Jordan has joined the growing list of countries with ambitious plans to embrace wholesale digital transformation across key sectors of its economy, publishing a blueprint and a public consultation to achieve its goals.
With the National Digital Transformation Strategy, Jordan is eyeing a complete overhaul of its economy, integrating emerging technologies into public and private sectors. The strategy targets the 2026-2028 timeframe, with residents allowed to submit comments until September 6.
Unveiled by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, the three-year transformational strategy will focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT). Leaning on these next-gen technologies, Jordanian authorities are keen to advance digital inclusion while improving gross domestic product (GDP) figures in the coming years.
“The plan’s foundations include legislative and regulatory frameworks, innovation and entrepreneurship, strategic partnerships, data, artificial intelligence, and advanced technologies,” read the report.
A key pillar of Jordan’s digital transformation strategy is the push for digital identity and a secure signature for residents. The country’s digital ID project, Sanad, has already gathered significant steam with authorities mulling the prospects of onboarding 3.5 million persons before the end of the year.
Leading financial institutions in the Arab country have signaled an intent to allow digital IDs from citizens seeking banking services. The Arab Jordan Investment Bank (AJIB) and the Arab Bank have begun accepting Jordan’s digital ID in place of physical identification cards for financial services.
While the blueprint points to a frenetic adoption pace, Jordanian authorities are committed to safe usage of emerging technologies. The public consultation is geared toward fostering public trust in the incoming digital transformation strategy amid ambitious plans to integrate emerging technologies with government services.
Jordan is hurtling toward watertight regulation to guide its projected pivot to digitalization. In February, the Arab country set things in motion for the introduction of a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets.
Digital IDs set new milestones globally
While the Middle East is playing catch-up in the digitalization race, several countries have surged ahead with digital IDs in recent months. Iraq’s Kurdistan hit a milestone of over two million digital IDs issued to residents, with local authorities eyeing improved metrics in the coming months.
In terms of broader digitalization targets, the UAE and Qatar are in pole position with their integration of blockchain and AI innovation. UAE-based large language models (LLMs) are tipped to put the Middle East at the heart of global tech innovation.
Onboarding blue-collar workers into digital economy
Elsewhere, the United Arab Emirates-based telecommunications giant du has expanded the scope of its offering to payment services with the launch of a salary feature in its digital wallet service.
du has rolled out a ‘Salary in the Digital Wallet’ service for blue-collar workers across the UAE. The new offering will allow workers to receive their salaries in their du Pay digital wallets without the hassle of additional paperwork.
The salary feature is limited to employees earning under Dh5,000 (US$1,500) per month. Executives at the telecoms firm reveal that the primary demographic is underbanked workers with limited access to traditional financial (TradFi) services.
Users of the new feature can access their salaries via the du Pay mobile app and will receive a physical card for cashless transactions. Furthermore, blue-collar workers are given the additional perks of a zero-balance account and cross-border payments on the app.
Other use cases include bill payments and in-app telecom recharges. In addition to instant deposits to du Pay wallets, users will receive a unique International Bank Account Number (IBAN), allowing interoperability with standard bank accounts.
“The digital wallet feature is especially beneficial for the significant portion of the UAE’s workforce earning less than Dh5,000 per month and who typically have very limited or no access to traditional banking services,” read a statement.
Following clarity from the UAE’s regulators, du launched its foray into payments with a digital wallet. Aware of its late entry into the ecosystem, du Pay is playing catch-up with aggressive promotion and low fees to establish itself in a thriving market.
The digital wallet has obtained a license from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) and is retrofitted with a raft of functionalities. du Pay offers a multilingual offering to cater to a wider demographic while offering peer-to-peer transfers and international transactions to over 200 countries.
Aligning with the UAE’s digitalization goals
du Pay’s new feature aligns with the UAE’s digital economy goals to reduce cash transactions and promote digital inclusion. The Arab nation has taken significant steps to integrate emerging technology into key sectors, tapping AI to lead the digital revolution.
While the central government is making keen progress, individual emirates like Dubai and Sharjah have surged ahead. Recently, the Port of Fujaira and Endava have penned a digital transformation deal to improve port operations with an eye on productivity, efficiency, and transparency.
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Source: https://coingeek.com/jordan-bold-digital-push-blue-collar-pay-goes-digital/
