How to convert money representation of different currency to a decimal value in java

Question

Suppose I have money value represented as 10.000,00 in congo currency and I want it to be converted to a decimal amount like 10000.00. The money representation can be any from deferent countries and the outcome should be a decimal amount.

How do I achieve this in java?

I did that just recently like this: Split the string by all possible markers (.,' should be enough). Then join the parts except for the last one. Before you add that, you add whatever decimal-sign you need. So, "10.000,00" => [[10],[000],[00]] => 10000.00. This can then be converted to BigDecimal. (Don't use float or double for monetary values.) — Fildor, Apr 10 '17 at 08:12
I don't know if that's interesting for you, but Java 8 has a `Currency` class, that can give you [number of fraction didgits](https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/util/Currency.html#getDefaultFractionDigits--). — Fildor, Apr 10 '17 at 08:22

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 10 '17 at 08:13

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It is better to keep money in integer format in minimal possible coin value - f.e. in US dollars - if you have 1$ and 25 cents - just save it as int 125 cents - it helps to avoid very common problems with java float/doubles precision errors.

answered Apr 10 '17 at 08:13

Sergey Kuptsov

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Mind that you'll have to keep the information which currency it is, since not all currencies have 2 digits decimal value. Some have 3 decimals, others none! Also in some financial applications, you might need 4 decimals (= cent/100). – Fildor Apr 10 '17 at 08:16
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This way he won't be able to represent beyond USD 21 Million or even worse 21 Million Indonesian Rupiah (USD 1700) – Rajeev Sreedharan Apr 10 '17 at 08:26
Ref https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4217 for the recognised resource. – MikeRoger Feb 15 '18 at 10:58

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 10 '17 at 08:22

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You can use replace for example :

money.replace(",", "#").replace(".", "").replace("#", ".")

This will gives you:

10000.00

If you want to get the decimal value then you can use :

String money = "10.000,00";
NumberFormat format = NumberFormat.getInstance(Locale.FRANCE);
Number number = format.parse(money.replace(".", ""));
System.out.println(number);
double d = number.doubleValue();
System.out.println(d);

This will gives you:

10000.0

answered Apr 10 '17 at 08:22

Youcef LAIDANI

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double is not the best choice for monetary values. – Fildor Apr 10 '17 at 08:26
so what is the best choice @Fildor ? – Youcef LAIDANI Apr 10 '17 at 08:26
Yep, I deleted my comment after your edit. The example, though is only *one* example. He states that he can have others from other countries. – Fildor Apr 10 '17 at 08:27
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"so what is the best choice" - Depends on what you want to do or how you are supposed to save it. I usually go for BigDecimal or int (together with Currency). – Fildor Apr 10 '17 at 08:28
@YCF_L The solution proposed in comments by Fildor makes sense IMO, and cares about most of the formats... Extracted digits can then be joined to a BigDecimal – BackSlash Apr 10 '17 at 08:28
@Fildor post your answer it can help others – Youcef LAIDANI Apr 10 '17 at 08:30
Just try it for Swiss format "1'000.00" ... You'd have to know which char to replace in line 3 of the second approach. – Fildor Apr 10 '17 at 08:31

score 0 · Answer 3 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:02

Note: For the following, I assume it will not necessarily be known beforehand which currency/locale to expect.

I did that just recently like this: Split the string by all possible markers (.,' should be enough). Then join the parts except for the last one. Before you add that, you add whatever decimal-sign you need. So, "10.000,00" => [[10],[000],[00]] => 10000.00. This can then be converted to BigDecimal. (Don't use float or double for monetary values.)

The reason for doing it that way: You can handle most formats like

1.234,56
1,234.56
1'234.56
1234.567

And you automatically can handle numbers of fraction digits != 2.

You'd only have to be careful with whitespaces and currencies with no fractions (split array will be of size = 1). Also be careful with currencies with 3 fraction digits. It can be cumbersome to tell amounts apart using this approach that are not using a decimal at all and those that do ("1.234" =>"1234.000" and "1.234,567" => "1234.567"). You might need a little additional validation & correction for those cases.

I don't know if that's interesting for you, but Java 8 has a Currency class, that can give you number of fraction digits.

I also suggest writing a unit test, so you can be sure all expected input formats will end up in your desired format. And of course I suggest extensive documentation of what formats are accepted / allowed.

Thomas Fritsch · Answer 4 · 2017-04-10T09:33:49.883

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The method NumberFormat.getCurrencyInstance(Locale) is made exactly for this purpose.
It takes care for all country-specific formatting (decimal point or comma, currency name, currency before or after number, thousands grouping, ...).

You use it like this, for example for Congo (Democratic Republic):

Locale locale = new Locale("", "CD");
NumberFormat currencyFormat= NumberFormat.getCurrencyInstance(locale);
String s = currencyFormat.format(10000.0);

Result is "CDF 10,000.00"

edited Apr 10 '17 at 09:33

answered Apr 10 '17 at 09:17

Thomas Fritsch

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While this is a good answer, it assumes you *know* which currency is incoming. Not sure if this is the case here. – Fildor Apr 10 '17 at 09:42
@Fildor More precisely: you need to know the *country*. However, there is also method `getCurrentInstance()` for using the default locale, i.e. the country where you are. – Thomas Fritsch Apr 10 '17 at 09:47
Correct, and that might be not enough. I can be in Germany and an Amount formatted in Swiss format coming in ... Or even more weird: I can be in Germany, have a document in German language but amounts printed on it use English format ... this can get really really complicated. – Fildor Apr 10 '17 at 09:51
I agree with @Fildor here. – Prasanta Biswas Apr 10 '17 at 11:28

How to convert money representation of different currency to a decimal value in java

4 Answers4