Abu Dhabi, Dubai (12 May 2015)

The Ministry of Finance today launched self-service e-kiosks for e-Dirham transactions, on the sidelines of the Cards and Payments Middle East exhibition and conference, currently being held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC) at Dubai World Trade Centre. Prominent institutions, companies and experts in the field of electronic payment systems are participating at the event.

His Excellency Younis Al Khouri, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Finance, said: "The launch of e-kiosks for self-service operations comes in the context of efforts exerted by the Ministry of Finance to upgrade the e-Dirham system to facilitate and support the remarkable increase in electronic transactions over the past years."

A number of key transactions can be conducted using e-kiosks, including: purchase and recharge of e-Dirham cards; payment of service fees for public services; and get e-vouchers as an alternative to plastic cards. E-kiosks also allow clients the facility of inquiring about their card balance, and of reviewing their transaction statements.

As many as 10 e-kiosks will be deployed in the first phase at ministries and institutions. All e-kiosks have advanced security systems, including state of the art cameras, to ensure the safety of operations. 

Since the launch of the second generation (G2) of the e-Dirham system in               coordination with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) in 2011, more than 70 million e-services of the Federal Government have been offered under the umbrella of safe and secure payment processing and collecting and settling the revenues electronically. About 1.3 million 'Al Haslah' e-Dirham cards are currently in use across more than 5,000 point-of-sale and electronic collection machines throughout the country.

Saif Al Shehhi, NBAD's Senior Managing Director - Abu Dhabi Government and VVIP Clients, said: "NBAD is keen to strengthen its partnership with the Ministry of Finance through upgrading the e-Dirham system. The e-kiosk initiative is undoubtedly a significant advance, as it facilitates a lot of transactions for clients in institutions and ministries, and allows them to deal with these entities more frequently and safely."

Mr. Al Shehhi added: "NBAD will spare no effort in upgrading the e-Dirham system, as it eventually strengthens the vision of the UAE concerning the transformation towards smart government."

"The Ministry of Finance is currently developing a number of solutions and services, including the payment of service fees by direct debit from individual and corporate bank accounts, and recharging of e-Dirham cards through linking them with the payment gateway of the UAE Central Bank," Mr. Al Khouri said.

Work is also under way to launch smart services such as applications for mobile devices that offer an e-portfolio of advantages, such as the use of all possible channels to pay Federal Government services fees from anywhere around the clock for both citizens and residents.  

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About NBAD
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has one of the largest networks in the UAE, with an expanding network of 125 branches and cash offices and more than 585 ATMs across the country. NBAD's growing international network consists of about 60 branches and offices in 18 countries stretching across five continents from the Far East to the Americas, giving it the largest global network among all UAE banks.

Since 2009, NBAD has been ranked consecutively as one of the World's 50 Safest Banks by the prestigious Global Finance magazine, which also named NBAD the Safest Bank in the Emerging Markets and the Middle East.

 NBAD is rated senior long term/short term AA-/A-1+ by Standard & Poor's (S&P), Aa3/P1 by Moody's, AA-/F1+ by Fitch, A+ by Rating and Investment Information Inc (R&I) Japan, and AAA by RAM (Malaysia) , giving it one of the strongest combined rating of any  Global  financial institution.

A comprehensive financial institution, NBAD offers a range of banking services including retail, investment and Islamic banking. NBAD grows strategically toward its vision to be recognised as the World's Best Arab Bank.

For more information please visit our corporate webpage at: www.nbad.com.

For further enquires, please contact:
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© Press Release 2015