Seamus Brennan, Minister for Social Welfare and Family Affairs, has revealed that a review of the department's methods of paying customers is underway, with a view to identify a payment system that would be flexible, cost-effective and would take account of the needs of social welfare recipients. Out of 1.6 million social welfare payments made in February 2005, 59 per cent of recipients got their payments through the post office, 10 per cent got their payments by cheque and 31 per cent were paid by EFT directly into their bank accounts.
In the United Kingdom 72 per cent of welfare recipients are paid by direct payment to a bank or building society, and 14 per cent directly at post offices. In the United States over 90 per cent of payments are by electronic transfer through bank accounts.
The minister made his comments almost exactly two years after the government received the results of a study carried out by Accenture, which said that if the government switched over to e-payments completely it could save US$257 million per annum.
Quelle: Public Sector Technology & Management, 06.04.2005
