The Smart Dubai Office (SDO) just launched the ‘Payment Reconciliation and Settlement’ System, which was developed in collaboration with the Dubai Department of Finance with the aim of upgrading their financial system to a Blockchain-powered one.
With the new Blockchain system, the transactions are going to be performed accurately, in a more efficient manner with less time, as the Department of Finance traditional method included staff members physically going through requests and payments from various portals to manually reconcile and settle them, deducting the fees and finally transferring the remaining amount to the relevant authority. The new system is going to eliminate all of that manual labor.
Dr. Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, Director general of the Smart Dubai Office (SDO) commented on the importance of advanced technology saying: “Smart technologies continue to infiltrate every aspect of human life and societies; virtually everything we do today relies fully or to some degree on an advanced technology once considered ‘disruptive.”
She adds that Blockchain is one of the most promising of these technologies as it attracts more investments every year. According to Dr. Aisha, Dubai is a pioneer in this sector and it continues to make progress especially with the launch of this new system which falls in line with the Dubai Blockchain Strategy, launched by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of the Dubai Executive Council.
“Ensuring the success of the ‘Payment Reconciliation and Settlement’ system requires fostering collaboration and synergy among the various Government entities that have joined – or are planning to join – the system, considering that it calls for each entity to open its data and work hand-in-hand with other departments from across the Government spectrum,” Dr. Aisha said.
Wesam Lootah, CEO of the Smart Dubai Government Establishment (SDG) also mentioned that the new and advanced system is going to offer Dubai Government entities a lot of benefits. “Besides enabling near real-time reconciliations and settlement, the System eliminates friction from financial processes through automation and minimizing human intervention. It allows for clear visibility of funds; immediate disputes and claims resolution; transparency and immutability of financial records,” he said.