DUBAI, 25th April, 2020 (WAM) — Dubai Land Department (DLD), in cooperation with Smart Dubai and the Department of Finance (DOF), launched remote payment services to facilitate the process of real estate registration through the Dubai Pay portal. This step is part of the precautionary measures taken by DLD to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and maintain the health and safety of its customers.

The initiative also aims to expand the process of payment methods through Dubai REST and DLD’s website, allowing for the easy collection of service fees. It is also expected to help facilitate payment services for DLD’s customers, which will lead to the revitalisation of Dubai’s real estate market and the establishment of reliable practical solutions for all procedures and transactions.

The remote payment services through the Dubai Pay portal constitute sales of all kinds, including buying and selling, mortgaging, grants, and usufruct, and it can be used by real estate owners, including buyers and sellers, in addition to all DLD’s customers.

Sultan Butti bin Mejren, director general of DLD, said: “We continue to develop our services and facilitate their delivery to our customers, not only to make them happy and comfortable but also to ensure their health and safety. This is made all the more necessary given these exceptional circumstances in which our efforts are aligned with other institutions and departments to support the efforts of the relevant health authorities to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and contribute to decrease the time it needs to be contained. We are proud to implement this project, especially since it was accomplished within a short period of time, to record a new and unprecedented achievement.”

Dr Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, director general of Smart Dubai, affirmed the importance and effectiveness of smart services, most notably in the current situation, to facilitate people’s lives and save customers’ time and efforts, while ensuring that all their transactions are performed correctly, smoothly, and remotely.

Bin Bishr added: “Smart Dubai, in cooperation with its governmental partners, provided multiple smart and innovative solutions for payment, such as the Dubai Pay portal, in an effort to enable the smart city and enhance the happiness of people by developing safe digital tools and services within a comprehensive system This is consistent with the strategies of building smart cities and supports our efforts to making Dubai the happiest and smartest city on Earth.”

The mechanism of registering transactions by registered trustees remotely and paying through Dubai Pay begins by initiating the payment process via sending the required documents to trustees to verify the availability of requirements, calculating the value of fees, and verifying the documents and customer information, which is followed by the registration of the transaction. The required documents are then uploaded and the trustee account data is sent to deposit the registration fees. After that, the trustee receives the deposit receipt and deposits DLD’s fees into DLD’s bank account if the payment is not made through Dubai Pay.

Upon verifying the deposit and making sure that the amount is available in the trustee’s electronic wallet and the procedure for verification is sent, the transaction is received and the data is verified. Upon approval, DLD’s fees are paid through Dubai Pay, and the notice of payment will be sent through the Dubai Pay portal to issue bonds and title-deed, which will then be sent by email to the buyer to complete the procedure.

Bin Mejren added: “Although the addition of the smart payment channels came in response to the current critical conditions, we will continue to utilise them even after the global crisis is lifted due to their myriad benefits they offer customers and our performance in general. This initiative is in line with our continuous efforts aimed at supporting the vision of Smart Dubai and the further development of our services in line with the directives of our wise leadership to increase Dubai’s appeal and help attract foreign and domestic direct investments to the real estate sector as it represents one of the important pillars of the national economy.”

The new options allow parties to pay their due fees for all DLD’s procedures via the payment link on the mobile phone as the payments can be settled either by using the Dubai Now application on smartphones or through the Dubai Pay portal on the browser. Payment can also be made via two channels for transaction fees on Dubai REST, including ‘To Whom It May Concern’ letters, site maps, and valuation requests, with the option to pay via Noqoodi wallet, which also applies to DLD’s website services. There will be no additional fees charged for paying using credit cards nor any other fees for customers when using one of the payment channels.

DLD affirms that it will apply payment mechanisms to other services in the near future to include off-plan sales, where the owner receives a link to pay DLD’s fees without the need to return to the developer, in addition to bank mortgage fees, where the owner pays through a link that connects him via an SMS on his mobile phone.