What currency is used in Abu Dhabi?

The official currency used in the United Arab Emirates, of which Abu Dhabi is a country, is the dirham, frequently denoted as AED. The first currency of the UAE was the Bahraini dinar, used briefly in 1966 before the Qatar-Dubai Riyal replaced it in September of that year.

However, Abu Dhabi did not adopt the Qatar-Dubai Riyal. The UAE Dirham was adopted on Dec. 2, 1971, as the official currency. From 1973 to 1982, it was issued by the UAE Currency Board and after by the UAE Central Bank. The UAE government has used a fixed exchange rate for the dirham against the U.S. dollar since the late 1980s.