How do I display prices and receipts in Haitian gourdes correctly?

Question

I've seen gourde prices written as 'HTG 1500', '1 500 G', 'G 1,500.00' and '1500 gdes'. Is there a correct way to format amounts in my app, in both French and Kreyòl interfaces?

Accepted Answer

Let `Intl.NumberFormat` handle separators and symbol placement from the ISO currency code **HTG**, and pick the locale from the interface language:

~~~ts
export function formatHtg(cents: number, lang: "fr" | "ht" | "en"): string {
  const locale = lang === "en" ? "en-US" : "fr-HT"; // Kreyòl UI: French-style number formatting
  return new Intl.NumberFormat(locale, {
    style: "currency",
    currency: "HTG",
    minimumFractionDigits: cents % 100 === 0 ? 0 : 2, // hide ",00" on whole amounts
  }).format(cents / 100);
}

formatHtg(150000, "fr"); // "1 500 G" (narrow no-break spaces, symbol after)
formatHtg(150000, "en"); // "HTG 1,500"
~~~

Guidelines:
- **One consistent format per language** across the app, emails, SMS and PDF receipts. Mixed formats look untrustworthy on a payment page.
- **Format on the edge, store raw.** The database keeps integer cents plus the currency code. Formatting happens only when displaying.
- **SMS**: some phones render the narrow no-break space as a box. For SMS text, replace it with a plain space.
- On receipts show the **transaction reference**, date and time in `America/Port-au-Prince`, and the payment method (MonCash, NatCash). Those are exactly what customers read back to support.
- If you show USD too, always label both amounts, like "1 500 G (≈ $11.40)", and say which exchange rate and date the conversion used.

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