On Monday, the UAE Central Bank, which is officially known as the Central Bank of the UAE or CBUAE rolled out a brand new 100 dirham banknote. This is made using a sophisticated kind of polymer. Also, it has advanced security and design features. 

The new banknote started hitting the market yesterday. The government has made sure that the bank notes are immediately available to all and acceptable for all retail transactions. Exchange companies, along with banks, have already readied their machines for the notes. They have also updated their note-counting machines to make sure that there are no discrepancies in accepting the polymer notes vs. the old existing paper ones. The value of all currency has been legal tender since 1971. Before that, currencies were backed by the dollar and the dollar by gold. Since then, it has been fiat, legal tender. 

Great Color Combinations

The new design is made using different kinds of red. The existing colour combinations have been maintained by the Central Bank. 

Also, the design includes the national branding of the United Arab Emirates. The use of inscriptions and drawings was done with the latest and most cutting edge of printing technologies.  

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On the front side of this new 100 dirham bank note you have the Um Al Quwain National fort. This icon of the United Arab Emirates connects the present of the country with the desert past of nomadic living, camels and wide open sky. 

The back side shows the Port of Fujairah. This is one of the largest and most popular in the country. Even though it is not as well known as its more popular counterpart in Dubai, it is still a great icon of the UAE. Also, the bank notes highlight something that most expats are not aware of. The UAE is not all about oil. Abu Dhabi is oil-rich. The other Emirates, including Dubai, are built on commerce, ports, and trading. Contrary to popular belief, a Sheikh in Dubai is more likely or not connected to things like real estate than having a fortune rooted in the fossil fuel industry.

Etihad Rail on the notes

What is more, the 100 dirham bill also includes the Etihad Rail. This is the railway network of the United Arab Emirates that links all the major seven Sheikhdoms that make up the UAE with the rest of the GCC or Gulf Cooperation Council. The railway links connect the country together. The most reliable way to move people and goods around the country and the wider GCC region continues to be the country’s railway network, which is becoming more important by the day. 

The aim of these new bank notes is to tell the Emirari story to the world. This is the third issuance and a part of the National Currency Project. The UAE today is at the crossroads of east and west and connects people from all over the world, be it through business, international workers and of course the national carriers Etihad and Emirates. 

Better Security Features

To enhance consumers’ confidence and combat counterfeiting, the Dh100 banknote incorporates advanced security features, including modern technologies such as SPARK Flow DIMENSIONS and multi-colored security chip technology known as KINEGRAM COLORS.

Polymer banknotes are more durable and sustainable than traditional paper banknotes, lasting two or more times longer in circulation. In this issue, the CBUAE maintained its consideration of all banknote users by adding prominent Braille symbols to help blind and visually impaired consumers identify the banknote’s value.

The Central Bank of the UAE won awards for having the best banknotes in 2025 and 2023. The designs have great security features to make sure that these are not able to be fake. 

Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE, said, “The new Dh100 banknote reflects our commitment to the leadership’s vision for a sustainable future through initiatives and achievements that support Net Zero and enhance the nation’s financial competitiveness. He added, “Its design embodies the country’s ambitious aspirations for future progress and prosperity while honoring its historical and cultural heritage. We are pleased to announce this special issue in conjunction with the Eid Al Fitr celebrations.”

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President Donald Trump has been on a global mission to get countries to pay up. He wants the world’s money, and he has an audience. 

The United Arab Emirates has said that over the next decade they plan on investing 1.4 trillion US dollars in the American economy. 

This followed a meeting between the American Secretary of State Marco Rubio with Sheikh Tahoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Shekh Tahoon is a younger full brother of the Abu Dhabi leader Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed. He is also the intelligence czar of the country. Moreover, his business interests dominate the UAE stock market. 

Earlier in the week leading officials had met Donald Trump. Trump has already publicly demanded that countries give America their money. He wants the Saudis to pour in a trillion dollars in investment as well. 

The framework will “substantially increase the UAE’s existing investments in the U.S. economy” in AI infrastructure, semiconductors, energy, and manufacturing.” The White House revealed it in a statement.

It is not exactly clear how and where this money is going to go. The United Arab Emirates is flush with cash and their sovereign wealth funds more than have the capacity to make the required investment. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala, and others are easily capable of making the investments. This is just Abu Dhabi, other emirates, like Dubai have their own funds and are likely to set up to meet.

One new project that appears to be clear is the new Emirates Global Aluminium. This is going to be the first new UAE owned smelter in the US over the past 35 years. The White House went on to add that this plant  “would nearly double U.S. domestic aluminum production”.

“Developing a primary aluminum smelter in the U.S. has been part of EGA’s ambitions for several years,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement.

The UAE, is leading player in the security and energy fields. The UAE has worked closely in tendem with Washington over the past several decades and has built a strong alliance on the lines of the Saudi and Qatari relationship with the US. The country is now looking to invest in the United States in order to make sure that Donald Trump does not turn on them. 

Last year the UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zaued met the then US President in order to explore areas of multual interest such as space, AI and other investments. 

Gulf sovereign wealth funds, especially Abu Dhabi’s $330-billion Mubadala, have invested big the US investors. They are also not new to the Trumps and have a long-standing relationship with the first family of the US. 

OVAL OFFICE MEETING

President Donald Trump has always been saying that countries need to give America more money. When he won the election back in January he asked the Saudis for more than a trillion investment over the four years during his term. He wants the Saudis and other countries to buy more military hardware from the country. 

He is saying that he will now visit the country in order to close the deal. 

The deal which is set to be closed most probably in April. This would be in line with the visio of the Saudi Crown Prince who has been trying to get close to America. He is also the memdiator for talks to end the Ukraine war. 

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The White House said on Friday the UAE came on board  resulted from a meeting that Trump had last Tuesday with national security adviser of the UAE government that is Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the Oval Office. He had dinner that Vice President JD Vance and other cabinet members had with the UAE delegation, this included the heads of leading UAE sovereign wealth funds and corporations.

The UAE government’s funds are handled by Sheikh Tahnoon. He and US private equity firm Energy Capital Partners for a $25 billion U.S.-focused measures.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company or ADNOC has also committed to invest heavily in the UAE energy sector. This is an evolving story. 

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