Question 1

What does a currency code like USD or EUR mean?

Accepted Answer

Currency codes are 3-letter alphabetic codes defined by ISO 4217. USD means United States Dollar, EUR means Euro, GBP means British Pound Sterling. The first two letters usually represent the country (US, EU, GB) and the third letter represents the currency unit (D for Dollar, R for Euro, P for Pound).

Question 2

How many currencies are there in ISO 4217?

Accepted Answer

ISO 4217 includes over 180 active currency codes, covering all countries and territories worldwide. This includes major currencies like USD, EUR, GBP, as well as smaller regional currencies and special drawing rights.

Question 3

What is the difference between alphabetic and numeric currency codes?

Accepted Answer

Alphabetic codes are 3-letter codes (USD, EUR, JPY) commonly used in trading and applications. Numeric codes are 3-digit numbers (840, 978, 392) used in systems where letter-based codes might cause encoding issues or in automated processing.

Question 4

Can multiple countries use the same currency code?

Accepted Answer

Yes, many countries share currency codes. For example, EUR is used by 19+ European Union countries, USD is used by the United States and several territories, and XOF (West African CFA franc) is used by 8 West African countries.

Question 5

Are cryptocurrency codes included in ISO 4217?

Accepted Answer

Traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are not included in ISO 4217, which only covers official government-issued currencies. However, some central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) may be assigned ISO codes as they become officially adopted.

Question 6

How often are currency codes updated?

Accepted Answer

ISO 4217 is maintained by the ISO 4217 Maintenance Agency and updated as needed when countries adopt new currencies, change existing ones, or when geopolitical changes occur. Our database is regularly updated to reflect these official changes.

ISO 4217 Currency Codes Database

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