The symbol for the Emirati Dirham will soon be added to smartphone keyboards

The official symbol of the UAE Dirham has taken another step closer to being available on phones and computers. This symbol has been registered in version 18 of the Unicode standard and now has a dedicated digital code named U+20C3; meaning that software can recognize and display it like other currency symbols.

The Unicode Consortium, in a statement on September 16, introduced the Dirham symbol as one of the most anticipated new characters in this version. The Maldivian Rupee and Omani Rial symbols have also been added to Unicode in this update.

However, this does not mean that an immediate Dirham button will be added to all phones. Mobile manufacturers, operating system providers, font companies, and application developers must enable support for this symbol in their updates. Therefore, residents of the UAE may first see the new symbol in an application or website, and only later will they be able to type it directly on their phone's keyboard.

The Central Bank of the UAE introduced the official Dirham symbol on March 27, 2025. Its design is inspired by the letter 'D' in the word Dirham and features two horizontal lines inspired by the UAE flag, which the Central Bank states symbolizes the country's financial and monetary stability.

The Unicode Consortium has announced that version 18 of this standard has added a total of 13,707 new characters, including 9 emojis, bringing the total number of standard characters to 172,808.
Source: Gulf News