ISO 4217

Flugschein

South East Asia Exchange Rates (6031878489)

ISO 4217 is an international standard for currency codes established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It provides a list of codes that denote specific currencies used globally, facilitating the international exchange of money and information about prices. The standard aims to eliminate confusion caused by the use of various names for currencies and to provide a common language for financial and business activities worldwide.

Overview

ISO 4217 codes are composed of three letters: the first two letters are the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes (which are also used for national top-level domain names on the internet), and the third is usually the initial of the currency itself. For example, the code for the United States dollar is USD, where 'US' is the country code for the United States and 'D' stands for dollar.

In addition to country-specific currencies, ISO 4217 also includes codes for precious metals (like gold, silver, palladium, and platinum), international composite units (such as the Special Drawing Rights used by the International Monetary Fund), and certain other entities that are not national currencies but are used internationally.

Codes for Major Currencies

Some of the most widely used ISO 4217 codes include:

• USD - United States dollar
• EUR - Euro, used by the Eurozone
• JPY - Japanese yen
• GBP - British pound sterling
• AUD - Australian dollar
• CAD - Canadian dollar
• CHF - Swiss franc
• CNY - Chinese yuan
• SEK - Swedish krona
• NZD - New Zealand dollar

Special and Non-standard Codes

ISO 4217 also encompasses codes for non-national entities. For example:

• XAU, XAG, XPD, and XPT are codes for gold, silver, palladium, and platinum, respectively.
• XDR is the code for Special Drawing Rights.
• Cryptocurrencies, despite their increasing prominence, do not have ISO 4217 codes, as the standard does not currently cover digital currencies. However, there are discussions and proposals for integrating them into the system.

Usage

ISO 4217 codes are used in banking and business globally. They are essential for international trade, finance, and as a standard in the exchange of information regarding currency transactions. These codes are used in airline ticketing, international train tickets, and in the financial industry for clearing and settlement processes.

Updating Process

The list of ISO 4217 codes is maintained by the ISO 4217 Maintenance Agency, which is hosted by the Swiss Association for Standardization. The agency is responsible for adding new codes as new currencies emerge and deleting codes of currencies that are no longer in use. Changes to the standard are influenced by changes in national borders, monetary reforms, or the introduction of new currencies.

Criticism and Limitations

While ISO 4217 is a critical standard for global financial operations, it has its limitations. The standard does not adapt quickly to new currencies, especially in the case of emerging digital currencies like cryptocurrencies. Additionally, the requirement for a country code can complicate situations where a currency is used across multiple countries or territories.

See Also

• Foreign exchange market
• Currency symbol
• List of currencies
• Digital currency