Dubai Smart Government’s ePay generates AED 5 billion in first 9 months of 2014

Portal posts 25 percent year-over-year transaction increase

UAE, October 6, 2014 - Recent statistics from Dubai Smart Government (DSG) have revealed that approximately AED 5 billion was collected through its ePay portal, an increase of 25 per cent from January 1 to September 30, 2014, compared to the same period the previous year. The uptrend was accompanied by a 16 per cent increase in the number of completed transactions.

A total of AED 4,985,541,820 was collected through DSG’s ePay portal on behalf of 28 government entities by the end of September 2014, accounting for 3,810,153 transactions compared to 3,296,356 transactions during the same period in 2013. This has led to substantial benefits in terms of reducing government expenses through investment in DSG’s technical infrastructure, which is offered to all Dubai-based government entities and departments as well as individual and corporate users.

As part of DSG’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, the ePay gateway contributes to environmental sustainability efforts by lowering the carbon footprint from exhaust gas emissions as a result of less daily heavy traffic movement of customers going to government offices.

H.E. Ahmad Bin Humaidan, Director General of Dubai Smart Government, commented on the massive increase in ePay usage: “These results demonstrate the growing interest of customers in using the ePay service to complete their government transactions, further reflecting their full confidence in this highly efficient and secure service. We have come a long way in offering smart government applications, especially for financial transactions which are considered sensitive areas for our customers. We have been able to improve user confidence in DSG through portal enhancements such as the integration of a 3D Secure System and the inclusion of multiple payment options for our customers.”

“This portal enables individual and corporate users to pay electronically or via smart channels for more than 100 services being offered by participating government entities, either through the eDirham, credit or debit cards from seven leading banks, namely: Commercial Bank of Dubai, Dubai Islamic Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Emirates Islamic Bank, Union National Bank, and Emirates NBD”, Bin Humaidan concluded.

The ePay portal has a smart feature which allows it to be connected with all the smart and e- services of government departments, irrespective of the technologies and software used by these entities. It is also compatible with all means of electronic payment including the internet, kiosks, Interactive Voice Response, and major credit cards.

The portal is part of the Dubai Smart Government’s efforts to provide government services through innovative channels in order to facilitate government interaction with the people and business community of Dubai. It enables instant payment of government fees through a smart, effective, comfortable and secure mechanism to save time and effort related to personal visits to banks or relevant departments, in line with Dubai’s current strategy of ensuring full customer satisfaction.

About Dubai Smart Government:

Dubai Smart Government is a pioneering initiative in the region to provide government online services across the spectrum of corporate and community life in the emirate. Dubai Smart Government officially directs and supervises the implementation of the process of eTransformation in over 30 government entities and is one of the world’s only governments to have established an official eGovernment branch in the capacity of an independent department.

Dubai Smart Government utilizes multiple innovative electronic channels to facilitate interaction and transaction with government services for citizens, residents, visitors and businesses with the goal of making the life of people much easier in their dealings with the government. The official Dubai Government public portal (www.dubai.ae) highlights government initiatives and facilitates the customers’ access to more than 2000 service from the services of several government departments, while the official corporate portal of Dubai Smart Government (www.dsg.gov.ae) provides information on the strategy, goals and achievements of the department.