Dubai eGovernment said there had been a 65 per cent increase in transactions done through e-pay payment gateway in the emirate last year which soared to 1.88 million transactions.

The e-pay transactions done on behalf of all participating Dubai government departments last year netted a total of Dh2.5 billion ($681 million), according to recent government statistics.

Dubai Customs, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) and Dubai Municipality were the top three government entities in terms of electronically-collected amounts, while Roads and Transport Authority, Dewa and Dubai Customs were the top three government entities respectively in terms of the number of transactions achieved.

The data revealed by Dubai eGovernment showed that there had been a 65 per cent increase in amounts collected through ePay payment gateway in 2010, compared to Dh1.7 million collected through 1.44 milion transactions in 2009, according to a top official.

Ahmed Bin Humaidan, director general of Dubai eGovernment said: “These results clearly indicate the favourable pace of eTransformation in Dubai and also reflect the increasing adoption of ePay as a preferred mode of payment to complete government transactions on one hand and the confidence shown by customers in the efficiency and safety of this option on the other.”

“This service allows both corporate and individual customers to complete ePayment for government services through three ways - credit cards, e-dirham and direct debit from the customer’s account in participating banks,” explained Bin Humaidan.

According to him, payment through credit cards was customers’ top preferred option with amounts electronically collected through credit cards reaching nearly Dh2.136 billion.

Bin Humaidan also noted the use of direct debit option grew from 26,357 transactions in 2009 to 54,538 transactions in 2010.

He also highlighted the role played by Dubai eGovernment in providing the foundation required for completing eTransformation in the emirate as per the highest standards observed,

'All government departments need certain electronic ingredients and infrastructures to offer high quality and secure online services aimed at attracting customers and encouraging them to adopt the option of completing their transactions online,' Bin Humaidan added.

ePay is part of Dubai eGovernment’s initiative to offer online government services through innovative channels and to provide the public and the business community an efficient and comfortable mechanism for instant payment of government fees.-TradeArabia News Service