Officials of various Abu Dhabi government entities interacting with each other during the virtual launch of Abu Dhabi Pay. Courtesy Tamm
Officials of various Abu Dhabi government entities interacting with each other during the virtual launch of Abu Dhabi Pay. Courtesy Tamm
Officials of various Abu Dhabi government entities interacting with each other during the virtual launch of Abu Dhabi Pay. Courtesy Tamm
Officials of various Abu Dhabi government entities interacting with each other during the virtual launch of Abu Dhabi Pay. Courtesy Tamm

Economy

Tamm launches Abu Dhabi Pay to offer digital payment solutions for government services

The digital platform provides customers with a range of government services through a single point of access

Alkesh Sharma
Alkesh Sharma

May 04, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

Tamm, the Abu Dhabi government services ecosystem, launched a digital platform Abu Dhabi Pay to offer secure and standardised methods of online payments in the emirate.

Abu Dhabi Pay also offers features such as payment processing, reconciliation and settlement, reports and audit and one payment for several settlements.

This new service will facilitate a “seamless and hassle-free access to all government services”, Ali Rashid Al Ketbi, chairman of the Department of Government Support, said in a statement on Monday.

It is an “essential step forward in the efforts made by all parties to strengthen Abu Dhabi's position and leadership regionally and globally” in the field of digital government, he added.

Established in October last year, the Department of Government Support includes the Abu Dhabi Statistics Centre, Human Resources Authority, Abu Dhabi School of Government and Abu Dhabi Digital Authority.

Abu Dhabi has been working to consolidate all resident-facing government services under one platform, called Tamm. The move aims to reduce in-person visits to public organisations by consolidating service transactions into a single touchpoint.

A product of Ghadan21, it provides customers with a comprehensive range of government services through a single point of access. Using this service, customers can have direct access to information without having to visit each and every government entity.

The government entities adopting the new platform at this stage include Abu Dhabi Police, Department of Health, Department of Energy, Department of Economic Development, Department of Municipalities and Transport, Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority and the General Administration of Customs.

"Looking ahead, we will integrate Abu Dhabi Pay with all of the digital channels of the remaining entities,” said Mohamed Abdel Hameed Al Askar, acting director-general of the ADDA that operates Tamm.

“This will include establishing the priorities and foundations required to complete the inclusion of digital channels for government agencies and communicating with them to study, prepare, and build the allocations required to complete the linking operations,” he added.

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SPECS

Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR

Engine: 5.7-litre V8

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 362hp

Torque: 530Nm

Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

How to improve Arabic reading in early years

One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient

The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers

Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades

Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic

First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations

Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades

Improve the appearance of textbooks

Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings

Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught

Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar

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SPECS

Nissan 370z Nismo

Engine: 3.7-litre V6

Transmission: seven-speed automatic

Power: 363hp

Torque: 560Nm

Price: Dh184,500

EconomyAbu Dhabi PoliceSaudi ArabiaAbu Dhabi