E-Dirham: Comprehensive Analysis of a UAE E-Governance Project

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the E-Dirham project, a significant e-governance initiative by the UAE government. It begins with a brief overview of E-Dirham, an electronic payment system launched in 2001 to facilitate revenue collection for governmental and non-governmental services. The report delves into the theoretical concepts underpinning E-Dirham, including prepaid and credit cards, EFTPOS, and online payment systems. It examines the outcomes, achievements, and impact of the system, such as increased revenue, expanded payment options, and the elimination of paper-based stamps. The report also addresses the major issues faced by users, such as limitations on card usage and accessibility concerns, and offers technical and managerial suggestions for improvement. Furthermore, it discusses the future direction of E-Dirham, including advancements in security and smart chip technology, and the integration of various payment methods. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of modernizing the system and enriching customer experience through digital services. The report is supported by several references to relevant research and publications.

Name of the Student
Name of the University
Student ID
E-Dirham

A Brief of E-Dirham
• It is a payment-based tool introduced by the UAE
government.
• The online payment method was initiated on 3rd
February 2001.
• The payment method aims for the facilitation of
collection of revenues from governmental and non-
governmental services (e-dirham, 2018).

About the Organization
• UAE had become the first country within the Arab
region to introduce such a payment mode
• The Ministry of Finance and Industry is working on
the expanding of the channels of payment
• The organization ensures the offering of top class
secure and an effective payment collection scheme

Theoretical Concepts used in E-Dirham (1)
The E-Dirham services offer a wide range of services that
include:
• Prepaid and Credit Cards for a Comprehensive
Payment System (Marshall, Charlesworth & Hurst,
2014)
• Electronic Funds Transfer Point of Sale (EFTPOS)
• Online Payment and E-Commerce (EIPG)

Theoretical Concepts used in E-Dirham (2)
The E-Dirham has also launched services such as:
• e-Direct – This service directly charges their Bank
accounts to recharge their G2 cards at any given point
of time
• eDebit – The new additional payment method would be
an upgrade to the E-Dirham system for supporting
online services

Outcomes of the Theoretical Concepts (1)
Based on the theoretical concepts, there are certain
outcomes of E-Dirham that can described as:
The system could be described as a Secure Electronic Purse
that has two versions:
• Fixed Value Card – They have a certain fixed value for
certain denominations such as AED 100, 200, 300, 500,
1000, 3000 and 5000 (Wang, Li & Chen, 2015)
• Government Client Card – This card is meant for some
frequent users of the services of government

Outcomes of the Theoretical Concepts (2)
• The payment platform is mainly used for payment
across 5000 services from both the governmental and
the private sector.
• This platform features different types of cards such as
Red, Green, Gold, Blue.
• These kind of cards offer vast discounts on the service
fees. There is also no necessity for the user to have a
bank account.

Achievements of E-Dirham
• The E-Dirham system could be defined as a smart
technological achievement as it provides several kinds of
payment based solutions (Eggermont et al., 2015)
• The smart payment solutions and their innovative services
are designed to enrich the experience of the customers
(Lund, 2014)
• The payment solution system offer the support for their
services all around the clock.

Major Achievements of E-Dirham
• The services of E-Dirham include e-Stamp, which has
eliminated the basic need of paper-based stamps. This
has also reduced the risk of falsified stamps
• The payment system has also simplified the collections
of revenue for various departments of the government
sector
• This system provides a secure payment gateway that has
protected the rights of the government agencies

Impact of the E-Dirham System (1)
• The rise of the E-Dirham payment gateway has majorly
helped the federal government and the private sector
• There has been an increase of revenue by 82 percent as
compared to the previous systems
• There has also been a rise in the number of issued cards
within the first quarter of 2018

Impact of the E-Dirham System (2)
• With the rise in the number of payments that were done
through this payment gateway, there has been a rise in
the transaction receipts (Panjwani et al., 2013)
• The e-collection machines and the number of POS has
reached up to 4000. They accept all kinds of cards that
include the E-Dirham card and other cards that are
issued by various other banks

Major Issues with Users of E-Dirham System
• There is a high need for employing new advancements
within the technology that would help in facilitating virtual
money, mobile payments and e-transfers
• The cards have certain limitation on their usage such as
issues of recharge of their fixed value card
• The accessibility of the E-Dirham cards is a matter of high
concern for many of the governmental offices