Use Cases
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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.
