Needy Emirati families to get aid through pre-paid cards

Dubai: A thousand needy Emirati families can conveniently access and utilise their financial benefits from the Dubai government through pre-paid cards beginning first week of July, officials from the Community Development Authority (CDA) announced on Wednesday.

In December last year, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, approved the Dubai Financial Benefits Law giving 7,000 needy Emirati families entitlement to financial aid, whether in cash or in kind. Currently, CDA has received 3,030 applications for the programme.

The pre-paid Visa card, which was developed by Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), works the same way as an ATM card or a debit card. They will serve as a cashless solution for beneficiaries in line with Shaikh Mohammad’s directives to transition from e-government to smart government in the emirate.

“The pre-paid card is one of the initiatives by which we aim to empower the Emirati citizen, and offer him a decent life in line with the concept of community empowerment, which represents one of the most important goals of the authority’s strategic plans,” Ahmad Al Muhairi, CEO of Programmes and Social Services at CDA, said.

CDA will “top up” a beneficiary’s pre-paid card directly at pre-determined times of each month, making repeated personal visits to the authority’s office unnecessary. This will also eliminate time-consuming administrative processes on the part of CDA.

“Our aim is to convert the day-to-day paperwork job that CDA does and to convert it into electronic payments, where from now on, auto-loading will happen,” Souheil Joseph Yammine, Head of Cards Management at CBD, told Gulf News.

Hana Bakkar Al Harthi, Social Services Director at CDA, said the cashless solution will help ease the burden of beneficiaries as they will be exempted from paying any banking fees for the use of the card.

“Some beneficiaries are very limited in their finances, and the banks have a certain rule of having a minimum deposit at their account on a monthly basis. So beneficiaries cut from this amount as well,” Al Harthi told Gulf News.

CDA will finalise the distribution of the pre-paid cards, which can also be used worldwide, to 1,000 families next month. More cards will be distributed next year.

To apply for the financial benefits programme, Emiratis can call CDA at 800 2121 for further information.

- Amna Rahman is an intern an Gulf News.