The Banking Executive Magazine - March 2023 Issue

The UAE Central Bank (CBUAE) has given the go ahead for the country’s first paperless direct debit market- place, to provide payers and mer- chants with an all-in-one solution to make regular monthly payments. A communication to banks and fi- nancial institutions in the UAE con- firmed that the Marketplace has received the green light to go live, saying, “We would like to announce that Direct Debit Marketplace (DDMP) will enact the role of a ‘spe- cial’ sponsoring entity, and will be in- cluded as a direct participant in UAEDDS.” Developed by UAE-based FinTech company, Direct Debit System, the direct debit marketplace has been es- tablished to provide residents and citizens of the UAE with a safe, legal alternative to make all their recurring payments in one place. Accessed only through UAEPASS, the marketplace offers users peace of mind, with all payments facili- tated through the platform being integrated with, and regulated by, the UAE Central Bank. Ummair Butt, founder and CEO of Direct Debit System said, “We are delighted to be given the official go ahead and are grateful to the Central Bank and its leadership for allowing us to be part of its digital payments transformation agenda for the country. Since our soft launch in September, we have re- ceived incredible feedback from businesses who want to move to the paperless and digital transfor- mation space. Our first merchant is set to accept its first Direct Debit payment in March 2023.” It is predicted that direct debit can help over 96 per cent of monthly salaried people to stay out of debt and budget their salaries better, by paying monthly and avoiding quar- terly bulk cheques. Payers can easily settle recurring expenses such as school fees, insurance, rent, gym memberships, and any other sub- scription-based expenses. The sys- tem is DESC (Dubai Electronic Security Center) compliant, with users’ data positioned safely behind government firewalls and systems, which are among the best in the world. The marketplace is bank agnostic, which means that it does not affect a merchant’s relationship with their banking services provider. Market- place provides added advantage to real estate companies by providing control over tenants ability to cancel direct debit during the period of ten- ancy. With a fixed-fee structure, it is a cost- effective solution for all merchants who use cheques or credit cards to accept payments. DDMP issues a digital bounced DD report for mer- chants who wish to take the bounced payment matter to UAE Courts. The Marketplace also offers digital recon- ciliations for all Direct Debit pay- ments, creating cost-time savings for participating merchants. Marketplace provides a sandbox environment to any merchant who wishes to test standardized APIs and integrate DD module into their Accounting System or CRM. Butt added: “Our mission is to en- courage a culture of monthly direct debit payments for all big or small ticket items, at very low cost to mer- chants and free of charge for payers. Although UAEDDS has the capabil- ity of payer-driven payments, taking that route poses an incredible chal- lenge for merchants to identify and reconcile a payment popping up in their bank. It is our belief that be- cause direct debit is an instrument to execute a contract of payment, the merchant must have control over terms, therefore initiate the DD pay- ment process and retain the control. DDMP offers exactly that.” the BANKING EXECUTIVE 48 ISSUE 171 MARCH 2023 UAE CENTRAL BANK GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO UAE’S FIRST PAPERLESS DIRECT DEBIT MARKETPLACE FinTech and AI Chornicle