The current edition is ISO 4217:2015. Updates to the list of currency codes are maintained by SIX Financial Information AG on behalf of the Swiss Association for Standardization. Since ISO standards are updated regularly, always check the official ISO catalogue entry for the latest version.