How To Format 30+ Currencies From Countries All Over The World

Estimated read time: 8 minutes, 42 seconds

It has never been easier to sell products to customers all over the world. And if you sell only digital products in your online store, there are even fewer limitations.

But selling to international customers involves a lot more than converting dollar amounts and slapping a different currency symbol in front of it. There are four main elements you need to be aware of when formatting prices on your website.

And yes, you need to alter all four elements to correctly localize your pricing. If you localize halfway, customers will wonder what else you’re doing only halfway. So, if you’re going to display different currencies based on your customer’s geographic location, do it right.

Note, the formatting may vary depending on the language and region settings of international shoppers’ browsers.

Here is the list of four formatting elements to consider when creating localized prices and a comprehensive list of countries and their currency formats.

1. Symbol Placement

In the US, we’re used to the dollar symbol being to the left of the dollar amount. But currency symbol placement changes based on geographic location. For example, countries in the European Union place the euro symbol to the right of the dollar amount.

But to make things interesting, Canada does it both ways. In English Canada, the dollar symbol goes to the left of the amount, while in French Canada, the dollar sign goes to the right.

As a US business, you may be tempted to keep all currency symbols to the left of the dollar amount to keep things consistent. But don’t do it. While it may make sense for you, changing the placement of the currency symbol will be confusing for your foreign customers.

2. Spacing

When you look at price tags, you probably don’t think about spacing very much. Do you even know if the US adds a space between the dollar symbol and the amount? I don’t think I ever really paid attention. The answer is, no, there is no space between the dollar symbol and the amount for US currency.

On the other hand, there is a non-breaking space between the dollar amount and the euro sign for EU countries. But don’t assume spacing is determined by the placement of the currency symbol. There are no hard-and-fast rules when it comes to spacing; you just have to check the pricing format for individual countries and locations.

3. Commas vs. Decimal Points

In the US, dollars and cents are separated by a decimal point and thousands are separated by a comma. But in many countries the opposite is true—they use commas for fractional separators and decimals for thousand separators.

To determine how countries use commas and decimals in their pricing format, you have to check on each location. But again, Canada likes to mix it up. They us a decimal as the fractional separator in the English-speaking parts of the country, and a comma as the fractional separator in the French-speaking parts of the country.

4. Abbreviations vs. Symbols

Each country has a three-letter code for their currency. These codes are usually meant for the international banking business and data interchange between computers. Which means most people aren’t familiar with the three-letter codes. However, you can use these banking codes as a last resort if your website’s font can’t handle specific currency symbols.

If you need to decide between the currency’s abbreviation/code or symbol, choose only one. While using both the abbreviation and symbol seems to make sense, it looks weird. Once you decide between the symbol or code, be consistent across all currencies.

Now that you know what to look for in currency formats, let’s look at how some of the most popular countries format their pricing.

Popular Country Currencies

Argentina Currency: Argentine Peso Abbreviation/Code: ARS Symbol: $ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, comma is fractional separator, decimal is thousand separator Example: $ 1.234,56

Australia Currency: Australian Dollar Abbreviation/Code: AUD Symbol: $ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: $ 1,234.56

Brazil Currency: Brazilian Real Abbreviation/Code: BRL Symbol: R$ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, comma is fractional separator, decimal is thousand separator Example: R$ 1.234,56

Canada Currency: Canadian Dollar Abbreviation/Code: CAD Symbol: $ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: $ 1,234.56

Canada (French) Currency: Canadian Dollar Abbreviation/Code: CAD Symbol: $ Format: Symbol to the right of amount, non-breaking space, comma is fractional separator, decimal is thousand separator Example: 1.234,56 $

Chile Currency: Chilean Peso Abbreviation/Code: CLP Symbol: $ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: $ 1,234.56

China Currency: Yuan Renminbi Abbreviation/Code: CNY Symbol: ¥ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: ¥ 1,234.56

Columbia Currency: Colombian Peso Abbreviation/Code: COP Symbol: $ Format: Symbol to the left of amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: $ 1,234.56

Czech Republic Currency: Czech Koruna Abbreviation/Code: CZK Symbol: Kč Format: Symbol to the right of the amount, non-breaking space, comma is fractional separator, decimal is thousand separator Example: 1.234,56 Kč

Denmark Currency: Danish Krone Abbreviation/Code: DKK Symbol: kr. Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, comma is fractional separator, decimal is thousand separator Example: kr. 1.234,56

European Union (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.) Currency: Euro Abbreviation/Code: EUR Symbol: € Format: Symbol to the right of the amount, non-breaking space, comma is fractional separator, decimal is thousand separator Example: €1.234,56

Hong Kong Currency: Hong Kong Dollar Abbreviation/Code: HKD Symbol: HK$ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: HK$ 1,234.56

Hungary Currency: Hungarian Forint Abbreviation: HUF Symbol: Ft Format: Symbol to the right of the amount, non-breaking space, comma is fractional separator, decimal is thousand separator Example: 1.234,56 Ft

India Currency: Indian Rupee Abbreviation/Code: INR Symbol: ₹ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: ₹ 1,234.56

Israel Currency: New Israeli Shekel Abbreviation/Code: ILS Symbol: ₪ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, comma is fractional separator, decimal is thousand separator Example: ₪ 1.234,56

Japan Currency: Yen Abbreviation/Code: JPY Symbol: ¥ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: ¥ 1,234.56

Korea, Republic of Currency: Won Abbreviation/Code: KRW Symbol: ₩ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: ₩ 1,234.56

Malaysia Currency: Malaysian Ringgit Abbreviation/Code: MYR Symbol: RM Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: RM 1,234.56

Mexico Currency: Mexican Peso Abbreviation/Code: MXN Symbol: $ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: $ 1,234.56

Morocco Currency: Moroccan Dirham Abbreviation/Code: MAD Symbol: .د.م. Format: Symbol to the right of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: 1,234.56 .د.م.

New Zealand Currency: New Zealand Dollar Abbreviation/Code: NZD Symbol: $ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: $ 1,234.56

Norway Currency: Norwegian Krone Abbreviation/Code: NOK Symbol: kr Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: kr 1,234.56

Philippines Currency: Philippine Peso Abbreviation/Code: PHP Symbol: ₱ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: ₱ 1,234.56

Poland Currency: Zloty Abbreviation/Code: PLN Symbol: zł Format: Symbol to the right of the amount, non-breaking space, comma is fractional separator, decimal is thousand separator Example: 1.234,56 zł

Russian Federation Currency: Russian Ruble Abbreviation/Code: RUB Symbol: p. Format: Symbol to the right of the amount, non-breaking space, comma is fractional separator, decimal is thousand separator Example: 1.234,56 p.

Saudi Arabia Currency: Saudi Riyal Abbreviation/Code: SAR Symbol: ﷼ Format: Symbol to the right of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: 1,234.56 ﷼

Singapore Currency: Singapore Dollar Abbreviation/Code: SGD Symbol: $ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, no space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: $1,234.56

South Africa Currency: Rand Abbreviation/Code: ZAR Symbol: R Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: R 1,234.56

Sweden Currency: Swedish Krona Abbreviation/Code: SEK Symbol: kr Format: Symbol to the right of the amount, non-breaking space, comma is fractional separator, decimal is thousand separator Example: 1.234,56 kr

Switzerland Currency: Swiss Franc Abbreviation/Code: CHF Symbol: fr. Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, comma is fractional separator, decimal is thousand separator Example: fr. 1.234,56

Taiwan Currency: New Taiwan Dollar Abbreviation/Code: TWD Symbol: 元 Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: 元 1,234.56

Thailand Currency: Baht Abbreviation/Code: THB Symbol: ฿ Format: Symbol to the right of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: 1,234.56 ฿

Turkey Currency: Turkish Lira Abbreviation/Code: TRY Symbol: ₺ Format: Symbol to the right of the amount, non-breaking space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: 1,234.56 ₺

UK/Great Britain Currency: Pound Sterling Abbreviation/Code: GBP Symbol: ‎£ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, no space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: £1,234.56

United States Currency: US Dollar Abbreviation/Code: USD Symbol: $ Format: Symbol to the left of the amount, no space, decimal is fractional separator, comma is thousand separator Example: $1,234.56

Vietnam Currency: Dong Abbreviation/Code: VND Symbol: ₫ Format: Symbol to the right of the amount, non-breaking space, comma is fractional separator, decimal is thousand separator Example: 1.234,56 ₫

We’ve gone through just about every country and their currency, but now I have a secret to tell you. There’s an easier way to keep your currencies consistent with all geo-locations. All you have to do is get a full-service ecommerce partner, like FastSpring, to do it for you. There’s no need to manually change currency formats to keep international customers happy when FastSpring can handle all localization for you.

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