The new UAE dirham symbol is on track to appear on smartphone and computer keyboards worldwide once Unicode version 18.0 is published in September 2026 (per local reports). The Unicode Consortium has already approved the character, alongside a separate symbol for the Omani rial, clearing the technical path for operating systems and keyboard vendors to roll it out.
What the symbol looks like
The mark is a stylised form of the Arabic letter ? (dal), the first letter of "dirham," drawn as a capital D crossed by two horizontal stripes that reference the colours of the UAE flag (per Time Out Dubai). The design was unveiled by the Central Bank of the UAE earlier in the dirham�s wider digital overhaul, which also covers the Digital Dirham rollout (per local reports).
Where it will sit on the keyboard
Under style guidance published by the Central Bank of the UAE, the dirham symbol is designated to appear on the number 6 key across keyboard layouts, mirroring how the US dollar sits above the 4 and the British pound above the 3 on common layouts (per local reports). The character is one of 13,048 new keyboard characters in Unicode 18.0, a release that also adds two other modern currency symbols, nine new emoji, four new scripts, dozens of historical mathematical symbols, and hundreds of Cuneiform numeric signs (per Time Out Dubai).
Why it matters for digital transactions
A standardised, machine-readable dirham character makes it easier for e-commerce platforms, banks, accounting software, and government portals to render prices and invoices consistently across devices and languages. Until now, vendors have relied on the three-letter code "AED" or the Arabic abbreviation, which complicates everything from product listings to receipts on a phone keypad.
Adoption will not be instant
Unicode has cautioned that approval is only the starting line: device manufacturers must push the new character set in operating-system updates before users actually see the symbol on their keyboards, and some older phones may never receive it because vendors stop shipping updates over time (per local reports). New iPhones, Android devices, Windows PCs, and Macs released after the standard ships are expected to pick it up first, with broader availability following as software updates roll out.
Part of a wider currency modernisation
The symbol launch sits alongside the Central Bank�s Digital Dirham programme, which is moving the country toward a central-bank digital currency for retail and wholesale settlement (per local reports). Together, the two initiatives are pitched as the dirham�s biggest digital overhaul in years.
