In a landmark development for Digital payments in UAE, Direct Debit System, the nation’s first paperless direct debit marketplace, partnered with Keyper, a prominent venture capital-backed property management platform, to unveil the UAE’s inaugural digital rental payments platform accessible to all tenants and landlords. This collaboration marks a significant departure from the traditional post-dated cheque (PDC) system, introducing a streamlined solution that enables property owners to receive rent payments digitally.

To replicate the functionality of PDCs but with greater efficiency and accuracy, Direct Debit System facilitates automatic rent deductions from tenants’ bank accounts under pre-agreed conditions. This technological advancement eliminates the heavy processes associated with cheque handling and processing, in line with the strategic objectives of the UAE Central Bank and the government’s push towards modern payment methods.

As part of this advanced launch in the capital world, Keyper is integrating its rent facilitation services, known as “Rent Now Pay Later,” into the rental process to offer tenants the flexibility to make monthly digital payments while ensuring landlords receive payments in advance. The transition to digital payments is expected to significantly enhance the rental experience for both parties and reduce operational costs associated with payment processing. Particularly, non-resident property investors in Dubai gain a seamless benefit from this platform to lease properties and receive payments digitally from anywhere in the world at any time.

Co-founder and CEO of Keyper, Omar Abu Innab, emphasized, “Cheques are a past tradition”. All the stakeholders in the ecosystem have been dissatisfied with cheques but due to lack of a viable alternative for better functionality and security without adding significant friction, they did not switch. But now our solution is noticing great demands as integrating direct debit into our service will assist numerous landlords in the UAE who have multiple transactions and loans from banks against their properties.

Although numerous digital initiatives aimed at promoting uptake, the adoption of digital rent payments is still slow as 95% of tenants are still relying on cheques. This new collaboration targets the needs of individual and small-to-medium landlords, who now dominate the property rental landscape in Dubai.

Ummair Butt, CEO of Direct Debit System, echoed this sentiment: “Collaborating with Keyper allows us to expand our reach and contribute to the digital transformation of the rental market in the UAE, aligning it with other comparable global cities. Together, we are setting a new standard for the entire rental market, making the process more efficient, secure, and user-friendly.”

This collaboration between Direct Debit System and Keyper heralds a new era of digital payment solutions in the UAE Real Estate Sector, promising greater convenience, security, and efficiency for tenants and landlords alike.