Vulnerable citizens are being let down by outdated technology. Here’s how to change that

Legacy technology is difficult to change. Over the years, processes that should be straightforward become ever more challenging. The result is some of the most vulnerable in society fall further into hardship as delays in receiving vital support further stretches what little they may have.

Of course, governments are large complex organisations. Delivering large scale change programmes can sometimes take years, with large teams and budgets. Changes to legacy technology can be complex and difficult. Pressure on the public purse, reducing funding envelops, conflicting priorities and scarce resource are all contributing factors that make it more challenging than it should be. So, how do we fix the problem quickly, and cost-effectively?

Governments should consider leveraging technology that, through a minor change in process automation, could have a significant impact on service improvement and end client experience.

For example, small steps in automating manual claims processes could have an immediate and positive impact on a citizen’s application for an urgent benefit. Part of the application process may involve providing physical evidence of income, proof of bank account, or address and other information that would normally result in physical evidence having to be provided.

This means providing hard copies of bank statements, utility bills and so on, at a time when banks are moving away from paper-based statements and offering digital statements as standard. Inevitably, this delays payment to recipients – which could put the most vulnerable in society further into hardship.

This could be solved, however, through the introduction of Open Banking technology. Open Banking technology could automate large parts of the process by making an Account Information Service Provider (AISP) call to the citizens bank, providing key account information to help produce the required evidence, support validation of the claim and entitlement and shorten time to process and approve.

Moreover, Open Banking to automate and enhance the application process would empower governments with real-time and enriched data to make more informed, timely and accurate decisions that can:

• Confirm account ownership with real-time data straight from the citizen's account.

• Verify income, balance checks, and create an understanding on a citizen's true financial capacity.

• Help identify and categorize income streams, debt, and liabilities that could support entitlement.

• Help citizens understand and manage their finances and become more financially independent and inclusive.

• Shorten application processing time by removing the need to provide physical evidence, reducing associated handling, security, and storage costs.

• Enhance the citizen experience by removing the need for multiple visits and phone calls collating and providing paper-based evidence.

It is the small step changes that can make all the difference in the journey to transform and provide a better experience for citizens, whilst freeing up valuable time government agents spend collating, capturing, and storing paper-based evidence.

There are some great examples of where governments have reaped the benefits of implementing small change quickly. Take a look at a study carried out by Visa and AT Kearney on The Transformational Power of Digital Payments for Governments (visa.co.uk)

About the author: I spent a number of years as a Deputy Director and Senior Civil Servant in the UK Government, accountable for one of the largest centralized government payments and accounting engines, that aggregates, accounts, processes and distributes over £200bn in pensions and benefits payments to over 20 million citizens around the world. Alongside this, I was delivering a future payments program, removing legacy technical debt, and delivering a modern, highly scalable, and next generation government payments service.

As a member of the Visa Government Solutions team, I work and engage with a wide Government ecosystem of government agencies, partners, and enablers to government around the world. Using the combined knowledge of government, digital transformation agendas and payment technology, I see the vast opportunities for governments to transform their services, bridge the gap between problem and solution and providing a frictionless experience to the citizens (and businesses) government serves.

This article was published on LinkedIn