On Sunday, the Department of Finance for the city of Dubai launched a blockchain-based payment system. They did this in cooperation with Smart Dubai. The system is called Payment Reconciliation and Settlement, and it will be used at various local government departments. This includes, among others, the Roads and Transport Authority, the Dubai Police and the Dubai Health Authority. The system will allow for real-time payments between and within government departments. The city further hopes that, by using blockchain technology, the system will provide both transparency and accuracy. The currently existing system for processing interdepartmental payments in Dubai's government is very time consuming. It is said that such transactions can take as much as 45 days to process. The new system has already been tested by a number of government departments. This includes the Knowledge and Human Development Authority and the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. In excess of 5 million transactions have so far been tested. Dr. Aisha Bin Bishr, who is the Director General of Smart Dubai, says that — of all the emerging technologies around today — the blockchain is one of the most promising. Last year, at the Smart Cities Expo and World Congress in Barcelona, Smart Dubai received the City Project Award, beating out more 300 other teams with their Dubai blockchain strategy. In 2013, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, who is the ruler of Dubai and the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, initiated the Smart City project. This project, which has been supported by both private and public sectors of the economy, was intended to create an environment in which government departments, city residents and visitors could all cooperate better. This is not the first blockchain project the UAE government has initiated. Earlier this year, the sheikh launched UAE Blockchain Strategy 2021, whose goal was to make the country a global leader in blockchain technology. Then, this summer the Dubai International Financial Centre announced that it was forming a partnership with Smart Dubai in order to develop a blockchain-based court system. They are hoping that this system will help improve the legal system there.