T + T – Normal size
Ibrahim Al Sayed Mohammed Al Hashemi, Assistant Governor for Executive Office Affairs, Secretary General of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank, and Chairman of the Zero Bureaucracy Committee at the Central Bank, stressed that the Zero Bureaucracy Program is a result of the directives of the wise leadership and the firm commitment of the UAE government to bring about a qualitative shift in government procedures and services..
Al Hashemi said in an interview with Emirates News Agency (WAM) that the Central Bank has set the objectives of the Zero Bureaucracy Programme in the financial sector as a top priority within the bank’s strategic plans, to mark the beginning of a new phase of work, to establish a pioneering future experience in the financial sector, and to enhance the role of the financial sector system in achieving the vision of “We the Emirates 2031”, and to consolidate the competitiveness of the UAE and its position as a global financial centre..
He added that the Central Bank’s program action plan included the formation of an internal higher committee to oversee the achievement of the program’s objectives, in line with the vision and institutional values of the Central Bank, and to develop and shorten the journey of customers in terms of time, effort and resources, and to reduce unnecessary burdens on customers in the financial and business sectors in the country..
Regarding the proposed solutions and initiatives to eliminate bureaucracy, Al Hashemi said that accelerating procedures and simplifying transactions is a top priority for the Central Bank, and an ongoing process in the development and success of the financial sector, which positively reflects on consumers and individual and business sector clients, as work is constantly being done to re-engineer services, employ the latest digital technologies to analyze clients’ needs, and provide proactive solutions that meet clients’ needs and exceed their expectations..
He stated that the Central Bank has created new patterns based on the principle of risk, including the cancellation of unnecessary approvals and requirements for the services of licensed financial institutions. In the brainstorming sessions it conducted with licensed financial institutions in the country, it presented more than 50 proposals and initiatives to eliminate bureaucracy in the financial sector, including more than 27 initiatives at the level of the Central Bank’s operations and services, some of which have been implemented, and others are under implementation until the end of this year. These initiatives relate to the cancellation and simplification of many procedures, accelerating the provision of services, creating new patterns for government procedures, and automating procedures and services to enhance operational efficiency and improve the quality of operations and services provided to all customers, stakeholders and partners..
The Assistant Governor for Executive Office Affairs said that the initiatives included the cancellation and simplification of many procedures and services, and reducing their requirements and steps, which led to reducing the time period for completing procedures, and facilitating services to enhance the confidence of all clients, most notably, automating the implementation of financial judicial orders issued by the country’s courts, which will allow clients to expedite and reduce the costs of completing judicial transactions..
He pointed out that the Central Bank’s procedures regarding approving banks’ requests to participate in financing the offering of new public companies in local markets will be zeroed out, as the requests, forms and circulars related to the service will be cancelled, in addition to adopting a new mechanism for banks’ requests to participate in the public offering of companies, which will lead to facilitating the procedures and will be reflected in increasing the percentage of customer satisfaction..
He added that the initiatives to facilitate and eliminate procedures also included canceling the Central Bank’s approval for the service of renewing branches of financial institutions, canceling the approval for the service of opening electronic banking service units, canceling the approval for the service of requesting the installation of an independent ATM/devices, as well as canceling the approval for the service of opening, transferring, closing or renewing administrative offices, in addition to facilitating the process of involving parties wishing to participate in the payment systems managed and operated by the Central Bank, automating the authentication service, and automating incident reports related to payment systems, by improving the workflow process, accelerating the management of agreements between the Cash Operations Department and other parties, and improving and developing the process of approving administrative appointments in the insurance sector..
