Dubai Electricity and Water Authority announced on October 3, 2026, that its Smart Bank Guarantee System has reduced transaction turnaround time by 95 percent and decreased reliance on physical bank guarantees by 74 percent. According to the Emirates News Agency, the platform processes approximately 2,500 bank guarantees annually with a total value of around AED1 billion. The development replaces traditional paper-based procedures with a fully digital ecosystem that enables real-time tracking and data updates.
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive of DEWA, said the achievement stems from employing the latest digital technologies and artificial intelligence to redesign institutional operations and boost their efficiency. “We continue to leverage cutting-edge digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) to redesign organisational operations and enhance efficiency, supporting Dubai’s vision for digital leadership while delivering faster, more resilient and proactive services,” Al Tayer stated. He added that the authority is developing an AI-driven integrated operational model that achieves the highest levels of operational efficiency and sustainability, contributes to zero bureaucracy and enhances customer and employee experiences.
Al Tayer further noted that the system advances bank guarantee management through faster, more accurate and resilient procedures while supporting the optimal utilisation of resources and increasing workforce productivity. The Emirates News Agency reported that the platform also expands DEWA’s use of Robotic Process Automation to automate repetitive procedures and tasks, thereby eliminating routine work. It manages the entire bank guarantee lifecycle through integrated digital processes that cover receipt, review, updates and follow-up.
A WAM dispatch published days earlier detailed how DEWA has transformed 16 of its 21 services into agentic artificial intelligence-powered offerings in less than 90 days, representing 76 percent of its total service portfolio. The Fast Company Middle East assessment found that this shift has cut processing times by up to 95 percent across multiple operations, including payment reconciliation that handles 13.3 million transactions annually and now completes its daily cycle in 12 minutes instead of four hours. These parallel advances demonstrate the utility’s broader transition toward autonomous systems that operate around the clock without human intervention for routine assignments.
The current Smart Bank Guarantee System builds on DEWA’s earlier success in fully digitising bank guarantee transactions with Emirates NBD, an initiative that Gulf News reported in 2020 had already eliminated paper usage entirely and reduced processing time by 80 percent. That earlier project positioned DEWA as the first UAE government organisation to achieve 100 percent paperless work in such operations through robotics process automation and SAP enhancements. The latest platform adds SWIFT authentication and SAP-linked digital audit trails to strengthen data quality, governance and financial control.
According to the Emirates News Agency, the Smart Bank Guarantee System earned a five-star rating in the Global Best Practices competition, confirming the maturity of DEWA’s digital transformation and its success in converting financial and administrative procedures into intelligent models. This recognition aligns with national objectives to maintain Dubai’s global leadership in future government services. DEWA continues to integrate these technologies across additional workflows to sustain productivity gains and resource optimisation.
