Currency symbols of CRC displays CR₡ instead ₡

[izarutskaya]

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Version Number: 9.4.6-1
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: Yes
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: EDGE https://github.com/Expensify/Expensify/issues/635089
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Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team

Action Performed:

1. Open https://staging.new.expensify.com
2. Navigate to any workspace chat
3. Click on + button > Create expense
4. At Manual tab, click on the dropdown arrow of currency
5. Type CRC on search bar

Expected Result:

Currency symbols of CRC should displays ₡

Actual Result:

Currency symbols of CRC displays CR₡

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

• Android: App
• Android: mWeb Chrome
• iOS: App
• iOS: mWeb Safari
• iOS: mWeb Chrome
• Windows: Chrome
• MacOS: Chrome / Safari

Screenshots/Videos

Bug7159750_1779374828590.Recording__2141.mp4

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[MelvinBot]

Issue Analysis

Root Cause: The currency picker renders the symbol field verbatim from the backend-provided CURRENCY_LIST data — there is no client-side string manipulation that could prepend CR. The CRC (Costa Rican colón) entry in that server data has its symbol stored as CR₡ instead of ₡, so the App faithfully displays the wrong value.

Where the App reads it:

• CurrencySelectionList/index.tsx:32 builds each row's text as `${currencyCode} - ${getCurrencySymbol(currencyCode)}` → CRC - CR₡.
• CurrencyListContextProvider/index.tsx:20-25 — getCurrencySymbol simply returns currencyList[currencyCode]?.symbol, with no transformation.
• The symbol is a plain server field per types/onyx/Currency.ts:3-4. The Onyx CURRENCY_LIST key is populated from the backend, not defined in App.

This is a backend/internal data issue — not an App code bug. The fix is to correct the CRC symbol in the backend currency list (the data source that feeds the CURRENCY_LIST Onyx key). This requires changes outside the Expensify/App repository, so it should be escalated to an internal engineer with access to the backend currency definitions. No App-side code change is appropriate here.

Investigation details & alternatives considered

• Confirmed no hardcoded/derived CR prefix in App: a repo-wide search for CRC / ₡ in src/ returns no hardcoded currency symbol logic, and the row text template only concatenates the code, a literal -, and the raw symbol.
• Reproducible in both staging and production (per the report) and across the flow described — consistent with shared server data rather than a client build difference.
• Alternative considered: the App could ignore the backend symbol and derive it locally via Intl (getLocalizedCurrencySymbol in CurrencyUtils.ts:88-94). This is not recommended — it would change symbol rendering for every currency and Intl returns the non-narrow CRC for the Costa Rican colón in many locales, trading one wrong display for another. Correcting the source data is the right fix.

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Next Steps: This needs a backend data correction outside the App repo. A BugZero manager / internal engineer should fix the CRC symbol in the backend currency list. Reply with @MelvinBot <feedback> to refine this analysis.

[melvin-bot]

Uh oh! This issue is overdue by 2 days. Don't forget to update your issues!

[melvin-bot]

Eep! 4 days overdue now. Issues have feelings too...

[melvin-bot]

6 days overdue. This is scarier than being forced to listen to Vogon poetry!

[melvin-bot]

10 days overdue. I'm getting more depressed than Marvin.

[melvin-bot]

12 days overdue. Walking. Toward. The. Light...

[melvin-bot]

this issue was created 2 weeks ago. Are we close to a solution? Let's make sure we're treating this as a top priority. Don't hesitate to create a thread in #expensify-open-source to align faster in real time. Thanks!

[melvin-bot]

This issue has not been updated in over 14 days. eroding to Weekly issue.