MoF partners with ENOC to enable payment through e-Dirham at service stations

The UAE Ministry of Finance (MoF), in partnership with Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), announced the latest innovative smart payment service under the e-Dirham system today. The service enables consumers to pay for fuel and other purchases at ENOC and EPPCO fuel stations as well as Zoom retail outlets by using the e-wallet of the e-Dirham app for smartphones.

The announcement of the new service took place at the first day of the premier event, Cards and Payments Middle East at the Dubai World Trade Centre. MoF is participating in the exhibition to highlight the benefits of e-Dirham, the main national e-payment portal. 

Based on the partnership, payment through the e-Dirham wallet will be facilitated at 112 ENOC service stations and all Zoom outlets across the emirates. The transaction is cashless and cardless.

His Excellency Saeed Rashid Al Yateem, Assistant Undersecretary of Resources and Budget Sector, Ministry of Finance, said: “We at the MoF adopt a proactive approach that never waits for events, but rather moves ahead of the curve. To be always ready for the future, we need to foresee trends that would be drastically different from current trends.”

“We are updating our infrastructure of cashless payment services within the e-Dirham system, in order to fulfil our commitment aligned with the smart and digital transformation initiatives of government services, and to keep pace with rapid international developments,” Al Yateem added.

First launched in 2001, e-Dirham is the initiative of the UAE federal government in the financial sector. This is an extremely secure system, in compliance with the highest encryption standards in the world. The system’s G2 (second generation) services were introduced in 2011, in partnership with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD).

“The e-Dirham system has come a long way, from the ‘Al Haslah’ pre-paid cards to the latest payment service through the e-wallet accessible via the mobile app. The new service makes it far easier to pay bills and this convenience comes within our framework of continuous service upgrade for consumer satisfaction,” Al Yateem said.

The e-Dirham app for smart devices is available on the Apple or Android app stores, and also on the e-Dirham website.

Highlighting its commitment to adopting new technologies and the smart city initiative, ENOC launched ViP service for Individuals in April 2016 and expects to launch the ‘ENOCPay’ mobile app, which will aggregate all current and future payment methods into a single interface. It is expected to be available on iOS and Android phones by Q4 2016.

Saif Humid Al Falasi, Group Chief Executive, ENOC, said: “As a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dubai government, we support the ‘smart city’ initiative announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Initiatives such as the partnership with the Ministry of Finance and the e-Dirham system are at the heart of this vision that inspires our teams to be at the forefront of innovation and provide our customers with the latest tech-enabled services.”

Burhan Al Hashemi, Managing Director, ENOC Retail, said: “We are committed to investing in technologies and solutions that not only improve customer experience, but allow the personalization and simplification of all transactions. We do our best to seek new ways to enhance efficiency and speed at service stations and ensure that transactions are safe and convenient. This new service will provide an electronic method of payment that does not depend on cash or card, thus reducing waiting time.”

Saeed Al Khoori, Managing Director UAE Government & VVIP Clients, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, said: “The e-Dirham system has a significant role in aiding commercial activity. The partnership with ENOC is an important step in strengthening the trust in using e-Dirham. This is undoubtedly the easiest and most effective way to settle any bills, and also to pay fees and other transaction charges for government and semi-government services.”

“More parties are expected to be added to the bill payment services under e-Dirham, fully utilising the potential of the mobile platform. There are many opportunities to extend the convenience of transactions through e-Dirham,” Al Khoori said.

The e-Dirham system recently received the Certification of Compliance in Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) for its 11 components and for the security compliance of its Triple Data Encryption Standard.

Triple DES (or 3DES) is an advanced international method that encrypts data three times, effectively blocking malware. The e-Dirham system’s certificate of compliance covers its various services, including the electronic payment gateway, automatic clearing and settlement, hosting, secure storage of information, all equipment, devices and cards, steps for identity verification, controlling access to card data, issuing and operating e-wallets, and e-commerce transactions.