Paid in dirhams. Advisable not to keep all your money in local banks, just because you never know what might happen in the future. Banks are terrible here, even if they are branches of international banks such as HSBC. You will probably meet with intense frustration when dealing with banks although in the end, things do get done. Money transfers are easy but expensive.
The problem with banks is the system and the people one has to deal with in order to get the simplest thing done. My advice is to get an account manager who appears competent, and make use of his personal mobile and landline number whenever you end up dealing with the average clerk whose standard response is....... ''oh not possible sir''. I hear of some horror story on a weekly basis of how a bank has screwed around someone...... which usually takes about 2 months to clear up.
I can't help but be left with the impression that you have no idea what it is like in Dubai. It is very modern on the surface but still in the dark ages when it comes to many things.