I have included bullet points on how retiring the old EBT method of delivering social benefits to the correct beneficiaries, can become much more efficient for individuals, vendors, regulators, and the divisions that manage social benefits.
This is achieved through
1. Fraud – linking social benefits to secure native mobile wallets that are initiated by biometrics or passcodes are far safer than scanning a card that could be skimmed. Save time and money by reducing investigative actions.
a. Stolen or lost mobile phones won’t give access to accounts, as stolen or lost cards will be easier to use for fraudulent activities.
b. Trafficking could be managed with data analytics.
i. Reports of where, when, and how much was spent; and possible returns. ii. One benefits program per mobile phone can reduce multiple accounts. iii. Verification – a photo of the person or State Identification could be tied to the digital pass for visual inspection.
iv. Notification for when benefits are being used for participants to verify when someone else could be using their benefits.
2. Ease of use – it is very easy for retailers to use a scannable barcode or QR code for purchases. This also creates an avenue for multiple types of data analytics. a. This will also allow more vendors to participate, such as small businesses, farmer’s markets, etc.
b. APIs can work alongside existing infrastructures and help improve processes. i. Links to appropriate websites for account management.
ii. Notifications for renewing benefits.
iii. GPS to show participating vendors.
iv. Easily view account balances.
3. Automations – all processes of tracking, issuing, communicating can be greatly improved or be completely ran through automations.
4. Contactless – reduce virus and germ emissions by not exchanging physical cards. 5. Environmental – up to 200g of Co2 are released during manufacturing and shipping a plastic card, as well as 5g of physical plastic pollution.
Using this new technology that is safer, smarter, and more reactive, beneficiaries will get more out of their benefits, while governments reduce operating costs.
