The meaning behind the UAE's new dirham notes
The redesigned polymer currency enhances security while celebrating the country's heritage
The UAE dirham has been a familiar part of life in the Emirates for as long as most residents can remember. You would have to be in your 60s to recall the early days of the union, when transactions were conducted in Bahraini dinars or Qatari riyals -depending on whether you shopped in Abu Dhabi or Dubai.
While dirham bank notes were introduced as a key part of the new country on May 19, 1973, their physical appearance has changed several times. Not just the designs, colours, and denominations, but the materials from which they are made. The latest notes are made from almost indestructible polymer and include a host of security features to defeat even the most determined forger.
They feature familiar landmarks across the seven emirates, as well as symbols representing the spirit of the nation. Over the years, though, these have changed, most recently with the redesigned Dh100 note.
Of the 14 banknotes officially in circulation, according to the Central Bank, six are now polymer and feature a portrait of the UAE's Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
While the designs are uncredited, many banknotes, not just in the UAE but other Gulf countries, are known to include the work of Mohammed Mandi, an Emirati calligrapher from Abu Dhabi who trained in Cairo and Turkey.
Before examining these new notes, let us pay tribute to the departed, most notably the one dirham note, which survived until 1983, when inflation and the Dh1 coin killed it off.
The one dirham note was in use between 1973 and 1983
The one dirham note was in use between 1973 and 1983
The latest issues of the Dh20 and Dh200 note date from 1998 and 2016 respectively, and we wait to see if and when they will make the transformation from paper to plastic.
The new notes also feature the signature of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, chairman of the Presidential Court and chairman of the Central Bank.
One final change is the adaptation, in March, of a new symbol for the currency. The dirham is now represented by the letter D in the Latin alphabet, crossed by two parallel lines. The design will “embody the stability of the UAE Dirham and is inspired by the UAE flag, to enhance financial and monetary stability,” according to state news agency Wam.
Unfortunately, until Unicode, the global standards body that governs new symbols for every keyboard and operating system, completes a lengthy approval process, it cannot be typed in the text of this article or any other document.
The new logo for the UAE dirham
The new logo for the UAE dirham
Dh5
The smallest note, the Dh5 note, was first issued more than 50 years ago when it could buy a couple of shawarmas and pay for
a taxi home.
Inflation has dramatically reduced its purchasing power over the years, but it is still in demand for smaller purchases like milk and bread, and to keep around for tips.
The newest polymer design, circulating since 2022, is radically different to its predecessor and greatly simplified by comparison, featuring Dhayah Fort in Ras Al Khaimah.
Over the years, it has undergone slight colour changes in shades of brown, but from 1982 it always featured the bay at Khor Fakkan and a detail of the nearby Imam Salem Al Mutawa Mosque, the oldest working mosque in the UAE.
On the Arabic side was Sharjah’s Central Market, better known as the Blue Souq, and a watermark of composite design that included a sailing dhow and the Arabian Gulf coastline, an oil derrick, palm tree, string of pearls and a line of camels.
A drawing of Ajman Fort – a structure central to the emirate and its rulers for more than 200 years – is now the focal point of the Dh5 note.
Dh10
Two other banknotes were reissued in polymer in 2021 and 2022. The old version of the Dh10, which dates from 1982, was a celebration of UAE culture.
The Arabic face showed a farm with trees and date palms. The other side featured a khanjar, the carved dagger worn by Emirati men at ceremonies, while the watermark included the crest of the UAE, with the spread wings of the Hawk of Quraish, the tribe of the Prophet Mohammed.
The classical columns on the English face of the new design belong to the Khor Fakkan Amphitheatre, which opened in 2020 in the Sharjah enclave. An open-air theatre, it features nearly 300 columns and can seat 3,600 people. It is connected to a 45-metre-high artificial waterfall.
The Arabic version of the latest iteration of the Dh10 note shows perhaps the country’s most visited landmark.
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi opened in December 2007 and is the country's largest mosque. It is also the final resting place of the UAE's Founding Father.
Like the other new banknotes, it features the UAE Nation Brand logo, based on a map of the Emirates and in the colours of the UAE flag.
A second map underneath includes the letters “UAE” but these can only be seen when notes are held horizontally and tilted towards the light.
Dh50
Honouring the story of the UAE, the Dh50 note was the first of the latest redesigns when it was issued four years ago as part of the country’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
The new banknote features Sheikh Zayed signing the Union Document on December 2, 1971. In the background is the Etihad Museum, the location of Union House where the ceremony was held.
To the right of Union House, on a transparent window, is an illustration of Wahat Al Karama – the UAE's permanent memorial dedicated to the country's fallen heroes, including soldiers, police, diplomats and civilians, since 1971.
Designed by British artist Idris Khan, the landmark, located across from Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, was inaugurated on Commemoration Day – November 30 – in 2016.
The previous Dh50 note showed the enlarged head of an Arabian oryx and Al Jahili fort in Al Ain, in a design that dated from 1982.
The second side depicts the leaders of the seven emirates in 1971, standing shoulder to shoulder in front of a flagpole bearing the UAE flag.
The illustration is inspired by an image taken by Noor Ali Rashid on December 2, 1971, of the rulers of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman and Fujairah, as well as the Crown Prince of Umm Al Quwain, who attended in place of the unwell ruler, at Union House. There, the rulers agreed to unite as one nation. Ras Al Khaimah joined the union weeks later, in February 1972, completing the UAE as it is known today.
Dh100
The latest banknote to be reissued in polymer, the Dh100 bill has undergone the biggest design change since the 1980s.
The World Trade Centre in Dubai has been replaced by the scene of a high-speed train entering the port of Fujairah.
While the World Trade Centre was the tallest building in the Middle East when the banknote was issued in 1982, that title was lost many years ago.
The new design is very much of the future and pays tribute to Etihad Rail. Once complete, the network will connect the country with freight and passenger trains, and will travel from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah in around an hour and 45 minutes. Fujairah's port, featured behind the train, is a key part of the UAE’s commercial infrastructure.
A transparent security window featuring the face of Sheikh Zayed has replaced the falcon on the left side.
The tower of Qasr Al Hosn sits within a second transparent security window on the right side of the note.
Unchanged is the colour of the note, which the Central Bank says features shades of red.
The Arabic side of the note includes a view of Umm Al Quwain National Fort, complete with three antique cannon and a pyramid of cannon balls. The UAE flag flies proudly from the watch tower.
Built in 1768 by the founder of the modern Al Mualla dynasty, Sheikh Rashid Bin Majid Al Mualla, the fort today houses the Umm Al Quwain National Museum.
Both sides of the note feature raised designs and Braille to assist the visually impaired, as well as hidden security features only visible under ultraviolet light.
Dh500
Issued in 2023 to mark the 52nd National Day, the redesigned Dh500 note was awarded “Best New Banknote” at a conference devoted to high security printing in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Sheikh Zayed appears twice on the new Dh500; first in the oval window, which features on all the latest notes.
The UAE Founding Father can be seen a second time on the security strip.
The English side of the note depicts Dubai's Museum of the Future on a skyline composed of the Emirates Twin Towers and Burj Khalifa.
The new Dh500 note is in shades of blue, replacing the previous multi-coloured issue and a design that dates from 1982 featuring Dubai’s Jumeirah Mosque and an enlarged head of a saqer falcon.
The Arabic side of the Dh500 note shows the Terra Sustainability Pavilion at Dubai's Expo City.
Dh1000
One of the highest value banknotes in the world, the redesigned polymer Dh1000 was issued on April 23, 2025.
The English side shows the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in Abu Dhabi, with the banknote a celebration of the UAE’s embrace of technology and its forward thinking.
Such a high-value note is rarely seen in general circulation. The old Dh1000, which showed Qasr Al Hosn and the Abu Dhabi skyline, was first issued in 1973 but then went out of circulation from 1982 to 1998.
With a value of $272, the Dh1000 note is in the world’s top three, exceeded only by the 1000 Swiss franc note, worth Dh4,496 or $740, and the 10,000 dinar from Bahrain, which can be exchanged for around Dh9,750 or $7,400.
Sheikh Zayed appears on the Arabic side leaning forwards and listening intently. In the 1976 photo, from which this illustration was adapted, his guests were three Nasa astronauts who were showing him a model of a space shuttle, seen in the design at the moment of lift-off.
Also shown is the Hope probe, currently orbiting Mars and the first mission to the planet by an Arab country.
An astronaut also appears in the security strip. This is Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati in space, waving as he leaves for his historic journey on a Russian Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station in September 2019.
Words James Langton
Editor Juman Jarallah
Photos UAE Central Bank and Antonie Robertson
Design Nick Donaldson
Sub editor Liz McGlynn
Built with Shorthand