Earlier, a film on Information Technology Authority, which endeavours to consolidate and implement the Digital Oman strategy to transform the Sultanate of Oman into a knowledge-based economy for the achievement of social and economic benefits to Omani society, was screened. Salim Al Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA, averred that the launch of ePayment has ushered in a new era of making electronic transaction easier by launching a secure and safe payment gateway.
He said the launch signalled the transformation of Oman's eGovernment implementation moving forward to the transactional phase.
He added: "The ePayment Gateway is a key enabler to the successful delivery of public sector services online and this is now operational for people to adopt and benefit.
"The system which has gone operational five months ago has satisfied rigorous test and proves to be secure and resilient.
Today's launch marks another era in the delivery of e-government services for the entire nation."
Al Ruzaiqi further added: "Private sector entities can also join the ePayment Gateway and can increase customer base and market with easy payment options. Public can now pay for services and/or products completely online using any of the major credit/debit cards and the use of gateway is free for buyer. No longer do they need to visit the physical offices or wait in long queues to make payments."
Speaking on the operations, Muhanna Moosa Baqer, manager -- ePayments, said: "In about five months of operations, about 3,300 transaction have taken place successfully over the ePayment Gateway and the customers' reaction so far has been very positive without even a single complaint from the members or their customers. The system is ready for use by both members and the public".
The ePayment Gateway (ePG) provides an operational component of the e-governance infrastructure and full e-commerce facilities that allow secure online payments (ePayments).
The ePayment Gateway supports multiple acquiring banks and will operate as a critical shared service within the e-governance architecture along with Oman's forthcoming Government eServices Portal.
With Oman Mobile as the Main Sponsor, the launch event is also supported by BankMuscat -- the Gold Sponsor and Oman Arab Bank the Bronze Sponsor.
The launch of this gateway is part of the continuous efforts taken by the ITA to build the e-government infrastructure of the Sultanate. The state-of-the-art ePayment solution supports the delivery of e-services of the public sector and assists the private sector's moves into e-commerce.
The ePayment Gateway enables efficient electronic transactions in Oman and simplify the processing of payment transactions for electronic services within the country. Enabling the gateway is expected to increase the adoption of e-Services along with electronic payments, particularly internet-enabled payments which are easy and efficient.
Since a soft launch of the ePG mid-March this year, Ministry of Sports Affairs, Oman Mobile, Nawras and OmanBay are the current members of the system.
The presence of such a robust and secure ePayment Gateway enables e-government shared services to be paid for electronically using major local and international credit and debit cards, and in future, other electronic payment instruments. The gateway currently accepts all international credit cards, debit cards including Visa, MasterCard, Amex and Diner cards.
The ePayment Gateway currently supports the Internet and will support various other electronic channels including the mobile phone, IVR, Call Centre, etc. in future. This gateway is reliable, secure and future proof with Payment Card Industry Standards. It is a cost-effective and complete payment solution for ministries and private sector merchants.
Government entities can get their payment for services settled completely online. They are facilitated with secure payment processing to world-class standards and are also provided with a full audit trail and reconciliation for online transactions. They are well supported with operational and technical support and hence can reduce their administrative costs.
The ePayment Gateway allows merchants based in Oman to sell their products and services on the internet to customers worldwide and customers in Oman could continue to make purchase of products and services online.
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Quelle/Source: Times of Oman, 31.08.2008
