Source: www.rta.ae
The Roads and Transport Authority of Dubai (RTA) announced today the signing of a partnership with Network International, the leading payment solutions provider in the Middle East, to enable passengers travelling by RTA taxis to pay their fares via Nol, Debit and Credit cards.
The announcement was made at a press conference by Dr. Yousef Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer, RTA’s Public Transport Agency, Abdullah Al Madani, Chief Executive Officer, RTA’s Corporate Technical Support Services Sector and Bhairav Trivedi, Chief Executive Officer, Network International, in the presence of senior officials from both organisations.
The move comes in line with RTA’s strategic objective to guarantee the convenience and comfort of passengers on the RTA transport network, and will be implemented from February 19, 2014. The initiative, which also complements RTA’s efforts to build on its solid commitment to enhance Dubai’s Smart City Initiatives, will make daily transiting by RTA taxicabs easier and hassle-free for passengers.
Dr. Yousef Al Ali, CEO, RTA’s Public Transport Agency explained that this significant service would be implemented in phases starting on 19th of February and is scheduled to be completed by mid of 2015. “This initiative would indisputably constitute an added value service to public transport commuting in general and to taxi riding in particular.”
“The taxi service sector is witnessing remarkable growth in Dubai, thanks to the increasing demand from the public, representing all social cross sections including residents, tourists and visitors. The demand is especially high during peak seasons when Dubai hosts a range of events such as conventions, exhibitions, fairs and other landmark events,” added Al Ali.
“Nol Cards and Bank Credit and Debit Cards of various types from all around the world can be used to pay the taxi fares to smoothly and easily facilitate payment without the trouble of finding ATMs, in case cash is not in hand,” continued Al Ali.
For his part, Abdullah Al Madani, CEO, RTA’s Corporate Technical Support Services Sector pointed out that the unified Nol Card is considered one of the most secure cards, thanks to its high tech and multiple features that qualified it to win the Best Prepaid Card in the Middle East Award in 2012, as part of Middle East Awards for Smart Cards, which is regarded the first of its kind specialized program in the Middle East Region.
Al Madani reaffirmed RTA’s continuous commitment to develop its technical services in line with fulfilling the customers’ needs through the acceptance of different bank debit and credit cards from all over the world to pay taxicab fares especially that many taxi users sometimes do not carry cash.
“This initiative would unquestionably raise the level of satisfaction of taxi commuters, and the system is customized to enable taxi users to tip the taxi driver through the use of Nol, debit and credit cards.”
The payment solution for this initiative is powered by Network International, the leading payment solutions provider in the Middle East.
“Network International is committed to work with government entities across the UAE to contribute towards the successful implementation of various initiatives on a nation-wide platform,” said Bhairav Trivedi, CEO, Network International. “We are pleased to have been selected by RTA to be the payment provider for this ambitious project, which is a key initiative in line with RTA’s Smart-Taxi vision.”
“The convenience of taxi users in Dubai was the key driving factor behind the launch of this service. Through this partnership Network International continues to demonstrate its capability to provide competent and effective support for high level projects. The latest development also highlights the remarkable progress Network International is making in terms of enabling card acceptance on a truly wide scale,” added Trivedi.
Trivedi confirmed that Network International is working closely with RTA to ensure secure and convenient acceptance of Nol, debit and credit cards – including Visa, MasterCard, JCB, China Union Pay and Diners – through the POS terminals in the taxis. “The roll out of the new service will eliminate the cash pain point of taxi commuters, who will no longer have to worry about getting back the exact change from the taxi driver,” he added.
Network International is the UAE’s largest payment acquirer for credit and debit cards, and the largest third-party processing vendor offering complete EMV-certified solutions as institutions migrate to EMV Smart Card technology. The company’s services and expertise are used by several government departments in the UAE, in addition to some of the biggest banks, financial institutions and retailers in the country. More info
