'Digital Dirham': UAE Joins Club of Three Having Digital Currency
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Thursday (Nov 13, 2025) launched 'Digital Dirham' and joined China, Nigeria and the Bahamas that have their own digital currencies
Dubai: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Thursday (Nov 13, 2025) launched 'Digital Dirham' and joined China, Nigeria and the Bahamas that have their own digital currencies.
The UAE completed its first government transaction using the Digital Dirham Thursday, marking a major step towards digital finance and greater transparency in public spending.
“Digital Dirham will help improve payment efficiency and reduce costs”, local officials said.
“Pivotal Milestone”
Maktoum Bin Mohammed, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance provided more details in a post on X calling the launch of Digital Dirham “a pivotal milestone in the history of government financial transformation in the UAE”.
He said that the first government transaction using the Digital Dirham issued by the Central Bank of the UAE Thursday “represented the future of the national digital currency in both government and private sector transactions.”
“Using the Digital Dirham in government transactions reflects the Ministry of Finance’s commitment to accelerating digital transformation in public finance management and enhancing transparency and efficiency in government financial systems”, he said.
“This strategic step reinforces the integration of the national financial ecosystem and aligns with the UAE leadership’s vision of building an advanced, innovative, and trustworthy digital national economy”, he added.
What is Digital Currency?
Digital Currency is a form of currency which exists only in digital or electronic form, with no physical counterpart like coins or banknotes. It is also called as digital money or electronic money, and stored, transferred and used through computers, smartphones, or other digital devices.
Cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Stablecoins (USDT, USDC), is an example of digital currencies.
PayPal balance, Venmo, Alipay, M-Pesa and others are also different forms of digital currencies categorized under E Money or Digital Fiat.
Digital Dirham has a distinction as it falls under the category of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) as it is issued by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Transactions of Digital Currencies are normally done using dedicated apps and software called digital wallet. The transaction is recorded on the blockchain (a public, tamper-proof ledger).
Countries having digital currencies
With the launch of Digital Darham, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has joined China, Nigeria and the Bahamas that have their own digital currencies.
China digital currency is called Digital Yuan and there are an estimated 260 million people who use it for daily payments.
Nigeria launched its digital currency named eNaira in 2021 whereas the digital currency launched by the Bahamas in 2020 is called Sand Dollar.
Unlike cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which are decentralised and not controlled by any authority, the digital currencies launched by China, UAE, Nigeria, and the Bahamas are issued and regulated by the UAE Central Bank — making them official and government-backed digital currency.
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