Over 7mm transactions done using PKI in H1

36 government entities integrated with the system

The National Digital Certification Center, under the Ministry of Technology and Communications (MTC), has witnessed an increase of 28 per cent in the number of transactions using Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) system. The number of transactions through mobile phones stood at 1,983,290 in the first half of 2019 with a significant increase from the same period in 2018 at 1,014,492 transactions.

So far 36 government entities have been integrated with the PKI system. In the first half of 2018, the number of transactions which used the PKI system in ID cards stood at 4,370,062. In the first half of 2019, this number increased to 5,535,800.

The total number of transactions that used the PKI system reached 7,519,090 with a 28 per cent increase from 2018, according to data recorded by the ministry through the national certification centre.

The National Digital Certification Center was established in 2013 by MTC as a part of an effort to move towards better eServices.

It allows using the PKI system to complete eTransactions with full confidentiality, reliability and efficiency while fully protecting the personal information of the users.

Moreover, users can use their ID card enabled with the PKI system to get services and complete transactions without the need to go to the service provider personally. The PKI system also allows signing any official document online, where every online signature is treated as a traditional signature.

The ID cards for citizens and expats were used for more than 19.5mn eTransactions. On the other hand, the centre recorded more than 2.8mn transactions using mobile PKI system during the same period from 2013-19. Statistics show that 80 per cent of the private and government entities adopted digital certification as a prerequisite to using some of their services.

Best entities

The Ministry of Manpower topped the list of entities using the PKI system through ID cards in the first half of 2019 with 2,150,355 transactions .

The Ministry of Manpower provides various services for job seekers, citizens, business owners and manpower, in addition to receiving complaints and reports.

With 868,996 transactions, Al Raffd Fund stood second in the list. In the third place stands the Directorate General of Customs of the ROP represented by the ‘Bayan’ system, which conducted 760,056 transactions.

The next on the list is the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, represented by ‘Invest Easy’, which conducted 654,536 transactions using PKI. Next on the list is the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources that conducted 176,716 transactions.

The PKI system also allows signing any official document online