(ISO: Geneva) -- The seventh edition of the ISO International Standard for currency codes has just been published. ISO 4217:2008—“Codes for the representation of currencies and funds,” is the only worldwide, multi-industry, standardized currency code. “Information interchange on an international basis is now commonplace in all spheres of activity,” says Jean-Yves Garnier, Chair of ISO/TC 68/SC 7. “The value of universally applicable codes for the identification of currencies and funds is indisputable. The internationally-agreed ISO 4217 currency codes have been steadily gaining ground since they were first developed some 30 years ago, and are now widely implemented by industry and public authorities alike.” “This latest update incorporates all changes introduced to the codes since the previous edition was published in 2001,” adds Paul Hojka, who acted as project editor. Intended for use in any application of trade, commerce, and banking, as well as in the public sector, ISO 4217:2008 is designed to be equally suitable for manual use or in information technology applications. ISO 4217 specifies the structure for a three-letter alphabetic code (alpha-3) and an equivalent three-digit numeric code for the representation of currencies and funds. Where possible, the codes of both formats are derived from international country codes, viz. ISO 3166, codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions (alphabetic) and the United Nations standard country or area code (numeric). For those currencies having minor units, the standard also shows the decimal relationship between such units and the currency itself. Between published editions, the currency codes are maintained by an appointed maintenance agency in accordance with procedures established by the standard. In addition to processing applications for codes, the maintenance agency maintains an updated list of codes assigned to currency authorities and makes the contents of this list available on request. The ISO 4217 maintenance agency is currently under the responsibility of the British Standards Institution (BSI), the ISO member for the United Kingdom. The updated alphabetic list of ISO 4217 currency codes can be accessed free of charge on ISO’s web site, where a link to the web site of the maintenance agency can also be found. As well as the main currency and funds code listing, ISO 4217 contains a table of funds codes registered with the maintenance agency, together with a table of codes giving historic denominations of currencies. An annex describes the information to be provided by those wishing to apply for the issue of new codes, amendments, and deletions. ISO 4217:2008—“Codes for the representation of currencies and funds,” was prepared by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 68—“Financial services, subcommittee SC 7, Core banking.” Published in a bilingual English-and-French edition, it costs 132 Swiss francs (CHF) and is available from ISO national member institutes and from the ISO central secretariat through the ISO store. For more information, visit www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1149 .