Manama: Bahrain has urged citizens and residents to embrace ePayment facilities that ease the process of paying fees.
An awareness campaign launched by the eGovernment Authority said that it seeks to help the public with online payment for government transactions through a mobile portal, a mobile version of the National eGovernment Portal and one of the main eService delivery channels that include the National eGovernment Portal (Bahrain.bh), eServices Centers, Self-service kiosks, as well the National Contact Centre.
"Bahrain enjoys a high mobile penetration rate among most age groups", Mohammad Ziad Asfour, Assistant Director, Marketing and Awareness Directorate at eGovernment Authority, said.
"Accordingly, the mobile phone has zoomed as an important and vital channel to access services, including eGovernment services. Mobile payment available via the mobile portal has contributed significantly to facilitate the process of paying fees and emerged as a modern, simple and secure means that can be utilized at any time and from anywhere," he said in a statement.
The eGovernment Mobile Portal provides 54 eService that include eight e-payment services of government transactions - Pre-Employment Health Check-up Appointment, Payment of Traffic Contraventions, Driving License Renewal, Renewal and Payment of Mailboxes, Issuing Copies of Student Certificates, Public Libraries Services, Payment of Criminal Orders and Student Exam Results.
"The aim of this campaign is to encourage the public to use the e-payment of fees and contraventions through the mobile, familiarize them with the registration process for this state-of-the-art mode of payment while highlighting the benefits in term of saving a lot of time and effort," Asfour said. "The ePayment trend on the eGovernment portal is on the upswing and ePayment via the Mobile Portal maintains high levels of privacy and security, whether through WAP or SMS text messaging service (SMS)," he said.
Three new eServices will be launched during the holy month of Ramadan, expected to start on August 1.
Timing of fasting and futoor hours, list of Ramadan majlis, and religious events will be accessible through mobile portal, he said.
