ABU DHABI – The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has unveiled the new symbol for the UAE’s national currency, the “Dirham”, in its physical and digital forms.
The move embodies the vision of the wise leadership, and the directives and ongoing support of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Presidential Court, and Chairman of the Board of the CBUAE, in strengthening the UAE’s position as a leading global financial hub.
The central bank also announced the progress of the Issuance and Circulation of the Digital Dirham, a key initiative of the Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) Programme launched by the CBUAE in 2023, aiming to bolster the UAE’s position as a pioneer in Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) and a destination for excellence in financial products innovation and digitalisation.
This will ensure the acceptance of the Digital Dirham as a universal payment instrument (legal tender) in all payment outlets and channels alongside physical currency.
The unveiling of the new dirham symbol is in conjunction with the CBUAE’s recent joining to the FX Global Code, becoming the first central bank in the Arab region to do so, comes as part of the CBUAE’s efforts to establish the UAE Dirham as an international currency, along with enhancing the integrity and best practices in the exchange market of the national currency against foreign currencies and promoting ethical practices and sound professional rules for its participants.
“The CBUAE issues the “Digital Dirham” as a digital version of the UAE’s national currency, characterised by high levels of security and efficiency, contributing to reduced costs of payments through its reliance on blockchain technology, which by its technical design insures effective risk management, data protection/privacy, and atomic transaction completion,” read official press release.
Individuals and businesses will be able to obtain the Digital Dirham through licensed financial institutions, such as banks, exchange houses, finance companies and fintech companies, according to the use cases that will be activated.
The issuance of the Digital Dirham is expected to take place in the last quarter of the year 2025 for retail sector.
The Digital Dirham offers several key advantages and characteristics that drive development and innovation, including Tokenisation and Smart Contracts.
