ISO 4217
The standard that assigns each currency a three-letter code, such as USD, EUR or JPY.
Updated 2026-07-26
The code is what makes currency amounts unambiguous across systems and languages: symbols are shared between currencies and names are translated, but the code is not.
The standard also records how many minor units each currency conventionally uses, which is why some amounts are shown with two decimals and others with none or three. Applying a fixed two decimals to every currency misstates several of them.
Codes are occasionally retired and replaced, usually after a redenomination. Historic data keeps the code that was in force at the time.
Related terms
3 entries- Cross rate
- A rate between two currencies computed from each one's rate against a common third currency.
- Market exchange rate
- The rate at which currency is actually bought or sold at a given moment, which differs by counterparty and size.
- Reference exchange rate
- A daily benchmark rate published by a central bank for information, accounting and statistics.
Where this appears in the data
Written for reading the records published here. This is not a legal, tax or accounting definition, and where a jurisdiction defines the term precisely, that definition governs.