The government's eCitizen platform will temporarily suspend all payment services for five hours on Saturday evening as officials carry out a planned upgrade aimed at improving the reliability and efficiency of the country's main digital services portal.
The Directorate of eCitizen Services said the scheduled maintenance will take place on Saturday, July 18, from 7:00 p.m. to midnight, affecting all payment transactions processed through the platform during that period.
In a public notice issued on Thursday, the Directorate said the exercise is part of ongoing efforts to improve service delivery on the government's flagship digital platform, which hosts thousands of public services.
"The Directorate of eCitizen Services wishes to notify all users of the eCitizen platform that there will be a scheduled system maintenance on Saturday, 18th July 2026, from 7:00 PM to 12:00 midnight," the notice read.
According to the Directorate, the maintenance is required to support an upgrade of the eCitizen payment gateway, which handles digital payments for a wide range of government services.
"The maintenance is necessary to facilitate an upgrade of the eCitizen payment gateway, as part of ongoing efforts to enhance service delivery on the platform," the statement added.
As a result, users will not be able to make payments through the platform during the five-hour maintenance window, temporarily affecting services that depend on online transactions.
"During this period, all payment services on eCitizen will be temporarily unavailable," the Directorate said.
The interruption is expected to affect payment processing for several government services offered through the platform, including passport applications, driving licence services, business and company registrations, permits, licence fees and other transactions that require digital payments.
The planned maintenance comes as the government continues to push ministries, departments and agencies to fully adopt the eCitizen platform under its wider digital transformation programme.
The move is intended to make government services easier to access through a single online portal while improving efficiency and reducing paperwork across public institutions.
With many government services now relying on mandatory online payments, the Directorate advised users to plan their transactions outside the scheduled maintenance period to avoid any inconvenience or delays.
While acknowledging that the temporary outage may disrupt some services, officials said the upgrade is necessary to strengthen the platform's performance and improve the user experience.
"We regret any inconvenience this may cause and thank users for their patience and understanding as we work to enhance our services," the statement said.
The eCitizen platform has become the government's main gateway for accessing and paying for a growing number of public services, making stable and reliable digital systems increasingly important for service delivery across the country.