What is an ISO 4217 currency code?

It is a three-letter code that identifies a currency, defined by the ISO 4217 standard, such as GBP for the pound sterling and EUR for the euro. The first two letters usually match the country's ISO 3166 code and the third often reflects the currency name, as in GBP for Great Britain Pound.

Why do some currencies have zero decimal places?

Not every currency uses sub-units. The Japanese yen and the Korean won have no minor unit, so amounts are whole numbers. Most currencies use two decimal places, while a few Gulf currencies like the Kuwaiti dinar use three. The tool shows this so you store amounts correctly.

What is the numeric currency code for?

ISO 4217 also assigns each currency a three-digit numeric code, which is language- and script-independent and frequently mirrors the country's ISO 3166 numeric code. It is used in some payment and banking systems alongside the letter code.

How should I store money amounts in software?

Store amounts as integers in the smallest unit, such as pence or cents, using the currency's decimal-place count to know the scale. This avoids floating-point rounding errors. For GBP that means storing 1099 for 10.99 pounds, and for JPY storing the whole-yen value directly.

Does the lookup transmit my search?

No. The currency table is built into the tool and the search runs in your browser, so nothing you type is sent to any server.

ISO 4217 Currency Code Lookup

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ISO 4217 gives every currency a three-letter code, a three-digit numeric code, and a defined number of decimal places. This tool decodes those codes: type GBP and it returns the pound sterling, its country, numeric code 826, and two decimal places. You can also search by currency name or country.

How it works

The three-letter code follows a clear pattern. The first two letters usually match the country’s ISO 3166 alpha-2 code and the third letter is typically the initial of the currency name — GBP is Great Britain Pound, USD is United States Dollar. The standard also records how many decimal places, or minor units, a currency has. Most use two, but the Japanese yen and Korean won use none, and several Gulf currencies such as the Kuwaiti dinar use three. The tool surfaces this so you can format and store money correctly.

Tips and example

For software, store money as integers in the smallest unit and use the decimal count from this tool to know the scale: 10.99 pounds is stored as 1099, while a yen amount is stored whole because JPY has no minor unit. Searching Euro returns EUR with numeric code 978, and typing AMD returns the Armenian dram. The shared euro is listed once for the eurozone rather than per member state.