Muscat: As per the instructions issued by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Health (MOH) said that all fees will be collected electronically effective from January 1, 2020."
The revenue will not be collected in any other way," it added.
All government agencies in the Sultanate have been told to accept only electronic payments for their services they render to citizens and residents.
In a statement, the Ministry of Finance, said, “Starting on January 1, 2020, all the ministries and government entities should collect payments only through electronic system and stop collecting payment in any other form.”
According to the statement, the government will bear the one-percent commission of the fee paid to the banks and would not pass the same to the citizens.
While urging for strict adherence to the directive, the statement said, “It is to safeguard the interest of the general public.”
The directive is issued with reference to earlier circulars issued by the Ministry of Finance with regard to the use of the electronic payment gateway in receiving payments through the commercial banks in the Sultanate.
“With e-payments government will be able to save on the operational costs of online transactions. Currently, the one-percent commission, which does not exceed RO 5, is already enforced by some government agencies that use the electronic payment for collection of fees,” the statement said.
The e-payment system is increasingly becoming the usual way to collect bills or fees on behalf of any organization. The National ePayment Gateway provides an operational component of the e-Governance infrastructure and full e-commerce facilities that allow secure online payments (e-payments).
The e-Payment Gateway supports multiple acquiring banks and operates as a critical shared service within the e-Governance architecture masterplan in Oman.
A part of the efforts to promote e-Governance, the Ministry of Health (MoH) implemented cashless transactions at public healthcare systems in 2017. For the convenience of some sections of the society, some government agencies, however, continued to accept cash payments.
All transactions at Royal Oman Police (ROP) including renewal of driving licenses, civil and resident cards are effectively made through the bank cards.
The National e-Payment Gateway enables efficient electronic transactions in Oman and simplifies the processing of payment transactions for electronic services.
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