Going Digital: Bahrain records 29pc increase in Q3 ePayments

Digital payment adoption is picking pace in Bahrain with the government recording a 29 per cent spike in ePayments in the third quarter of 2019 from a year ago. According to eGovernment Channels’ Performance Monitoring report, a total of over BD46 million was received through 445,000 financial transactions between June and September 2019, a 24 per cent jump.

During the same period, the National Portal and main eGovernment channel, Bahrain.bh recorded notable growth in the usage of its services with visitors exceeding 2 million. It also recorded a 25pc jump in payments to BD39 million, with the number of completed financial transactions increasing by 18pc.

Fourfold jump for NotifyMe

The report revealed significant demand for several services, most notably the National Notification System (NotifyMe), which received more than 19,000 visits, a fourfold increase. The ‘Apply for a Government Job Vacancy’ service recorded approximately 37,000 visits, a twofold increase.

Meanwhile, the University of Bahrain (UoB) textbook payment service received more than 28,000 visits, and the credit report issuance service received over 5,500 visits.

Private Notary service record 10 fold jump

Compared to Q3 last year, the Private Notary service recorded a tenfold increase in financial transactions, while one of the latest services, Traffic Certificates issuance, saw its transactions double. ID Card issuance recorded a notable increase of 59pc due to its linkage with an appointment booking service.

Applications usage through t grew by 21pc to more than 99,000 transactions along with a 63pc increase in payments. Meanwhile, payments for completed transactions in Q3 of 2019 grew by 61pc compared to Q3 of 2018, exceeding BD6 million in value.

GovEmployee, ‘Sehati’ most active

Also, eGovernment platforms recorded usage and completed transaction increases of 18pc, and 10pc respectively during Q3 2019 compared to the same quarter last year. The most active apps were GovEmployee, Government Directory, ‘Sehati’, eTraffic, and Electricity and Water applications.

Vehicle Registration Renewal

Many services provided through the apps experienced a major increase in transaction value during Q3 of 2019 compared to Q2 of the same year, including Vehicle Registration Renewal, Payment of Traffic Contraventions, and Driving License Renewal which are all available on the eTraffic app.

This is in addition to other services such as the Enquire and Pay Bills service on the Electricity and Water Services. eGovernment platforms recorded usage transaction increases of 18pc and completed transaction value increase of 10pc in Q3 of 2019 compared to the same quarter last year.