Time taken for e-Dirham transaction drops to 1 second

The UAE’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has announced that it has managed to develop its system in order to cope with the increase in the number of e-Dirham transactions, and that this development has not only enhanced the efficiency of e-Dirham, bit also reduced the average time for each transaction to one second.

The total automated collection of revenues by the federal government through the e-Dirham system during the first half of 2015 was about Dh4 billion, up 11 per cent from Dh3.6bn in the first half of 2014, according to the MoF.

e-Dirham’s features and capabilities save time and efforts and can be used to provide better customer service and experience in the UAE, the MoF said in a media statement.

The total number of e-services that have been completed through the e-Dirham system during the first half of 2015 rose 9 per cent to 18.7 million from 17m services in the first half of 2014, it noted.

“The remarkable increase in the number of transactions by e-Dirham reflects the development of the system during the previous years, especially in the capacity and capability to improve the performance and meet clients’ expectations,” said Saeed Al Yateem, Assistant Under Secretary of Budget and Revenue at the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

During the first half of 2015, MoF signed two agreements with the e-governments of Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah to adopt the e-Dirham system. The main objective is to automate the revenues collection in both emirates. These agreements reflect the interest of agencies, companies and government entities in adopting the e-Dirham system for service fees collection.

It noted that the signing of the two agreements comes as part of the Ministry’s efforts to widen the scope of establishments and institutions using the e-Dirham. It managed so far to drive many local and federal bodies to use the e-Dirham system by upgrading the quality of offered services, it now includes 14 ministries, 11 establishments and a number of local entities around the UAE.

Since the launch of the second generation (G2) of the e-Dirham system in coordination with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), more than 80m electronic services have been undertaken by e-Dirham while the value of fees collected electronically has crossed Dh17bn.

“The number of e-Dirham cards has increased to 1.44m by the end of the first half of 2015. This remarkable growth reflects the increase in demand and dependency on the e-Dirham system to perform electronic payments,” Al Yateem said.

The number of calls received at the e-Dirham contact centre during the first half of 2015 was 71,412 of which 68,555 (96 per cent of total calls) were resolved. The 24/7 call centre offers services in Arabic, English, and Urdu.

In its efforts to improve customer services, the Ministry of Finance hired a specialized and an independent agency to measure customer satisfaction. The study that was conducted showed that 82 per cent of e-Dirhams costumers are satisfied with the level of services offered.

“The high percentage of customer satisfaction regarding e-Dirham services reflects the advancement and distinction of the system. The e-Dirham is compatible with international payment networks that could be used via shops and outlets and to be used e-commerce via online purchases which accepting credit card payments and the e-Dirham transactions fees are the lowest compared to other cards. It is a pre-paid card that is not linked to personal or corporate bank account,” said Al Yateem.

“The e-Dirham system enabled the automatic implementation of all processes of paying, collecting and settling the fees for public services offered by the federal government. Revenues collected electronically increased to 79.8 per cent of the overall revenues collected in the first half of 2015,” Al Yateem added.

With the great increase in the number of transactions through the e-Dirham system, the MoF continues its efforts to upgrade the system and develop more advanced solutions and services. The time required to process a transaction is approximately one second only.

The Ministry of Finance recently announced the launch of the collection of the ratification of the certificates of origin and invoices for goods imported to the country from abroad or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by e-Dirham through UAE banks. This provides a transition for all individuals, companies and institutions that are importing goods from abroad allowing them to use the e-Dirham system cards in payments of service fees.

The MoF continues its efforts to upgrade the e-Dirham system including the payment of service fees by direct debit from individual and corporate bank accounts, recharging e-Dirham cards through linking them with the payment gateway of the UAE Central Bank, operating e-kiosks for self-service operations like buying e-Dirham cards, paying service fees of public service and getting e-vouchers as an alternative to plastic cards.

In this context, the Ministry of Finance and NBAD expanded the distribution channels by signing a deal to recharge the e-Dirham cards in electronic kiosks deployed in shopping malls and petrol stations in more than a thousand sites in different parts of the UAE, which facilitates using the e-Dirham cards.

The Ministry of Finance strives to ensure that the e-Dirham system keeps pace with the requirements of smart government, including smart services which will be launched soon. This package includes applications for mobile smart devices and offers an e-portfolio of advantages, such as the use of all possible channels to pay Federal services fees from anywhere around the clock for both citizens and residents.

“Our partnership with the UAE Ministry of Finance in the launch and development of e-Dirham helps in strengthening and developing the UAE towards modernising government services and to its customers,” said Saif Al Shehhi, Senior Managing Director of UAE Government & VVIP Clients at NBAD.

“This has placed our country in the forefront of Smart Governments. NBAD is keen to continue the development of the e-Dirham system in the coming period to meet the current and future clients requirements. This will help upgrade the effectiveness of payment and collection, by launching new services,” he added.

He also explained that NBAD has appointed a team to study the aspects that contribute to the development of e-Dirham and the ways customers deal with it, such as electronic self-service kiosks that provide all needed services, for traders to buy the cards, recharged them and paying fees and other.

The e-Dirham system is integrated with global payment networks through two national payment gateways and electronic platforms that are scalable. These help to implement safe fulfilment services through a network that links thousands of e-devices and channels in a manner that strengthens the pioneer status of the e-payment and collection systems in the UAE and the region. The e-Dirham system also includes e-attestation by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UAE Ministry of Labour, to participate in efficiently implementing public services.

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