Strategy aims for 90% digital transactions by 2026, boosting economic growth and fintech innovation.
PC: ATM Marketplace
In its bid to more substantially entrench Dubai as a global leader in the digital economy, Digital Dubai has announced a “Dubai Cashless Strategy.” The strategic plan is aimed at seeing all payments go through seamlessly and securely between the government and private sectors. To this end, it shall marry the ambition of “Digitizing Life in Dubai” into the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), thereby underlining that digital payment plays an important role in empowering economic sectors.
The vision for the Dubai Cashless Strategy is to digitise all transactions in the emirate by 2026. This move will trigger more than AED 8 billion every year in added value for the economy through innovation in new fintech services, as well as expanding Dubai’s fintech industry.
Commenting on the emirate’s developed financial ecosystem, H.E. Abdulrahman Saleh Al Saleh, Director General of Dubai’s Department of Finance, said that 97% of its government transactions had already been digitised by 2023. He added, “The strategy is built on three pillars: digital governance, financial technology and innovation, and society.” The initiative falls in line with the vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to further advance Dubai’s global business and investment reputation.
His Excellency Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), reiterated the importance of this strategy moving forward in achieving the Dubai Economic Agenda. The reason for this thinking for him is that “acceleration of digital payments is not just about achieving efficiency but also about creating an innovation and entrepreneurship-friendly ecosystem and more broadly a seamless, secure digital payment landscape.” “This digital payment landscape will have to depend on the collaboration between public and private sectors, hence the acceleration of the digital payments in Dubai should be all dimensions-inclusive,” according to Almarri.
Digital Payment Innovations
The strategy shall be driven through innovations in digital payment technologies including AI, Machine Learning, Contactless Payments, and Smart Device Payments. These will finally enable faster and more integrated, secure payments. Technologies such as digital wallets, wearable device payments, and block chains will play a substantive role because these open a transformative possibility for financial transactions of the changing Dubai digital economy.
Fintech for Support of Economic Growth
Among the central focuses of the Cashless Strategy is the fostering of fintech, as a key driver in the digital economy. Dubai looks to attract leading fintech companies and talent to further cement the emirate’s positioning as a global hub for digital payment innovations, thereby accelerating growth in the fintech sector and furthering broader goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33).
Seamless Payment Experiences for Everyone
The Dubai cashless strategy will be aimed at ensuring seamless digital payment for the customers and the service providers. With the inclusion of all types of digital payments, the strategy will work to make it easier for the customers to make payments while the service providers and merchants can receive more digital payments besides having fewer fees in making transactions. This holistic approach will empower all stakeholders, building a more connected, digital-first economy in the emirate of Dubai.
