Dubai Smart Government has signed an agreement 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.

It is a pioneering initiative in the region to provide government online services across the spectrum of corporate and community life in the emirate.

The agreement was signed by Ahmad Bin Humaidan, the director general of Dubai Smart Government, and Abdulla Qassem, the chairman of Network International, and Bhairav Trivedi, the CEO of Network International, along with senior officials from both sides.

Commenting on the deal, 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.
 
“Dubai Smart Government’s ePay gateway, which now has 28 participating entities, generated Dh4.3 billion ($1.17 billion) through 3.62 million transactions from the beginning of 2013 this year, thereby contributing to supporting and reinforcing the national economy.

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 customers to pay online for over 250 eServices provided by participating entities including Dewa bills and licence renewal fees, recharging RTA Salik and Nol cards, settling Dubai Police fines and donating for Dubai Cares in addition to paying for medical fitness certificates and healthcare facility licence renewals from Dubai Health Authority.-TradeArabia News Service