Move is expected to result in a significant increase in the number of ePay transactions

July 9, 2007: Union National Bank (UNB), one of the leading domestic banks in the UAE, has recently announced a tie up with Dubai eGovernment to offer the direct debit payment facility to account holders of the bank. All account holders of Union National Bank can now pay for various Dubai Government services and private sector services in real time as their accounts are directly debited with immediate updation in records.

The direct debit service is part of Dubai eGovernment's ePay initiative and is based on a proven and secure payments platform. It facilitates direct debit payments for businesses and individuals from their accounts, through self-initiated, bank-authenticated online banking channels, using the standard Internet banking infrastructure of banks. UNB account holders can now initiate payments online through the service provider website and the final authentication will be carried out by the bank online.

Salem Al Shair, eServices Director, Dubai eGovernment, said, "Ever since the launch of the direct debit payment system a year ago, we have seen a significant increase in the number of online payment transactions for government departments. With Union National Bank now offering this service to its customers, we expect the number of online payment transactions to go up considerably, given that UNB is one of the leading banks in the country with a rapidly growing customer base."

"The underlying objective of introducing the direct debit system is to enrich the payment options for companies and individuals when dealing with the government, and it is encouraging to know that an increasing number of people are now benefiting from the service," he added.

In 2006, the Dubai eGovernment Payment Gateway (ePay) generated about AED 55 million in ePayment transactions, while the first half of 2007 (January to June) has already generated AED 39 million, showing the increasing popularity of ePay. 

Adel Helal, Head of IT Division at Union National Bank, said, "We are pleased to partner with Dubai eGovernment to make the direct debit facility available to our customers. This mode of payment is highly secure and reliable, has no limit on the amount that can be paid and more importantly no additional fees will be charged to the customer. We are glad to complement Dubai eGovernment's vision of creating a robust digital environment with maximum participation from individuals and the corporate sector."       

Union National Bank - which has over 250,000 customers - is the second bank after Commercial Bank of Dubai to offer the direct debit facility to its customers. Dubai eGovernment is currently finalizing procedures to introduce the service for other major banks in the UAE in the near future. The various features of direct debit make it the ideal payment option, especially for online transactions.   

Dubai eGovernment's payment gateway service is being used by government departments such as Dubai Municipality, Dubai Police, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA), Department of Health and Medical Services (DOHMS), Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Department of Civil Aviation, Land Department, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, eTQM College, Tejari, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre, Index Holding, Arabian View and Al Bayan Subscription.

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Editor's Note:
Dubai eGovernment is a pioneering initiative in the region to provide online services across the spectrum of corporate and community life in the emirate. It also has a vision to integrate

individually automated government departments under the single umbrella of the eGovernment initiative, thus empowering employees across lines of businesses and levels of government, besides facilitating the lives of citizens and customers of the government. Dubai has taken a lead in the region in deploying eGovernment applications and is among the first few governments in the world to provide such integrated services to its citizens. The eGovernment portal (www.dubai.ae) is a single contact point masking the complexity of the bureaucratic procedures, and guiding access to all services in the easiest possible way. In addition, the eGovernment initiative seeks to improve and enhance procedures by maximizing the benefit from technology, so that users from all walks of life will be able to utilize the portal for their specific needs with considerable ease.

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© Press Release 2007