Money has a national identity. Knowing the currency code of a country signals economic literacy as much as geographic knowledge.
How to Play: Each question shows a country. Pick its 3-letter currency code from 4 options. 10 random per round.
Result
Top 13 Country–Currency Pairs
Currency codes follow ISO 4217, a standard maintained by the International Organization for Standardization. The 3-letter format (USD, EUR, JPY) is universal in finance, banking, and international trade. The first two letters typically encode the country (ISO 3166), the third is the first letter of the currency name.
| # | Country | Currency Code |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | USD |
| 2 | Eurozone | EUR |
| 3 | United Kingdom | GBP |
| 4 | Japan | JPY |
| 5 | Switzerland | CHF |
| 6 | Australia | AUD |
| 7 | Canada | CAD |
| 8 | China | CNY |
| 9 | India | INR |
| 10 | Brazil | BRL |
| 11 | South Korea | KRW |
| 12 | Mexico | MXN |
| 13 | Russia | RUB |
How Currency Codes Are Standardized
ISO 4217 codes are 3-letter abbreviations used to uniquely identify currencies in financial transactions, tax filings, and trade documents. The standard was first published in 1978 to replace the inconsistent 2-letter and 4-letter codes various banks had been using.
The first two letters typically come from the country’s ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code (US for United States, JP for Japan, GB for United Kingdom). The third letter usually comes from the currency name: D for Dollar (USD, AUD, CAD), Y for Yen (JPY) or Yuan (CNY), R for Real (BRL) or Ruble (RUB).
The euro is a special case. Its code is EUR — not following the country-letter convention because no single country owns it. The European Central Bank assigns it to the Eurozone collectively. Similarly, the West African CFA franc uses XOF (X = special-purpose, OF = West African), and the East African CFA uses XAF.
Some countries use the currency of another country (Ecuador uses USD, Panama uses USD, Liechtenstein uses CHF). Others have a fixed exchange rate to a major currency (Hong Kong’s HKD pegs to USD, Denmark’s DKK pegs to EUR). For quiz purposes, the ‘official’ currency is what the central government declares.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does ISO 4217 mean?
ISO 4217 is the international standard that defines 3-letter currency codes (USD, EUR, JPY). Maintained by the International Organization for Standardization in Geneva.
Why is China's currency CNY and not RMB?
RMB (Renminbi) is the formal name of China’s currency. CNY is the ISO 4217 code, where the third letter Y stands for Yuan, the unit of Renminbi. Both terms are used interchangeably in casual English.
Is GBP just for England?
GBP (Great Britain Pound, also called pound sterling) is the official currency of the entire United Kingdom — England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Some Crown Dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey) issue local pound notes pegged to GBP.
What's the smallest currency code I'd see?
All ISO 4217 codes are 3 letters. The smallest in volume of trade is currencies of small island nations (TVD for Tuvalu, KID for Kiribati). Most quiz questions stick to the 30 major currencies.
Why does Switzerland use CHF instead of CHS?
CHF stands for Confoederatio Helvetica Franc. CH is Switzerland’s ISO country code from the Latin Confoederatio Helvetica (Swiss Confederation), and F stands for Franc. It would be CHS if Switzerland were called something starting with S.
Note: Currency codes per ISO 4217 (2024 version). ‘Eurozone’ refers to the 20 EU member states using the euro.
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