Omnipotent Payments (OmniPay)
Omnipotent means having unlimited power to be able to do anything and of course payments means being able to make financial transactions, either making a payment to someone or better yet, receiving a payment from someone, which in turn you can use to withdraw cash, make funds transfer, pay taxes and other obligations. Our ongoing crisis with COVID-19, is a clear example of how an Omnipotent Payment (OmniPay) system is essential during these difficult times.
The Philippines, over the past two months has been cited as the country with the most severe quarantine restrictions in the world. This made it necessary for the government to do something for the millions of Filipinos who lost their source of income from salaries, rental properties, businesses and all sorts of livelihood. This came in the form of the Social Amelioration Program from the DSWD, various SSS assistance, National and LGU disbursements of both cash and goods and of course, voluntary donations from the private sector.
Manila Bulletin reported that on Monday, May 18, 2020, the Department of Social Welfare and De-velopment (DSWD) said that “over 17.3 million beneficiaries or 95.9% of the 18 million low-income families targeted to receive the emergency subsidies under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) have been served.” Based on the report of DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao, as of 8 pm May 17, ₱97.7 billion or 97.7% of the ₱100-billion SAP funds allocated for the first tranche of cash aid has been given to the beneficiaries in the 17 regions.
This is quite an accomplishment for the DSWD and the National Government! I remember during the old days when the payroll means stuffing cash in envelopes and the employees lining up to present their ID and sign that they received their correct salary in full. With about a thousand employees, it was a sight to behold and was pretty close to being an orderly mob that took several hours to clear out.
The problem with physical distribution is precisely that. First, there is no social distancing. Second, it is difficult to identify the beneficiary for various reasons such as lack of proper ID, a relative is the one claiming or records are not updated. Third, there is the logistical nightmare of handling physical cash, the security of bringing the money on site for distribution and the amount of germs and contamination. Fourth and probably the most important is the lack of transparency and there is no clear and easily verifiable audit trail of where the funds went.
Everyone should have a permanent financial account number much like an SSS/ GSIS number, or BIR Taxpayer Identification Number where all government transactions are coursed through, which the individual could also use for other personal transactions. This is where you pay your personal taxes from, receive your SSS/GSIS pension, pay out your government loans and receive all your other government support, subsidies and emergency assistance. Of course this financial account number could come in the form of a physical card which you can use in any ATM or a virtual card which you can use to make online payments, transfer funds in and out and use anywhere in the world where ever you go.
The beauty with this system is everything is accounted for, where and when the money came from and where it went! In electronic form, these records could be kept indefinitely and data base management would be possible. The accountability for the funds flow can be identified and a real time, on line audit review process is possible. Best of all, the whole process of disbursing funds is instantaneous without the need for physical contact and can be done cheaper, with better security, less people and more efficiently.
You may wonder how many years it would take the government to come up with such a system. Wonder no more, that system already exists with millions of cards issued. Best of all, it is a Philippine based company called OmniPay, Inc. All we need now is for the government to act on it. (Comments may be sent to georgechuaph@ yahoo.com)