The Sharjah Finance Department, FD, and the Emirates Identity Authority, EIDA, have signed a strategic partnership agreement to operationalise the identity card’s use in e-payments through websites and smart applications.

The landmark development goes in line with the FD’s strategy to maximise the efficiency and benefits of the emirate’s financial system and ensure consumer satisfaction and contentment.

Considered a significant step forward in achieving financial inclusion of everyone in Sharjah, the agreement ensures greater access for the emirate’s government departments to EIDA’s e-Gate Service by enabling the emirate’s departments and residents to make transactions and e-payments through identity cards, and introduces digital signature.

The agreement was signed by FD Director-General, Waleed Al Sayegh, and Dr. Saeed Abdullah Al Ghafli, Director-General of Emirates Identity Authority.

Under the agreement, the Emirates ID shall be operationalised as a user-friendly and highly secure payment tool for all government and semi-government financial transactions in Sharjah as part of the government’s efforts to ensure people's contentment through efficient services and optimum performance.

The agreement shall pave the way for more efficient application of state-of-the-art technology to enhance productivity, improve performance, and streamline procedures and access to public services.

The agreement will ensure secure and easy payment solutions for the users of the Smart Receipt System (Tahseel) services, including, but not limited to, free-of-charge filling of Tahseel application forms and utilising the latest technology in collection of all local transaction fees in the emirate.

Al Sayegh said, "In keeping with the vision of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, the Finance Department is tirelessly working to enhance its performance and create an exemplary business environment that provides our people with all the tools that encourage them to be productive, positive and content."

Dr. Al Ghafli said," The agreement ideally falls with the EIDA’s endeavors to strengthen channels of cooperation with different local and federal departments nationwide in order to facilitate full access to EIA’s digital services with the ultimate goal of streamlining procedures and ensuring business supremacy as part of the major strides being taken by the country to achieve sustained economic growth."

The agreement enables free use of Emirates Identity's digital service system and ensures the provision of digital reading technology for Emirates ID and Tahseel cards at all Sharjah Government’s departments.

The agreement in addition paves the way for establishing a unified e-payment gate for all users seeking governmental services through the use of their IDs as a standardised key to performing all individual payments at any governmental department in an extremely user-friendly and specific manner.