The currency code for the Swiss franc is CHF. It is the three-letter ISO 4217 code used by banks, payment systems, foreign-exchange markets and international price listings.
The first two letters, CH, come from Confoederatio Helvetica, the Latin name for Switzerland. Using Latin avoids privileging one of Switzerland’s several national languages. The final letter, F, identifies the franc. The Swiss franc is divided into 100 centimes, called Rappen in German-speaking Switzerland.
Switzerland introduced a unified franc in 1850, replacing the many currencies and coin systems used by its cantons. Liechtenstein also uses the Swiss franc as its official currency. A common mix-up is “SFr,” which is an informal abbreviation rather than the ISO code; CHK and SWF are not the official code for the Swiss franc.
CHF is also widely regarded as a major safe-haven currency. That reputation reflects Switzerland’s political stability, financial system and history of relatively conservative monetary policy—not a different currency code or a guarantee that its exchange rate always rises.