1000 Dirhams

The 1000 dirham note is the highest denomination in regular UAE circulation, and its existence reflects the emirate system's tolerance for large-denomination cash transactions that most Western central banks have quietly phased out. Introduced in this format as part of a series refresh, P#33 carries a windowed security thread — a feature Giesecke & Devrient had been pushing into Gulf currency contracts during the mid-2000s, as regional central banks upgraded against increasingly sophisticated counterfeiting.

Cotton substrate on a note this size, at this value, was a deliberate choice over polymer — the UAE has consistently resisted the polymer shift that neighbors like Bahrain briefly explored.