Dubai Electricity & Water Authority to use Dubai eGovernment’s payment gateway
Consumers to benefit as Dubai eGovernment ePay service will not charge any processing fees
Dubai eGovernment announced today (Tuesday, June 05, 2007), at a press conference that Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) will now use the Dubai eGovernment’s payment gateway (ePay) to facilitate the secure online payments in real-time for DEWA’s bill payments and presentments. Residents of Dubai can now pay their DEWA bills online through their credit cards without incurring the 2.5 per cent fee that was charged earlier for online payment of DEWA bills. The announcement was made by Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, General Manager, DEWA and Salem Al Shair, eServices Director, Dubai eGovernment.
Speaking at the press conference, Salem Al Shair said, “DEWA is one of the biggest government departments in Dubai and we are glad that it has adopted the Dubai eGovernment ePay service. This will enable DEWA to stay abreast of the latest advances in internet payment methods such as 3D Secure.”
“Other advantages of Dubai eGovernment payment gateway are that it supports multiple payment methods including credit cards from Visa, MasterCard and American Express as well as the Dubai eGovernment Prepaid Card, eDirham and Direct Debit from Commercial Bank of Dubai. It also supports multiple payment channels such as Internet kiosks, IVR and provides a single standard interface for all service providers,” he added.
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer said, “We have been firmly committed to complement the
eGovernance initiatives in Dubai, which is one of the reasons we have adopted the Dubai eGovernment payment gateway service. The service will greatly benefit thousands of Dubai’s residents as it opens up a secure, easy and cost-effective payment channel. With no processing fees charged for using the Dubai eGovernment payment gateway service, customers will be keen on paying their DEWA bills online.”
In 2006, the Dubai eGovernment ePay service collected over AED 55 million from all service providers. So far in 2007, Dubai eGovernment has collected in excess of AED 36 million, and with DEWA joining ePay, this figure is expected to cross AED 100 million by the year end.
With the addition of DEWA as one of the government departments using Dubai eGovernment’s payment gateway service, Dubai eGovernment expects to maximise the adoption of the service by all government departments in the emirate. Dubai eGovernment’s payment gateway service is currently being used by several other government departments such as Dubai Municipality, Department of Health and Medical Services, , Dubai Police, Roads & Transport Authority, Department of Civil Aviation, Land Department, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, eTQM and Al Bayan Subscription.
