- The United Arab Emirates dirham is divided into 100 fils.
- Bills come in 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50, 10, and 5 dirham notes.
- Coins are minted in 1 dirham, 50 and 25 fils.
- Most banks, hotels and legal moneychangers will handle the exchange of foreign currency. Banks offer the best rates.
- If you are given grubby and soiled notes, hand it back as these may be refused by other establishments.
- No exchange controls are in place.
The dirham is linked to the Special Drawing Right of the International Monetary Fund.
It has been held constant against the US dollar since the end of 1980 at a mid-rate of approximately
US$1= Dh3.6725.
Dollars are widely accepted in souks and shops. Other exchange rates (subject to change) are
UK: 6.77 AUS: 2.85 EURO: 4.65
Exchange rates of all major currencies are published daily in the local newspapers.
Currency Risk
The UAE Dirham is pegged to the US Dollar at a rate of 3.6710 and consequently GBP/AED moves in exactly the same way as GBP/USD.
Example: GBP/AED moved from high in May of 6.9860 to a low of 6.6398 in June which on an AED 1,000,000 property would be an increased cost of £7,464 in less than two months.
To understand moves in GBP/AED we must look at GBP/USD
