Dubai eGovernment announced that a total of Dh1.5 billion ($408 million) was collected from 1.4 million transactions in 2009 throught its electronic payment gateway.

This means an increase of Dh500 million from the previous year in which Dubai eGovernment collected Dh1 billion from around 1 million transactions. The increase was achieved despite the fact that the number of departments adopting the electronic payment gateway in 2009 has remained the same at 22.

The payment service allows customers, whether an individual, company or department, to process payments through three methods: credit cards, e-Dirham and direct debit from the customer's account, which greatly saves time and effort while helping reduce long queues in government departments.

Direct debit from the customer's account is available in three national banks: Commercial Bank of Dubai, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Union National Bank. The service will also be soon available through two other banks – Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Dubai Islamic Bank– pursuant to an agreement signed by Dubai eGovernment with both banks during Gitex 2009.

'Our strategy is to establish a centralised platform in providing e-services as we are strongly committed to support the gradual digital transformation of Dubai and the entire UAE,' stated Ahmed Bin Humaidan, director-general, Dubai eGovernment.

'We aim to include more government departments and agencies in Dubai and achieve integration in the delivery of services through a unified platform, which we believe will contribute significantly to realising the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015,' he added.

Dubai eGovernment’s comprehensive portal (www.dubai.ae) allows citizens, residents, visitors and businesses to access more than 2,000 eServices, such as payment of municipality fees, visa applications for relatives, health card renewal, company registration, and payments for Roads and Transport Authority fines, among others.-TradeArabia News Service