The Central Bank of <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/tags/uae/" target="_blank">the UAE</a> (CBUAE) has unveiled a new symbol for the country's national currency, the dirham, as part of a move to strengthen the Emirates' position as a leading global financial hub. The new symbol was chosen to represent the stability of the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/2024/05/10/uae-dirham-history/" target="_blank">Emirati dirham</a> while also paying tribute to the country's flag. The CBUAE also revealed the symbol for the digital dirham. "The letter was chosen, derived from the English name of the dirham, to serve as an international symbol representing the nation's currency, incorporating two horizontal lines that embody the stability of the UAE Dirham and inspired by the UAE flag, to enhance financial and monetary stability," read a statement from the CBUAE on Thursday. "The digital dirham symbol features a circle surrounding the physical currency symbol, using the colours of the UAE flag to reflect pride and national identity." The issuance of the digital dirham, the central bank digital currency, is expected to take place in the last quarter of the year for the retail sector. A CBDC is a digital form of a government-issued currency. They are similar to cryptocurrencies, except that their value is fixed by the monetary authority and equal to the country's fiat currency. Central banks around the world are looking into the development of <a href="https://are01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fbusiness%2Fmoney%2Fcentral-banks-plan-digital-currencies-to-fend-off-crypto-threat-1.1090935&data=05%7C02%7CPRyan%40thenationalnews.com%7Cffe2019c87244f8da4c008dd6d2e4746%7Ce52b6fadc5234ad692ce73ed77e9b253%7C0%7C0%7C638786767729640586%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=qDqgo1GbjUAZfjPYLPX0GIfsfkmtPaWP53y84D9OeaE%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">digital currencies </a>amid the growing popularity of <a href="https://are01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fbusiness%2Fcryptocurrencies%2F&data=05%7C02%7CPRyan%40thenationalnews.com%7Cffe2019c87244f8da4c008dd6d2e4746%7Ce52b6fadc5234ad692ce73ed77e9b253%7C0%7C0%7C638786767729653364%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=EmIsap19VPR3RSk0f%2F9bFzmWTW%2B%2FGiZ0wJyQw3kzONc%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">cryptocurrencies</a> as an asset class among retail and institutional investors. "We are proud to unveil today the new symbol for the UAE's national currency the "dirham" in both its physical and digital forms, and the design of the digital dirham wallet," said Khaled Mohamed Balama, governor of the CBUAE. "This reflects the significant advancements in the implementation of the Digital Dirham programme and a leap towards realising the CBUAE’s vision." Individuals and businesses will be able to obtain the digital dirham through licenced financial institutions, such as banks, exchange houses, finance companies and FinTech companies. The digital dirham is a key initiative of the Financial Infrastructure Transformation programme launched by the CBUAE in 2023. The central bank has developed a secure platform for the issuance, circulation and use of the digital dirham, including a digital dirham wallet. The wallet is designed for ease of use by individuals and businesses, enabling a number of financial transactions, including retail, wholesale and cross-border payments, money transfers and withdrawals, top-ups, and redemption of the Digital Dirham. The central bank had signed an agreement with <a href="https://are01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Ftags%2Fabu-dhabi%2F&data=05%7C02%7CPRyan%40thenationalnews.com%7Cffe2019c87244f8da4c008dd6d2e4746%7Ce52b6fadc5234ad692ce73ed77e9b253%7C0%7C0%7C638786767729665043%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=uYbdF%2F%2BV%2BcJc7gTi2dQy3y4E0LfNvmB0dD2SFA2Mmk4%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">Abu Dhabi's</a> G42 Cloud and digital finance services provider R3 to be the infrastructure and technology providers, respectively, for the implementation of the Digital Dirham.
