It's the final countdown and only hours are left for "A Day without Service Centres," initiative set for October 26 in the emirate of Dubai.

Service transactions provided by government entities in Dubai will be available only via smart applications on October 26 as part of the initiative approved by the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to encourage customers to use smart channels to pay fees and complete transactions.

The initiative was launched by the Department of Finance,DoF, Government of Dubai, last month and has been well received across the emirate, according to Abdul Rahman Saleh Al Saleh, the DoF Director General.

Toward this end, transactions requiring payments at customer service centres operating in Dubai will be stopped for one day. The department has started coordinating with all government entities in Dubai to implement the initiative to close service centres across the emirate for a day on October 26.

This comes as part of the vital role DoF plays as a key entity concerned with collecting public revenues for Dubai Government.

"Instantly, all government entities across Dubai Government have started cooperating to make the initiative a success," Al Saleh said.

The first of its kind across the region, the initiative is aimed boost the use of government apps and e-services, and therefore all physical and cash transactions conducted by state departments concerned will be suspended this Thursday and all walk-in members are advised to use smart channels on that day.

Cashier counters will not be accepting cheques on that day and clients will be required to either pay online by using a credit card or by depositing cash / cheques in relevant banks.