Digital Dirham and AED Stablecoins: What UAE Enterprises Can Actually Use in 2026

As of August 2026, a UAE enterprise can accept a Dirham Payment Token issued by a company licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE, and cannot accept a US dollar stablecoin as payment for ordinary goods and services in the mainland. The Digital Dirham has legal tender status under Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025 and has been used in government and cross-border transactions, but the Central Bank has announced no public retail launch. At the end of 2025 it recorded two licensed payment token issuers in the country (Central Bank of the UAE, Annual Report 2025, published April 2026). Announcements have moved considerably faster than approvals. This article separates what a UAE business can plan around today from what it should not assume.

What is the Digital Dirham, and what is a payment token?

The Digital Dirham is a central bank digital currency. It is money issued by the Central Bank of the UAE in digital form. The Central Bank launched its CBDC strategy on 23 March 2023, built on three pillars: cross-border settlement through the mBridge platform, a bilateral bridge with India, and domestic issuance covering both wholesale and retail use (Central Bank of the UAE, 23 March 2023).

A payment token is a privately issued digital token designed to hold a stable value against a currency. Most people call these stablecoins. A Dirham Payment Token is one denominated in AED and issued by a company licensed by the Central Bank. A Foreign Payment Token is one denominated in another currency, such as a US dollar stablecoin.

Has the Digital Dirham actually launched?

The Central Bank's own written commitment was clear. In the press release unveiling the new dirham symbol and the Digital Dirham symbol, it stated that issuance "is expected to take place in the last quarter of the year 2025 for retail sector" (Central Bank of the UAE, 27 March 2025). That date passed without a launch announcement. What did happen is substantial and verifiable:

• Federal Decree-Law No. 6 of 2025 defines the dirham in physical or digital form and recognises the Digital Dirham as legal tender. The law was issued on 8 September 2025 and took effect on 16 September 2025. We could not retrieve the official gazette text directly, so the article numbering should be treated as unconfirmed, although the existence and effective date are corroborated by several independent law firms (Ashurst, 2026; Paul Hastings, 18 November 2025).
• The first UAE government transaction using the Digital Dirham took place on 11 November 2025 between the Ministry of Finance and Dubai Department of Finance on the mBridge platform, and completed in under two minutes. The Ministry described this as occurring during the pilot phase (UAE Ministry of Finance, 11 November 2025).
• The first cross-border central bank digital currency payment between the UAE and China was executed on 19 November 2025 through the new Jisr network (Central Bank of the UAE, 19 November 2025).

The Central Bank's own summary of the year is carefully worded. Its 2025 Annual Report lists the completion of the Digital Dirham "as an official payment instrument with an advanced brand identity and the execution of its first government transactions" (Central Bank of the UAE, 9 April 2026). It does not claim a public retail launch.

Widely circulated claims of a March 2026 or December 2025 retail launch could not be verified against any Central Bank, Ministry of Finance or UAE government source. Businesses should plan on the basis that the retail Digital Dirham is not yet generally available and that no revised launch date has been published by the Central Bank.

Can a UAE business accept a US dollar stablecoin as payment?

The Payment Token Services Regulation, Circular No. C 2/2024, is in force and effective from 31 August 2024 according to the Central Bank Rulebook. Under Article 2(4), a transfer involving a Foreign Payment Token issued by a registered foreign issuer is permitted only where the token is being lawfully used as a means of payment for the purchase of virtual assets or virtual asset derivatives (Central Bank of the UAE Rulebook).

In plain terms: a dollar-backed stablecoin cannot be used to buy a product or a service in the mainland UAE. To accept a stablecoin for ordinary commerce, the token must be a Dirham Payment Token issued by a company incorporated in the UAE and licensed by the Central Bank.

The licensing bar is meaningful. Article 13 requires initial capital of AED 15 million plus additional capital of 0.5 percent of the outstanding face value of tokens issued. The regulation applies in the mainland UAE and excludes the financial free zones, so a token authorised in DIFC or ADGM is not automatically permitted as a means of payment in the mainland.

Who is actually licensed?

The only regulator-published count we found is in the Central Bank's Annual Report 2025, which records two licensed payment token issuers as at the end of 2025, up from one at the end of 2024 (Central Bank of the UAE, published April 2026). The report does not name them. Several companies have announced approvals of their own. Each of the following is a company statement rather than a regulator confirmation, and the distinction is worth preserving in any internal paper:

• AED Stablecoin LLC announced in October 2024 that it had received in-principle approval for AE Coin, and in December 2024 that it had received a final licence. Both announcements originate from the company. No Central Bank confirming statement or register entry was found.
• Zand Trust announced on 17 November 2025 that the Central Bank had approved Zand AED (Zand Bank corporate press release, 17 November 2025).
• RAKBANK announced in-principle approval for an AED-backed stablecoin in January 2026, explicitly subject to fulfilling remaining regulatory and operational requirements before full launch.
• Approval for the dirham-backed token DDSC, associated with IHC, Sirius International Holding and First Abu Dhabi Bank, was reported in February 2026 (The National, 11 February 2026). The type of approval was not specified in the reporting available.

For a business writing a payments policy, the safe formulation is that a counterparty "announced" an approval, unless the Central Bank has published a confirming document. Stating that a token is licensed, without a regulator source, is a claim the business cannot support.

Is the cost saving real?

The IMF estimates that sending 500 dollars through stablecoins could cost between 5 and 10 dollars, compared with 20 to 30 dollars through traditional rails, while noting that on-ramp and off-ramp fees remain significant variables (IMF, Understanding Stablecoins, 2025). That caveat is important, because converting in and out of fiat currency is where much of the cost reappears.

The gap these systems aim at is well documented. The global average cost of sending 200 dollars was 6.36 percent in the third quarter of 2025, with digital services averaging 4.59 percent against 7.30 percent for non-digital (World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide, Issue 54, September 2025). The G20 target is 3 percent or less by 2030, and the Financial Stability Board judges that satisfactory improvement in line with the 2027 roadmap timetable is unlikely (Financial Stability Board, 9 October 2025).

A scale check is also worth keeping in view. The Bank for International Settlements put stablecoin market capitalisation at around 320 billion dollars at the end of May 2026 and annual transaction volume at an estimated 28 trillion dollars in 2025, which it describes as equivalent to less than three business weeks of settlement volume in the largest US wholesale payment systems (BIS, Annual Economic Report 2026, June 2026).

What does an enterprise actually need to build?

Access is intermediated. The Central Bank's working paper states that Digital Dirham holdings are a direct liability of the Central Bank as sole issuer, while distribution, wallets and customer payments are managed by licensed financial institutions, with transaction or holding limits set in tiers for residents, businesses and visitors, and no interest paid on balances (Central Bank of the UAE, Working Paper No. 1/2025, July 2025). A business will connect through a licensed institution rather than directly to the central bank. That leaves four practical workstreams:

• Counterparty and licensing checks. Confirm which entity is licensed for which activity, and record the evidence. Issuance, conversion, and custody and transfer are separately licensed or registered activities under the Payment Token Services Regulation.
• Compliance controls. Central Bank guidance on virtual asset risks requires an enterprise-wide risk assessment, enhanced customer due diligence to identify virtual asset service provider exposure, and controls integrated into the existing AML programme.
• Reconciliation into finance systems. Token settlement has to appear in the ledger, match an invoice, and survive an audit. This is ordinary integration work and it is where most of the effort goes.
• Accounting treatment. There is no IFRS standard specifically governing stablecoin holdings as of August 2026. The IASB and FASB have active agenda items but we could not retrieve published decisions. The treatment should be agreed with your auditor before volume grows, and stablecoins should not be assumed to be cash equivalents.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Digital Dirham available to the public?

Not on the evidence available from official sources as of August 2026. The Central Bank stated in March 2025 that retail issuance was expected in the final quarter of 2025, and no launch announcement followed. A real-value retail pilot, a first government transaction in November 2025 and a first cross-border payment with China in November 2025 are confirmed. Reports of a retail launch in December 2025 or March 2026 could not be verified against Central Bank or UAE government sources.

Can we accept USDT or USDC from customers in the UAE?

Not for goods and services in the mainland UAE. Under Article 2(4) of the Payment Token Services Regulation, a foreign payment token may be used as a means of payment only for the purchase of virtual assets or virtual asset derivatives. Ordinary commerce requires a Dirham Payment Token from a licensed UAE issuer.

Who regulates AED-pegged stablecoins?

The Central Bank of the UAE, exclusively. VARA's rulebook expressly states that it will not approve the issuance of a token pegged to the dirham and that such issuance remains under the sole and exclusive purview of the Central Bank.

How does the UAE compare with the EU?

The EU is further ahead on regulating private stablecoins, with MiCA fully applicable and the transition period closed on 1 July 2026. The UAE is further ahead on a central bank digital currency, having conferred legal tender status in September 2025, while the digital euro is still in legislative negotiation with a pilot planned for the second half of 2027.

This article is general information about the regulatory position as published by the authorities named above. It is not legal advice, and the application of any of these rules to a specific business or transaction should be confirmed with qualified counsel.

Elchai Group builds the integration, reconciliation and compliance workflow layer that connects enterprise finance systems to licensed financial institutions and regulated payment rails across the GCC and Europe. Elchai does not issue tokens, hold or control client funds, act as a custodian, or operate a marketplace or exchange. Licensing status and regulatory permissions rest with the licensed institutions involved in any transaction.

Sources

• Central Bank of the UAE, Annual Report 2025, published April 2026
• Central Bank of the UAE, CBUAE launches the Central Bank Digital Currency Strategy "The Digital Dirham", 23 March 2023
• Central Bank of the UAE, CBUAE Unveils New Dirham Symbol, 27 March 2025
• Central Bank of the UAE, Digital Dirham: A Primer on the UAE's Central Bank Digital Currency, Policy Paper No. 1/2025, July 2025
• Central Bank of the UAE, Digital Dirham: Selected Issues and Policy Considerations, Working Paper No. 1/2025, July 2025
• UAE Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Finance and Dubai Finance conduct first government transaction using Digital Dirham, 11 November 2025
• Central Bank of the UAE, Mansour bin Zayed executes first direct digital payment, 19 November 2025
• Central Bank of the UAE, The UAE Central Bank issues its 2025 Annual Report, 9 April 2026
• Central Bank of the UAE Rulebook, Payment Token Services Regulation, Circular No. C 2/2024, effective 31 August 2024
• Ashurst, UAE enacts landmark Central Bank law, 2026
• Paul Hastings LLP, New UAE Banking Law clarifies digital finance, 18 November 2025
• Zand Bank, Zand launches UAE's first AED-backed stablecoin on public blockchain, 17 November 2025
• The National, IHC, Sirius and FAB given approval to launch UAE dirham-backed stablecoin DDSC, 11 February 2026
• The National, IHC carries out Dh110m UAE dirham-backed stablecoin transaction, 22 May 2026
• Dubai Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, Virtual Asset Issuance Rulebook, Annex 1, version 19 May 2025
• ADGM, FSRA finalises regulatory framework for regulated activities involving fiat-referenced tokens, 31 October 2025
• DFSA, DFSA issues updated rules on the regulation of crypto tokens in the DIFC, 15 December 2025
• Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA), Official Journal, 9 June 2023
• ESMA, Statement on the end of transitional periods under MiCA, ESMA75-113276571-1679, 17 April 2026
• European Parliament, Digital euro: MEPs ready to start negotiations, 9 July 2026
• European Central Bank, Digital euro pilot
• International Monetary Fund, Understanding Stablecoins, Departmental Paper, 2025
• World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide, Issue 54, September 2025
• Financial Stability Board, G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments: Consolidated progress report for 2025, 9 October 2025
• Bank for International Settlements, Annual Economic Report 2026, Chapter III, June 2026