DUBAI: Federal government revenue collected through the e-Dirham initiative in the UAE reached more than AED2 billion ($544 million) in the first quarter of 2016, up 4.2 percent from the year-earlier period.
The Ministry of Finance announced that the number of service transactions carried out through e-Dirham rose 10.7 percent to nearly 10.1 million, up from 9.1 million transactions in Q1 2015. Saeed Rashid Al Yateem, MoF Assistant Under-Secretary of Resources and Budget Sector, said: “The figures point to the growing popularity of the e-Dirham system. It is now becoming the preferred mode of payment of individuals, corporate houses, and institutions.”
The total payment receipts through the e-Dirham system increased by 24 percent for the first three months of 2016 – nearly 5.1 million receipts in Q1 while the number of sold e-Dirham ‘Al Haslah’ prepaid cards reached 2 million by the end of March.
“The Ministry of Finance is keen to promote and upgrade the e-Dirham system to fulfil its vision and strategic goals in enhancing the efficiency of the government’s services and collections. e-Dirham helped the digital economy grow and aided the move towards smart governance,” Al Yateem added. He said the total e-collection of the ministries, authorities and federal government entities crossed AED8.2 billion for 36.14 million transactions last year.
