June 27, 2011 12:02 PM Eastern Daylight Time
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The government and local councils throughout the UK are looking to prune their budgets where possible in these tough economic times. But how can you make a saving without it hurting? Prepaid MasterCard® cards can help save money, improve accountability and transparency, yet actually make life easier for both council employees and customers who receive benefits.
The savings can be vast. Over in the U.S.A., the General Services Administration uses a card programme to provide purchase, travel and fleet payments, which is saving around $1.7 billion*. And the U.S. government believes it will save up to $42 million by switching from paper cheques to prepaid cards†.
There are many reasons why councils over here in the UK may find prepaid cards attractive – as well as being a cost-efficient way of disbursing Direct Payments and Personal Benefits, prepaid cards are more secure and convenient than cash or cheques.
In fact, by contracting directly with APS, (the company behind the Cashplus brand) the council may take full control of the accounts, enabling real-time monitoring and auditing of expenditure. This of course is key for the council, as checking that the funds are being used for the correct purpose becomes simple.
Prepaid cards are an excellent replacement for cheque payments and cash disbursements for council expenses, as they make reconciling everything from travel to office supplies so much more efficient.
Cashplus prepaid Gold MasterCard cards can also help councils to meet their commitment to the ‘Putting People First’ vision of finding new ways to improve social care in England. That’s because Direct Payments to service users can be made efficiently and securely to the cards in lieu of Community Care Services that they’ve been assessed as needing. Currently, service users have to set up a separate bank account to receive the benefit, and then send in statements on a regular basis to the council.
So if you’re looking to make government or local council savings, prepaid cards can make a large impact by cutting costs and by simplifying payments for both employees and customers who claim benefits.
†Source: US Treasury Presentation, Prepaid 08 Conference, June 2008.
Contacts
Kezia Bibby
01273 704 434
01273 704 434
