UAE Car Rentals Embrace Fintech, Go Paperless with DDS Partnership

Mohammed Fathy

Last updated 27-02-2026

4 min

DDS partners with Thrifty and Dollar to digitise direct debit collections nationwide.

Paper-based mandates and “wet signatures” replaced with remote UAE PASS authorisation.

API integration enables automated lease payments, toll and fine recovery at scale.

The shift removes in-branch paperwork and boosts visibility across fleet operations.

It signals established sectors fixing “paper-heavy” processes as UAE fintech accelerates.

In a move that signals how quickly traditional industries are embracing fintech in the UAE, Direct Debit System (DDS) has partnered with Thrifty Car Rental and Dollar Car Rental to digitise their collections process and phase out paper-based mandates.

DDS, a fintech platform licensed by the UAE Central Bank, will enable the two rental giants to introduce remote mandate authorisation and paperless transactions across their leasing operations. Thrifty and Dollar operate across all seven emirates, serving personal customers as well as fleet and commercial clients, so we’re not talking about a small pilot here, this is happening at scale.

Until now, direct debit played only a minor role in their collections process, and it relied on traditional paperwork. That meant wet signatures, physical presence and, frankly, a bit of a faff when volumes increased. By shifting to DDS’s fully digital solution, enabled through UAE PASS and running on the UAE Direct Debit Scheme (UAEDDS), the companies are moving to a remote, compliant model that removes the need for customers to show up in person just to sign forms.

Vivek Harikrishnan, Head of Product and COO at DDS, explained that paper-based mandates can cause operational friction as businesses grow. By digitising the full mandate and collection lifecycle via UAE PASS, Thrifty and Dollar can now step away from in-branch processes and manual paperwork, while gaining better visibility over fleet, commercial and long-term lease payments.

From a technical standpoint, it is powered by API-driven integration. In simple words, the systems speak directly to each other. This allows automated recurring collections for long-term leases and fleet contracts without relying on cheques or physical documents. Anyone who has dealt with cheques in the region knows they can slow things down, so this shift feels spot on for a market pushing towards seamless payments.

Rahul Singh, Managing Director at Thrifty and Dollar Car Rental, said that managing fleet and commercial leasing at scale demands reliability and transparency. Digitising direct debit mandates through UAE PASS, he noted, has helped streamline recurring lease payments and automate the recovery of tolls and fines, two areas that can quietly become operational headaches if not handled efficiently. The goal, he added, is to support operational excellence while offering customers a more modern and seamless payment experience.

And believe it or not, this kind of back-end upgrade can have a very visible impact on customer trust. I remember speaking to a founder in Dubai who told me that chasing paperwork across branches slowed his startup’s fleet expansion by months. When systems are digital and connected, growth simply moves faster. For a region like MENA, where mobility, logistics and fleet-heavy businesses are expanding quickly, these upgrades are not just nice to have, they’re becoming essential.

DDS positions itself as the UAE’s first Central Bank–licensed fintech focused on fully digital direct debit collections, covering bank accounts and credit cards. Its services are already used by real estate firms, schools, service providers, fleet operators and alternative lending platforms across the country. The wider ambition is clear: replace manual forms and cheque-based processes with secure, bank-to-bank settlement frameworks.

On the flip side, change management is never easy. Large organisations often find digital transformation more complex than expected, legacy systems, compliance layers, internal approvals. But if executed well, the benefits are definately worth the effort.

For the UAE’s auto rental and leasing market, this collaboration is another sign that even established sectors are rethinking how money moves. And for startups watching closely across MENA, it is a reminder that innovation does not always mean building something flashy. Sometimes, it means fixing what used to be slow, paper-heavy and frankly outdated. That’s how ecosystems mature, step by step, mandate by mandate.

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