UAE’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has signed a deal with Dubai Trade where the latter will be adopting the e-dirham system to collect service fees.

The agreement will allow Dubai Trade to transition from only using traditional fee collection systems for different services to also applying more advanced, ‘smart’ methods, said a statement.

It has also mandated the National Bank of Abu Dhabi with the role of providing Dubai Trade with a secure gateway for e-payments, which will allow it to benefit from all facilities provided with the e-dirham system at all its branches, in addition to overseeing payment and fee transfers to concerned parties.

Saeed Rashid Al Yateem, assistant undersecretary of resources and budge sector at the ministry, said: “The Ministry is working towards completely transforming current fee collection platforms for government and non-government services into modern, e-systems. We are aiming to place the e-dirham scheme as a strong national e-payment system that is efficient and effective on a global scale.

“We are collaborating with various government bodies and private entities to achieve the UAE’s smart government vision. The e-dirham platform will enhance payments and fee collection processes and will provide users with many benefits that will save them time and energy.”

Mahmood Al Bastaki, chief executive officer of Dubai Trade, said: “We are pleased to be one of the pioneers in adopting the second generation of e-Dirham as an additional mode of payment through Rosoom, our secured e-payment gateway, this will certainly facilitate the operations of many companies that use e-Dirham as their main payment method.

“The e-collection payment since the launch of the service approximately reached Dh100,000 ($27,220). We at Dubai Trade always strive to make trade faster and easier for all stakeholders through the latest technologies in which e-Dirham is one of those techniques.”

MoF is also keen to conduct specialised studies which aim to identify the system’s activities and transaction processes; growing number of dealers with government entities, increasing daily transactions and continually assessing the best geographical location for e-Dirham card sale and recharge centers across the UAE, the statement added. - TradeArabia News Service