Dubai Smart Government's ePay enhanced with inclusion of direct debit from Emirates NBD and EIB

UAE, October 27, 2013: Dubai Smart Government signed an agreement recently with Network International, under which Emirates NBD and Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB) have joined its ePay Direct Debit platform, for settling fees of government services. The agreement was signed by H.E. Ahmad Bin Humaidan, Director General of Dubai Smart Government, and Abdulla Qassem, Chairman of Network International, and Bhairav Trivedi, CEO of Network International, along with senior officials from both sides.

Commenting on the agreement, Bin Humaidan said: “The addition of more banks to the ‘Direct Debit' service reflects the ongoing joint commitment to raise the bar of excellence with regard to banking and electronic services provided to customers as per the highest standards of quality in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to create a world-class smart government in Dubai to ease the life of all segments of the society and make them happy.”

“Dubai Smart Government's ePay gateway, which now has 28 participating entities, generated AED 4,339,599,887 (AED 4.3 billion) through 3,626,252 transactions from the beginning of 2013 till October 27 this year, thereby contributing to supporting and reinforcing the national economy. However, the positive effects of ePay are not limited to this but extend to environmental sustainability, which was called for in H.H. Sheikh Mohammed's future vision of the UAE when he launched the UAE green development strategy under the slogan "Green Economy for Sustainable Development," a long-term national initiative aimed at converting the UAE into a leading global hub in the field of green development. The initiative, which targets a green environment free of pollution resulting from a customer's use of his/her car and the effect of exhaust on global warming, is also aimed at reducing traffic jams, thereby substantially favouring the green economy as a result of providing the service round the clock from anywhere,” added Bin Humaidan.

The recent inclusion of the two banks reflects Dubai's increasing pace of eTransformation aimed at building an integrated digital society in terms of offering a wide variety of electronic payment solutions to customers under the highest standards of privacy, security and credibility, while extending the number of banks participating in the service for easy procedures to both individual and corporate customers. The ePay gateway is integrated with the eServices of all departments, no matter what technologies and software they use, thanks to its compatibility with all means of online payment, catering to the needs of the participating organizations. Recently, the e-Dirham G2 was also approved as another ePay option.

The ePay gateway allows individual and corporate customers to pay online for over 250 eServices provided by the participating entities including paying DEWA bills and license renewal fees, recharging RTA Salik and Nol cards, settling Dubai Police traffic fines and donating for Dubai Cares in addition to paying for medical fitness certificates and healthcare facility license renewals from Dubai Health Authority, either through credit cards or direct debit from customer's account with the seven participating banks: Commercial Bank of Dubai, Dubai Islamic Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Union National Bank, Emirates NBD and Emirates Islamic Bank.