Smart Dubai, the developer of Dubai’s Blockchain Strategy technology program, announced the upgrade of the DubaiPay mobile payment application. The new version of the app includes a real-time payment settlement system backed by a blockchain system developed by Smart Dubai.
The new payment system aims to streamline transactions and enable real-time payment processing through a network whose operations can be backed up by a blockchain. This update constitutes the inclusion of the Dubai’s Department of Finance (DoF) in a supposed decentralized system of cryptocurrency that Smart Dubai has been developing for over a year. However, the technical characteristics, such as privacy, algorithm, and developers involved, are still unknown.
Smart Dubai states that the new upgrade of DubaiPay will provide “visibility of the funds; immediate disputes and resolution of claims” in the operations of the Dubai’s Department of Finance (DoF). These features will serve to reduce the 45-day period it takes to settle payment in DoF, where currently workers must manually and physically verify the payments collected, make deductions, and reconcile the documents.
Dubai takes significant steps towards becoming a smart country based on blockchain technology
The project, developed by Smart Dubai and the Department of Finance (DoF), requires the collaboration of several government entities to operate. At present, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) have already been included, as the agencies participating in the test. And it is expected that the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), the Department of Tourism and Trade Marketing (DTCM) and other customs and municipal agencies to start working with decentralized technology, too.
“Guided by its leadership’s vision for the future, Dubai has been a pioneer in adopting cutting-edge technologies – especially those of the Fourth Industrial Revolution – and adapting them to meet the needs of our citizens, residents, and visitors, in a bid to transform Dubai into the happiest and smartest country in the world. Blockchain technology is one of the most promising technologies, attracting more investments each year. The new strategy seeks to increase government efficiency by transferring 100% of government transactions to the blockchain network,” said Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, General Manager at Smart Dubai.
