Bahrain’s eFada to stamp out e-commerce fraud and ensure consumer protection

TDT | Manama       

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Reported by Mahir Haneef

Bahrain yesterday introduced a free certification system, named eFada, for e-commerce websites so that customers can know whether it is a registered and active business or not. This would help curb fraud and ensure consumer protection, officials said.

The announcement was made by His Excellency Abdullah bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, while launching eFada, the e-commerce seal system, at an event held in the Bahrain Bourse Hall at the Bahrain Financial Harbour building yesterday.

While explaining the concept after the launch, the minister said, "Any commercial activity in Bahrain should have a licence. This is a project that will support not just the consumers but also the businesses in Bahrain because it will build trust among the consumers, knowing that it is an active business that has a licence to operate.

Therefore, as a consumer, if they go to a website that does not have the eFada logo, there will be a question mark in their minds. So most likely, they will not use such a website. In the initial phase, it is not compulsory. "

However, it is a free service and a free activity; there are no charges for it, and it is simple to set up. Our team, the IT division at the ministry, is willing to support the initial phase of applying the logo to the website.

Maram Al Mahmeed, director of the Information Systems Directorate, said the aim of the initiative is to give confidence to consumers. "The purpose of the seal is to grant reliability in terms of licencing, and the purpose here is to encourage consumers to deal with those platforms.

Generally, the main target or purpose is to encourage businesses to move to e-commerce or to set up e-commerce and encourage digital business transactions. Through this initiative, we are working towards enhancing consumer confidence on the platforms," she said. The directorate is responsible for regulating e-commerce platforms.

The eFada e-commerce stamp confirms to a user that the online store is registered and active within the records of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and is authorised to practice e-commerce, a press statement said.

Such an initiative is part of the national strategy for e-commerce and aims to encourage electronic transactions in a way that results in the growth of the national economy, the ministry’s statement said.

The ministry called on e-commerce establishments wishing to obtain a free stamp to submit the application by visiting the link eCommerce Seal (eFada): eCommerce Seal (eFada) (moic.gov.bh). The ministry said inquiries regarding the initiative can be made by contacting ecom@moic.gov.bh or by calling 17574888.