Centrelink is conducting the search for a new supplier through a tender process, which should have final applications in by June 22.
The EBT system allows for non-personalised magnetic stripe cards to be allocated a monetary value via the Centrelink Payment Systems. The EBT Card and its associated PIN Mailer are then given to the customer who can immediately access the requested funds through selected Automated Teller Machines (ATMs).
The system was first piloted back in 1996 and was officially rolled out in 1998. As a result, the immediate payment facility has been in operation for around three years. The tender was required because Centrelink's current tenderer of the cards is now no longer in the business of providing PIN cards, explained Pete Mars, EBT product manager for Centrelink.
The EBT system was originally introduced because a lot of Centrelink's customers required a way to get funds as soon as possible. "With the business that we're in we have a lot of people that need money immediately," said Mars.
Previously, Centrelink was reduced to attempting to get its customers bank-approved cheques that could be cashed quickly. However, the difficulty with getting banks to approve cheques and the overhead of a paper-based tracking system made the system less immediate than both Centrelink and its customers had hoped. With the PIN card system "it now takes seconds" and all banks need to do is provide ATMs.
For many of Centrelink's customers, problems come up at difficult times and these do not easily integrate well with banks' opening hours. While through the current system cards still need to be approved during Centrelink's opening hours, customers are able to get the funds at anytime after that from an ATM.
"A lot of the problems that arise happen outside of business hours," explained Mars.
Although the PIN card system has been in place for some time, Centrelink is still confident that it is still a very secure way to secure immediate funds for its customers.
"At the time we first looked at it (as far back as 1993) it was the best technology around," said Mars. "Now, it's still very good... We have had no problems."
Needless to say, Centrelink is not blind to other technologies should they come up. Mars pointed out that in Canada they have a biometric smart card system that uses fingerprints to authenticate users. Also, several states in the US use an electronic purse arrangement which ensures that money is only spent for specific items such as food rather than cigarettes.
iqs ltd