Gera Tools

ISO 4217 Currency Codes

All ISO 4217 currency codes with name, numeric code, minor unit and country.

Searchable ISO 4217 currency reference: three-letter alphabetic code, three-digit numeric code, number of minor-unit (decimal) digits and country for each currency, including zero-decimal currencies like JPY and KRW.

What is a minor unit in ISO 4217?

The minor unit is the number of decimal digits a currency normally uses. USD has 2 (cents), JPY has 0 (no fractional yen), and BHD has 3 (fils). It tells you how to format and store amounts.

ISO 4217 currency code reference

ISO 4217 standardizes the codes used to identify currencies in pricing, accounting and payment systems. Each currency has a three-letter alphabetic code (USD, EUR), a three-digit numeric code (840, 978), and a defined minor unit — the number of decimal places it normally uses. This reference is searchable by code, name or country and highlights the often-missed minor-unit count.

How it works

The alphabetic code is constructed from the country’s ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code plus a letter for the currency: GB + P = GBP (Pound), US + D = USD (Dollar). Supranational and special codes start with X (EUR is an exception that predates the rule; XAU is gold, XDR is the IMF Special Drawing Right).

The crucial field for software is the minor unit (exponent):

amount_major = amount_minor / 10^minor

USD, minor 2:  150 cents  -> 1.50
JPY, minor 0:  150 yen    -> 150
BHD, minor 3:  150 fils   -> 0.150

Always store money as an integer count of minor units together with the currency code, then scale only when displaying. This prevents floating-point drift and makes the minor-unit table the single source of truth for formatting.

Tips and notes

  • Never assume two decimals. JPY, KRW, VND and UGX use 0, while BHD, KWD, JOD and TND use 3 — hardcoding * 100 corrupts these.
  • The numeric code is handy when a system cannot carry Latin letters, and it usually matches the country’s ISO 3166-1 numeric code.
  • Codes beginning with X are not ordinary currencies; filter them out if you only want spendable money.
  • Pair every monetary amount with its currency code in storage — an amount without a currency is meaningless and a common source of bugs.