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Currency sign placement

by sunray
23 replies
I'm doing a review site, language: English, audience: Europe at large.

What confuses me is where to put the currency sign. Most of Europe puts it after the number (like: 5.00€ or 32$), while all English-speaking countries before the amount (£5.00 and $32).

Does it matter to you? If you are accustumed to one way, is it very inconvenient to see it at another place?
#currency #placement #sign
  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    It's not "inconvenient" - it's incorrect to place the $ sign after the amount. If you write it out as 'dollars' it comes after the number.

    However, $32 written as 32$ is wrong. Of course it matters.
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    • Profile picture of the author sunray
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      It's not "inconvenient" - it's incorrect to place the $ sign after the amount. If you write it out as 'dollars' it comes after the number.

      However, $32 written as 32$ is wrong. Of course it matters.
      The thing is in some countries €32 is what's wrong... That's the problem!
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    • Profile picture of the author UMS
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      It's not "inconvenient" - it's incorrect to place the $ sign after the amount.
      Not so. It all depends on what convention is used in the country.


      While I find when people write 32$ it really grates me as it looks so wrong (to me), but if that's the convention that the person uses in their country, I can hardly claim they are doing it incorrectly.
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    • Profile picture of the author mywebwork
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      It's not "inconvenient" - it's incorrect to place the $ sign after the amount. If you write it out as 'dollars' it comes after the number.

      However, $32 written as 32$ is wrong. Of course it matters.
      Not true.

      In Quebec that is EXACTLY how 32 dollars would be written. In the rest of Canada its the same way as the US uses, with the dollar sign in front of the number.

      It's no more "wrong" than it is to drive on the left side of the road as they do in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. It's just different.

      The answer to the OP's question is to either just use "$32" which most people will recognize as 32 dollars even if they don't use that convention themselves. Or if you really want to do it correctly use geolocation or read the browser's settings and determine where the user is located and format it accordingly. But that's a lot of work!

      Bill
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      • Profile picture of the author Kay King
        I should have said "wrong in the U.S." - because it is. Such usage would clearly label a site as "non-US" and that can hurt sales if the US citizen is your target market.

        For the OP, the market is European so he should use the currency sign placement the majority of his target market uses.

        It's no more "wrong" than it is to drive on the left side of the road as they do in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. It's just different.
        If you drive on the left side of the road here - trust me, the cops willl tell you it's "wrong". That could be before or after the accident....LOL
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    What you CAN DO, and SHOULD do in part ANYWAY, is follow the ISO3 standard! Some Americans might have a problem with it though....


    32 USD means 32 US Dollars!

    But the US does NOT have the currency sign in the front as people here have claimed!!!!!!!

    The DOLLARS sign goes in the front!

    $32 means 32 dollars

    There IS a cents sign in the US, and that goes on the back if the amount is less than a dollar!

    So it would be like 32c for 32 cents!

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author Martin Avis
      Originally Posted by seasoned View Post

      What you CAN DO, and SHOULD do in part ANYWAY, is follow the ISO3 standard! Some Americans might have a problem with it though....
      No you shouldn't. If we are marketers, aiming our pricing at customers, we should use the currency sign convention that they are most familiar with. In general the three letter convention is not something the average customer is comfortable, or in many cases familiar with so using it may cost you sales.

      If your customers are from English speaking countries the sign precedes the number: $10, £5 or €5 if they are in Ireland. Elsewhere in the world conventions vary. In the non English speaking Eurozone the sign is often placed after the amount.

      Who are you marketing to?
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      • Profile picture of the author seasoned
        Originally Posted by Martin.Avis View Post

        No you shouldn't. If we are marketers, aiming our pricing at customers, we should use the currency sign convention that they are most familiar with. In general the three letter convention is not something the average customer is comfortable, or in many cases familiar with so using it may cost you sales.

        If your customers are from English speaking countries the sign precedes the number: $10, £5 or €5 if they are in Ireland. Elsewhere in the world conventions vary. In the non English speaking Eurozone the sign is often placed after the amount.

        Who are you marketing to?
        But you CAN'T use the currency sign without the ISO3!

        Let's say I said I would charge you $10 for something. HOW MUCH IS THAT?

        Is it:

        $10 USD?
        $10.04 USD? (CAD)
        $10.04 USD? (AUD)
        $4.93 USD? (BBD)
        $9.92 USD? (BSD)
        $4.94 USD? (BZD)

        I could keep going!

        If not for the idea that MOST of these are USD, and most assume properly, there would be a LOT of problems.

        Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    BTW it is NOT a country convention, but a CURRENCY one! Most currencies simply belong to a country, and most countries have only one, but don't bet on it!

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author UMS
    I found this is a really good resource for international standardization of currency and numbers.

    Currency Internationalization (i18n), Multi-currency architecture and Foreign Exchange (FX)
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  • Profile picture of the author sunray
    Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

    Most of Europe does not put it after the number.

    Currency symbol is pretty much universally put before the number.
    As far as I know, in Europe only England, Scotland and Ireland put the sign before the amount.

    Originally Posted by Martin.Avis View Post

    No you shouldn't. If we are marketers, aiming our pricing at customers, we should use the currency sign convention that they are most familiar with. In general the three letter convention is not something the average customer is comfortable, or in many cases familiar with so using it may cost you sales.

    If your customers are from English speaking countries the sign precedes the number: $10, £5 or €5 if they are in Ireland. Elsewhere in the world conventions vary. In the non English speaking Eurozone the sign is often placed after the amount.

    Who are you marketing to?
    This is why I have this problem: I want European English-speaking, as well as others (Swedes, Germans etc.). That's the dilemma: should I follow the English language, or what most of Europeans are accustomed to...

    Originally Posted by UMS View Post

    I found this is a really good resource for international standardization of currency and numbers.

    Currency Internationalization (i18n), Multi-currency architecture and Foreign Exchange (FX)
    The information on this site suggests that on a website written in English the sign should be before the amount, even if most of the visitors are accustomed the other way. Maybe I should follow this rule... Thanks.
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    • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
      sunray,

      You're targeting Europeans in a non native language (ie English) and worrying whether they'd be concerned about the positioning of a currency symbol? :confused:
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      • Profile picture of the author Martin Luxton
        Just to throw the cat among the pigeons, in Turkey the sign goes before the amount but most people don't use the symbol - they prefer to use the abbreviation TL, which goes after the amount. PLUS they use a comma where we use a decimal point.

        So, for example, one thousand Turkish Lira looks like this 1.000 TL or 1.000

        They also usually put dollar and euro signs after the amount

        Martin
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      • Profile picture of the author sunray
        Originally Posted by Frank Donovan View Post

        sunray,

        You're targeting Europeans in a non native language (ie English) and worrying whether they'd be concerned about the positioning of a currency symbol? :confused:
        What you basically mean is that if they are willing to read the reviews in English, they should not have any problems with the placement either? I think you are right.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by sunray View Post

    Most of Europe puts it after the number (like: 5.00€
    What?!

    Which Eurozone countries are you thinking of?

    I've been to most of the Eurozone countries, and although I may be wrong, as far as I'm aware it's completely normal to put "€" before the number, just as it is with the "$" sign in America.

    Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

    Currency symbol is pretty much universally put before the number.
    Agreed.
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    • Profile picture of the author sunray
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      What?!

      Which Eurozone countries are you thinking of?

      I've been to most of the Eurozone countries, and although I may be wrong, as far as I'm aware it's completely normal to put "€" before the number, just as it is with the "$" sign in America.
      Maybe you just didn't notice (which is good news for me :-) ), but in all non English-speaking countries (France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland etc...) it's after the amount. Just to prove it to you if you still have doubts, here is the biggest Swiss website hosting company
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by sunray View Post

        Just to prove it to you if you still have doubts, here is the biggest Swiss website hosting company
        This is "proof"?! :p

        To me, it suggests that one hosting company website has got it wrong. Look at bank sites, Sunray - you'll see the opposite.

        And in any case, Switzerland isn't a Eurozone country! I carefully said "Eurozone countries", not "European countries" or "EU countries".

        Anyway, there are more productive ways to spend time than arguing about it, Sunray. I've lived in Europe all my life, am pretty well-traveled inside Europe, and it seems to me that it's normal to put the symbol before the figure, in Eurozone countries. Have a nice day.
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        • Profile picture of the author sunray
          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

          This is "proof"?! :p

          To me, it suggests that one hosting company website has got it wrong. Look at bank sites, Sunray - you'll see the opposite.

          And in any case, Switzerland isn't a Eurozone country! I carefully said "Eurozone countries", not "European countries" or "EU countries".

          Anyway, there are more productive ways to spend time than arguing about it, Sunray. I've lived in Europe all my life, am pretty well-traveled inside Europe, and it seems to me that it's normal to put the symbol before the figure, in Eurozone countries. Have a nice day.
          You're absolutely right, it's not very productive to argue about it. All the more that I've already decided to go with the way of the English language.

          But, since you challanged my proof and asked for a bank, I couldn't diregard this challenge Here is a price list of a bank in France.
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          • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
            If you're dealing with a fairly net-savvy crowd, they'll be familiar with it being done either way and won't have an issue with it. Do whatever you are comfortable with.

            Generally speaking, the least tolerant bunch would be Americans. I've found that most of us seem to think we're the only ones that count.:rolleyes:

            The only time putting the sign at the back of the number raises a flag for me is when I see someone claiming to be a US native. That's a tell-tale for a lot of the writers who will claim to be natives just to get your order.
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    • Profile picture of the author DireStraits
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      I've been to most of the Eurozone countries, and although I may be wrong, as far as I'm aware it's completely normal to put "€" before the number, just as it is with the "$" sign in America.
      Apparently they sometimes put it after the amount in Germany. My friend there always wrote it that way and said that's how it is.

      (Can't say I noticed when I was down there. Nor when in Italy, but they hadn't switched from Lira to the dark side at that time anyway.)

      I just assumed she was bog-eyed and remained sceptical until she sent along a few snaps from an Xmas market in Berlin showing the currency symbol as a suffix.
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      • Profile picture of the author myob
        Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post

        Currency symbol is pretty much universally put before the number.
        Personally, I would never buy anything with the currency symbol as a suffix. It's the mark of an amateur. :p
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    Australia also puts the $$ before the amount. I personally hate it when I see the $ sign after the amount. To me it signifies someone that doesn't have a good grasp of English (but that's just me.)
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