My Department provides two payment options for customers: payment in cash at post offices or payment directly into customer accounts by Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT). There are a number of social welfare schemes to support people who are ill, people with disabilities. and carers. Provisional 2021 transaction volumes, broken down by payment method, for this group of social welfare schemes are set out in tabular form below.
2021 Schemes by Payment Method
Scheme
|
CHEQUES
|
EFT payments
|
Post Office payments
|
Total
|
Blind Persons Pension
|
3
|
36,336
|
17,166
|
53,505
|
Carers Benefit
|
2
|
172,702
|
10,070
|
182,774
|
Carers Allowance
|
727
|
2,928,915
|
1,644,751
|
4,574,393
|
Disability Allowance
|
2,768
|
4,669,646
|
3,161,815
|
7,834,229
|
Illness Benefit
|
151,729
|
2,518,741
|
53,061
|
2,723,531
|
Invalidity Pension
|
770
|
2,440,690
|
507,849
|
2,949,309
|
Disablement Benefit
|
26,576
|
226,865
|
8,997
|
262,438
|
Occupational Injury Benefit
|
2,776
|
27,391
|
444
|
30,611
|
Total: Payments
|
185,351
|
13,021,286
|
5,404,153
|
18,610,790
|
Percentages
|
1.00%
|
69.97%
|
29.04%
|
100.00%
|
Customers on disability related schemes are offered a choice of payment method. My Department’s consistent position has been that it will respect customer choice as appropriate and make payments in line with customer preference where choice is available.