Bahrain: Online state transactions jump 16% to nearly 1mln

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Online government transactions edged close to a million in number, exceeding 941,000 in the first quarter this year, shows government data.

The latest eGovernment Channels report highlights an increase of 16 per cent in their number during Q1-2023 compared with the same period last year through the different channels including the National Portal (bahrain.bh); the eGovernment Appstore (bahrain.bh/apps); and self-service eKiosks.

The portal received more than 5m visits, showing the highest uptake across all online channels and eServices, in line with the kingdom’s comprehensive digital transformation and national efforts to enhance the efficiency and quality of government services.

Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA) deputy chief executive of electronic transformation Dr Zakariya Al Khajah said that iGA continues to implement digital transformation initiatives in co-ordination with all government entities.

He highlighted the government’s efforts to support digital transformation and provide seamless and enhanced experience to the public by saving their time and efforts.

Dr Zakariya also noted that insurance eService for King Fahad Causeway has seen a remarkable increase of more than double whereas online eVisa services have grown by 46pc during the quarter.

Additionally, the report showcased an increase in the use of mobile applications which reflected the government investment towards adopting the modern technologies and enhancing the quality of life for citizens and residents in Bahrain in light of the public demand for usage of mobile applications available in the eGovernment Apps Store (bahrain.bh/apps).

Visits to the National Portal increased by 6pc in Q1 of 2023 compared with the same period last year, in which the residency eServices came at the forefront in terms of the number of visits, followed by good conduct certificate eServices.

Dr Al Khaja stressed that several factors have contributed to increase in the National Portal usage such as the Government Service Catalogue, which enables users to access information more quickly, as well as unified payment services with eKey login.

This is in addition to adding more new services such as government documents verification which allows citizens, residents, business owners and GCC citizens to verify the authenticity of issued government documents.

Moreover, eAuthorisation services, domestic worker services provided by the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA), golden residency visa services which include cancellation requests, and visa management were among newly added eServices that led to the increase in usage.

The report also showed an 8pc increase in the number of eTransactions completed on the National Portal.

The growing number of online transactions conducted through eGovernment mobile apps, amounting to a value of BD13.5 million for 280,000 transactions with an increase of 39pc, was also underlined in the analysis.

The top apps during the quarter were: Islamiyat, which saw 46pc jump in usage during Ramadan; Sehati, up 50pc and the Bahrain Legislation app that surged by 600pc, which was recently launched to serve the legal sector in Bahrain.

The increase of the usage was due to the users’ interest in the services available through the apps, as well as the continued process of bringing up-to-date and adding new services.

In same context, payment transactions through mobile apps increased remarkably, with the Fael Khair eService available in Islamiyat app, seeing a surge of 200pc.