[June 18, 2013] UAE adopts measures to encourage wider use of mobile banking Tweet DUBAI, Jun 18, 2013 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The central bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has urged the two local telecom providers Etisalat and Du to slash fees for mobile phoning and SMS services in order to increase the usage of mobile banking, local news agency WAM reported Tuesday. The central bank issued a statement on mobile banking following a meeting hosted by central bank governor Sultan Al Suwaid on Monday. According to statement, both Etisalat and Du said they would implement a more user-friendly, high capacity e-mail system or other systems to facilitate fast and efficient transmission of bills online, but the central bank also asked the duopoly for lower mobile transaction fees "to enable payment transactions, and encourage customers to carry out their transactions on mobile devices." The central bank also demanded from the 23 local lenders and 28 foreign banks licensed in the country to step up their m-services for retail customers and institutional clients. With a mobile penetration rate of over 200 percent, the UAE with its 8.5 million inhabitants (of which 90 percent are foreigners) has one of the highest density of mobile and smart phones in the world. Increasing the size of e-services is high on the agenda of the UAE government which launched the mobile government initiative on May 26, a project which shall enhance citizens to apply for most of government services through their smart phones. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]