Smart Dubai’s DubaiPay portal for payment online and via smartphones registered a 15 per cent increase in the amounts collected between June 1, 2016 and June 1, 2017, generating Dh12 billion ($3.26 billion).

The more than 10 million transactions marked a surge of 13 per cent carried out over the same period.

Dr Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, director general of Smart Dubai Office, said: “We, at Smart Dubai, are working in harmony with the vision of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, which defines the future in terms of the city’s smart transformations.”

“These measures seek to enable Dubai to be the happiest and smartest city in the world, and an example to follow for smart cities worldwide. We are adapting technology into initiatives and services that directly affect people’s lives and make them happy.

 “We look at every initiative from the happiness perspective before we develop it. For this purpose, we partnered government and private entities to introduce the DubaiPay portal and add a distinctive experience that makes customers happy, enabling them to pay the fees for all their daily services. We are working tirelessly on every initiative and service provided to the public, developing them in a way that is more beneficial to citizens, residents, city officials, businessowners, and visitors,” Dr Aisha added.

She went on to say: “Dubai is a very ambitious city that aspires to be number one in whatever it does – be it in business, lifestyle, or innovation and creativity. Smart Dubai seeks to support the emirate to achieve this goal and make Dubai the happiest city on earth, using the innovative tools of the future.”

Wesam Lootah, CEO of Smart Dubai Government Establishment (SDG), said: “SDG constantly strives to make life easier and more convenient for people in Dubai; we launch bold initiatives – such as DubaiPay among others – based on cutting-edge technology and adopt innovative, breakthrough solutions that allow residents to go about their daily tasks as seamlessly as possible. The strong demand for smart payment solutions proves that our leadership’s vision for a smart city is beginning to take shape, a feat that would not have been achieved had it not been for the cooperation between the public and private sectors.”

SDG's partner, the Department of Finance for the Government of Dubai (DOF) is playing a vital role in enhancing the revenues collected through DubaiPay, according to Jamal Hamed Al Marri, DOF executive director of Central Accounts, who stressed on DOF’s role in attracting service providers to the portal.

"By offering competitive prices and flexible money transfer service that meet the service providers’ needs, the governmental platform can be more appealing to them. DOF plays a significant role in increasing confidence in the DubaiPay portal which now offers more payment options, including debit cards, e-Dirham, and others,” said Al Marri. – TradeArabia News Service