Jakarta pilots electronic social service payments

The Jakarta government is piloting electronic payment of social service benefits.

The government will no longer make cash payments to low-income households under the Prosperous Family Card. Instead, eligible citizens will have to use a smart card with an embedded chip to access their payments online.

President Joko Widodo wants all benefit payments to be made electronically, said Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowodojo, according to the Jakarta Post.

This will allow the government to track the payments and ensure it reaches the intended beneficiary. "All local administrations should also implement the non-cash distribution system," he said.

Jakarta is the seventh city to launch the pilot project, led by the federal Social Affairs Ministry. Other cities include Malang, Sidoarjo, Mojokerto, Makassar, Padang and Surakarta.

The ministry plans to expand the project to more cities including Boyolali, Semarang and Palembang. "The response to this pilot project has been incredible.

Many regents and mayors have requested that this pilot project be implemented in their regions," said Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa.

Image by Jos van der Hoek, licensed under CC BY 2.0