The UAE Central Bank's new currency symbol has cleared Unicode's beta review for version 18.0. Here's exactly what's confirmed, what's still pending, and when you'll actually be able to type it.
The UAE Central Bank unveiled a new dirham currency symbol in March 2025, designed to reinforce currency stability while reflecting the national flag — alongside a companion digital-dirham mark that incorporates the flag's colors. The bank then submitted the symbol to the Unicode Consortium for encoding, along with style guidelines for how it should appear.
By February 2026 it was reported approved for encoding in the upcoming Unicode 18.0, alongside the Omani rial. On May 27, 2026, it appeared in the public beta of Unicode 18.0 — this time alongside the Saudi riyal symbol as well. Unicode's own release notes are explicit about what beta status means: the character repertoire is "considered stable," but characters can still be modified or removed before the final release. Because the standard is still in beta, no major technology company or platform has adopted the symbol yet — that's a deliberate consequence of the process, not a delay.
"Approved for encoding" and "on your keyboard" are two different milestones, separated by a public comment period, a final publication, and then each platform's own rollout. Here's the full sequence and where it currently sits.
| Milestone | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Symbol unveiled | March 2025 | ✅ Done |
| Submitted to Unicode Consortium | 2025 | ✅ Done |
| Approved for encoding in Unicode 18.0 | Reported Feb 27, 2026 | ✅ Done |
| Published in Unicode 18.0 public beta | May 27, 2026 | ✅ Done |
| Public feedback window | Through Jul 7, 2026 | ✅ Closed |
| Unicode 18.0 final release | Expected September 2026 | 🔄 Pending |
| Keyboard / platform adoption | Not yet scheduled | ⏳ Not started |
No specific Unicode codepoint has been publicly disclosed for the symbol yet — that detail, like final placement, typically firms up closer to or at the final release. This table reflects publicly reported status as of this page's last update, not a live check against the Unicode Consortium's own tracker.
This is exactly the gap our currency symbols library already tracks for every other world currency — a symbol existing in the Unicode standard and a symbol being typeable on an actual keyboard are two separate facts, and the second one usually lags the first by months or years. Once the dirham symbol has a finalized codepoint and real font coverage, it'll get an entry there alongside the dollar, euro, pound, yen, and rupee signs.
Until any platform ships native support, the only reliable way to use a character your keyboard doesn't have a dedicated key for is copy-paste — the same approach covered on our alt codes page for every other symbol without its own key. That's the gap this site's copy-paste tools exist to close in the meantime.
Unicode 18.0 is expected to publish as final in September 2026, alongside roughly 13,048 new characters in total — the dirham, Omani rial, and Saudi riyal symbols among them, alongside new script support such as Chisoi. Publication only fixes the character in the standard; it doesn't put it on any device. The UAE Central Bank's style guide recommends the symbol sit on the number-6 key across keyboard layouts, but as with every other Unicode character, device manufacturers make the final call on placement and timing — and older devices typically wait longest. We'll update this entry once a platform actually ships support, the same way we track the Unicode 17.0 emoji rollout.
Dollar, euro, pound, yen, rupee, and dozens more — every one click-to-copy, no keyboard update required.
Browse Currency Symbols →Reported by The National (May 27, 2026) and The National (February 27, 2026), with additional coverage from Time Out Dubai.