Amount in words for cheques in the UAE and the Gulf
Banks in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC check that the amount in words matches the amount in figures, and a mismatch is one of the most common reasons a cheque is returned. The usual English style is the amount followed by the currency name and the word Only, for example "One Thousand Two Hundred Fifty UAE Dirhams and Seventy-Five Fils Only". Arabic cheques traditionally start with فقط and end with لا غير, so nothing can be added before or after the amount. This tool writes both, so you can fill in a bilingual cheque or invoice without second-guessing the spelling.
Correct Arabic grammar, not word-by-word translation
Writing numbers in Arabic, called tafqeet, follows rules that simple converters get wrong. The counted noun changes form with the number: one dirham is درهم واحد, two is درهمان, three to ten use the plural دراهم, eleven to ninety-nine use the singular درهمًا, and round hundreds and thousands use درهم. Numbers from three to ten take the opposite gender of the noun, which is why it is ثلاثة دراهم but ثلاث هللات. Two hundred dirhams is مائتا درهم, not مائتان درهم. The converter applies these rules for every supported currency, including feminine units such as the Saudi halala and the Omani baisa.
Currencies and decimals
The UAE dirham, Saudi riyal and Qatari riyal have two decimal places, so 10.5 is read as ten and fifty fils, halalas or dirhams. The Kuwaiti dinar, Bahraini dinar and Omani rial have three decimal places, so 12.005 KWD is twelve dinars and five fils. If you type more decimals than a currency has, the amount is rounded and the tool tells you. You can also convert US dollars, euros, pounds sterling, Indian rupees and Pakistani rupees, which helps when you are paying suppliers or sending money home.
Lakh and crore for South Asian users
Many people in the Gulf come from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, where large numbers are grouped in lakhs and crores rather than millions. Choose the Indian style and 12,345,678 becomes One Crore Twenty-Three Lakh Forty-Five Thousand Six Hundred Seventy-Eight. This is useful for remittance forms, property papers and rupee cheques. Everything runs in your browser, so the amounts you type are never sent anywhere.