UAE Dirham Symbol Moves Closer to Keyboard Inclusion

UAE Dirham Symbol Progress

The UAE dirham symbol is one step closer to being included on computer and smartphone keyboards.

The symbol, along with those of the Omani rial and Saudi riyal, is in Unicode's 18.0 beta review of future symbol and emoji standards.

Unicode, based in California, is considered the technology industry’s leading organisation attempting to standardise emoji codes and digital characters across billions of digital devices.

Feedback Phase and Character Stability

Unicode's 18.0 beta is open for user feedback, allowing users to view the latest version of characters and provide comments.

According to Unicode, "At this phase of a release, the character repertoire is considered stable," and feedback can be submitted until July 7.

While no new characters will be added, existing characters could still be removed or have their names or code points changed with strong justification.

Background and Symbol Design

The UAE Central Bank unveiled a symbol for the national currency in March last year as part of a drive to enhance the country's status as a global financial hub.

The symbol was designed to represent the stability of the currency while also paying homage to the UAE flag.

Later in 2025, the bank applied to Unicode to secure the dirham's presence on technology platforms.

The submission letter stated, "We confirm that the proposed glyph is original, it does not use a specific font and as such does not require any licensing to allow its inclusion in the official Unicode charts."

Future Implementation

The UAE Central Bank released a style guideline in 2025 detailing how it envisions the dirham symbol appearing on the number 6 key on keyboard layouts.

Ultimately, it will be up to device manufacturers to decide where the symbol will be placed.

Unicode's final 18.0 release is expected to be published in September.