UAE banknotes may soon be printed with Braille characters

[Al Bhatti]

May 22, 2014

The UAE Central Bank is planning to have currency notes with Braille characters, according to a report in Al Ittihad Arabic daily.

The Board of Directors of the Central Bank studied sample notes at a meeting and directed officials to take necessary steps to implement it.

The decision follows the quick response of Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister, to a tweet by an Emirati woman, who requested currency notes with Braille alphabets to help the visually impaired.

The board discussed other topics such as the new banking law currently being developed by the Central Bank. The board asked for some amendments before submission of the draft law to the Cabinet.
UAE dirham may soon be printed with Braille characters - Emirates 24/7

 

[Al Bhatti]

June 02, 2014

UAE currency notes in Braille developed

The Central Bank will present prototypes of currency notes in Braille to the Ministry of Social Affairs, reported Al Ittihad newspaper.

The step comes as part of the plan to modernise ATM machines to suit the needs of visually-disabled people, said Wafa’a bin Sulaiman, Director, Care and Rehabilitation Disabled Department, Ministry of Social Affairs.

The ministry has agreed with the Central Bank to help serve all categories of people, she said.

The bank will initially print Dh50 and Dh100 notes, with symbols on the edges to help the visually-impaired identify the value of the note without help, the report said.

She explained that the central bank will provide prototypes to the ministry, which in turn will present them to the differently-abled people, who will choose the most appropriate one.

It may be recalled that Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, had called on the Central Bank to use Braille in printing currency after an Emirati women had requested for the same on Twitter last month.

Wafa’a bin Sulaiman also said that the ministry has prepared a guideline to be distributed to all banks that includes a set of global best practices in order to provide the right environment for specially-abled customers.

UAE currency notes in Braille developed - Emirates 24/7