UAE Banking Sector adopts Digital identity UAEPASS

As part of the UAE paperless digitization strategy that includes technologies such as Blockchain, the UAE Central bank has adopted digital identity in processing all bank transactions

Smart Dubai celebrates a new accomplishment as the UAE Central Bank adopts its UAEPASS initiative, launched in collaboration with the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA), in processing all banking transactions.

Her Excellency Dr Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, Director General of Smart Dubai, honoured the Smart Dubai team that has worked on developing UAEPASS from its pilot stage in October 2017, all the way to its launch as a national project in collaboration with the TRA and ADDA in April 2018. 20 entities have been onboarded on the application so far.

“The Central Bank’s clearance of the UAEPASS platform for use by banks around the UAE is a momentous achievement,” asserted H.E. Dr Aisha. “This accelerates the Dubai and UAE Governments’ shift towards digital technologies, in line with the objectives of the Dubai Paperless Strategy 2021.”

The Smart Dubai Director General lauded the cooperation between government entities and the private sector to implement UAEPASS in all sectors, offering people exceptional services and experiences, and ensuring their ongoing happiness when conducting transactions across the city. “Smart Dubai is committed to embracing the latest breakthrough technologies to support the shift towards smart systems, and cater to the needs of residents – an objective we pursue in constant collaboration with both the public and private sectors in the UAE, which we consider to be crucial for initiatives and services to succeed,” Dr Aisha explained.

“The UAEPASS platform has grown exponentially, offering the first nation-wide digital identity service to be used by citizens, residents, and visitors alike,” H.E. Dr Aisha added. “It grants them access to local and federal government services, as well as those of the private sector, all via one smart application, saving them time and travel. The UAEPASS app is currently undergoing a strenuous development stage to allow for it to be implemented within government entities across all seven emirates, in addition to onboarding private-sector services as well.”

The UAEPASS application allows users to access government and private-sector services through their smartphones, in line with the holistic government concept, enhancing integration and complementarity of databases and government systems.

The application offers the digital signature service, which allows users to sign official documents using their smartphones, anytime and anywhere, without needing to visit service centres, all while ensuring their privacy and security.

Most recently the TRA The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, TRA, has held a workshop on UAE Pass for banking and financial institutions, in the presence of representatives of the Prime Minister's Office, Abu Dhabi Digital Authority, Smart Dubai, Federal Authority for Identity & Citizenship, Ministry of Justice, Central Bank and banks operating in the UAE. The workshop aimed to clarify all aspects of this initiative and respond to inquiries and how to benefit from the system to serve all parties.

UAE Pass is a national initiative launched by TRA in partnership with Abu Dhabi Digital Authority and Smart Dubai. It aims to provide quick and easy access to government and non-government services by different segments of customers around the clock. UAE Pass allows banks to accelerate the procedures of opening an account through quick steps without the need to bring the customer in person to sign the documents. The documents will be extracted digitally, and the customer can sign digitally.

The initiative also aims to accelerate the process of digital transformation in the country by promoting integration and coordination between government entities and other sectors to reach a paperless government and faster, easier and safer services.