The currency in Abu Dhabi, and in the UAE, is the UAE Dirham , which is written in the official abbreviation AED.
You can also find the unofficial abbreviations of “dirham”: DH or Dhs.
The dirham is divided into 100 fils.
The text on the banknotes is on one side in Arabic, on the other side is in English.
Currently, you can find are in circulation the following banknotes:
- 5 dirham (brown)
- 10 dirham (green)
- 20 dirham (light blue)
- 50 dirham (pink)
- 100 dirham (purple)
- 200 dirham (green-brown)
- 500 dirhams (blue)
- 1000 dirham (green-blue)
The coins have numbers and texts in Arabic, except for the words “United Arab Emirates”, in English. The year is reported according to the Islamic calendar.
- The most common coins are coins of 1 dirham and 5, 10, 25 and 50 fils.
- The coin 50 fils has the shape of a polygon with seven sides and rounded corners.
Payments in Abu Dhabi
Payment by credit card in Abu Dhabi is widely used .
Credit cards and debt cards are accepted in major businesses, including restaurants and shops.
Instead, the taxi is usually paid cash: when you take a taxi, is advisable to have at hand small bills.
During COVID-19 pandemic, contact less payments have been encouraged and taxi payments also can be done by card through the booking app.
Before leaving to Abu Dhabi, you should inquire at your bank about how to enable the use of your debit and/or your credit card in the UAE.
On January 1st, 2018, VAT at 5% comes into effect, for some goods and services (such as food and beverage, electronic items, financial services). The amount is shown in the receipt like the other taxes, such as the tourist facilities taxes applied by hotels and restaurants.
ATMs in Abu Dhabi
ATMs are widespread in Abu Dhabi, at the airport, outside the banks, shopping centers and in some four and five stars hotels. The information displayed on the ATM machines are available in Arabic and English. For cash withdrawals and currency exchanges, fees are applied and usually they are quite high.
