kuhlman

advertisement
U.S. Government Accountability
Office (GAO)
GAO’s Report on Electronic Disbursement of
Federal Benefit Payments (GAO-08-645)
Presented by Kay Kuhlman, Assistant Director
Financial Markets and Community Investment, GAO
The Next Frontier in Public Benefits: Electronic Benefit Cards
Webinar on February 3, 2011
For more information, contact Kay Kuhlman, (202) 512-8678; kuhlmank@gao.gov
Page 1
About GAO
• GAO is an independent agency in the legislative branch of the
federal government (created in 1921).
• GAO is headed by the Comptroller General of the United States,
who is appointed to a 15-year term by the President from
candidates proposed by Congress. This long tenure gives GAO
a continuity of leadership and independence that is rare within
government.
• Most GAO work is done at the request of congressional
committees or subcommittees or is mandated by public laws or
committee reports. GAO also undertakes research under the
authority of the Comptroller General.
• GAO supports congressional oversight through audits,
investigations, program evaluations, policy analyses, and legal
decisions (such as bid protest rulings).
Page 2
Why was GAO asked to do this study?
• Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) was devised in the 1980s to
meet the needs of the USDA’s Food Stamp Program in which
federal benefits were electronically disbursed to eligible
recipients.
• Agency evaluations had found that EBT helped to significantly
reduce fraud and offered recipients a quick, secure way to
receive payments, while allowing agencies to reduce program
costs.
• These positive results—and the potential for duplicating them in
other benefit programs—prompted the Ranking Member of the
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to
request GAO to conduct a study on the extent to which federal
programs are using electronic payment methods.
Page 3
Objectives and Scope of Study
• To what extent are federal benefit programs using electronic
payments?
• What factors do agencies consider when implementing or
using electronic payments?
• What are the potential options for increasing the use of
electronic payments?
• The study focused on federal benefit programs but included
information on states’ efforts in using electronic payments.
Page 4
Methodology
• Surveyed 45 federal benefit programs from federal agencies
including USDA, Labor, Veterans Affairs, Health and Human
Services, Social Security Administration, and Bureau of
Indian Affairs
• Reviewed documents, reports, and studies on electronic
payments
• Interviewed federal and state agency, industry, and
consumer representatives
Page 5
Increase in Use of Electronic Payments in the
United States
• Annual Number of Electronic vs.
Check Payments in the United
States, selected years
(1995, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009)
• Sources: 2007 and 2010 Federal
Reserve Payments Studies
Page 6
Percentage of Payments Made Electronically for
18 Programs We Surveyed
Note: Table does not include federal benefit programs administered by states.
Page 7
Agencies Consider Various Factors When Implementing
or Encouraging Use of Electronic Payments
• Financial burden to recipients, such as transaction fees
• Recipient characteristics, such as disabilities
• Program characteristics, such as non-cash benefits
• Implementation costs
• Fraud and security risks
Page 8
Options Agencies Have Considered to Increase
Use of Electronic Payments
• Mandating that recipients receive benefits electronically
• Making electronic payment the default option upon
enrollment
• Promoting electronic payments through public outreach
• Piloting electronic distribution programs
• Using electronic payment cards in new ways
Page 9
Transition from Electronic Benefits Transfer
(EBT) to Electronic Payment Cards (EPC)
• As EBT has become more widely accepted and the use of
debit card technology has increased, state agencies
administering federal benefits have explored other types of
EPCs to further increase the use of electronic payments.
• Some states have explored the use of hybrid cards that
involves the use of both magnetic stripe and integrated chip
technology.
• Some states have considered using a co-branded EBT card
that would include a VISA or MasterCard logo.
• In 2008, Treasury launched the Direct Express debit card
(bearing the MasterCard logo) for Social Security and SSI
recipients.
Page 10
GAO on the Web
Web site: http://www.gao.gov/
Contact
Chuck Young, Managing Director, Public Affairs, youngc1@gao.gov
(202) 512-4800, U.S. Government Accountability Office
441 G Street NW, Room 7149, Washington, D.C. 20548
Copyright
This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright
protection in the United States. The published product may be reproduced and
distributed in its entirety without further permission from GAO. However,
because this work may contain copyrighted images or other material,
permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to
reproduce this material separately.
Page 11
Download