Smart Card solution for transparent BISP funds transfer

Success of pilot project in four districts encouraged implementation of smart cards and ATM access across the country.

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday advised the BISP to distribute cash grants among the poor through Benazir Smart Cards (BSC) across the country, instead of Post Offices to avoid delays and other complaints in the present delivery mechanism. He said this during a briefing on BISP at the Presidency on Friday.

The briefing, which revealed that the BSC had been introduced in four districts of the country as a pilot project, had received positive feed back, being generally successful.

Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar said that the President had also asked NADRA to significantly reduce the charges of Benazir Smart Card to make it affordable. Zardari urged all the leading commercial banks to partner with BISP in introducing the smart cards in all parts of the country and making it ATM-friendly.

 

The President appreciated the banks which have shown readiness to partner with BISP in implementation of Benazir Smart Card programme.

He lauded the efforts of all concerned in introducing this technology-based solution to the poorest segment of the society and said that this would help the government to implement a complete financially inclusive system to the poor.

Farhatullah Babar said that due to various complaints in delivery mechanism of BISP benefits to the beneficiaries, BISP was directed to adopt more efficient and technologically advanced mechanism of delivering BISP funds through the BSC.

The meeting was informed that the various banks have indicated their choices of districts of operations and Governor SBP would soon convene a meeting to decide allotments of districts to various banks.

The Spokesperson said that the President during the meeting, appreciated BISP team for making the programme a transparent, apolitical and largest social protection programme of the country.

The President noted with satisfaction success of Benazir Smart Card Programme in the pilot phase and said that the success of the programme has encouraged the government to implement it across the country.

The President said that BSC was planned to be used not only for cash transfers but also for other BISP benefits like health insurance.