Come next month, beneficiaries under the Programme for Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) in St. Ann and St. James, will be able to access payments through the cash-card system.

In a JIS release, Director of Social Security and PATH at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Colette Roberts-Risden, said the payment system, which is being introduced across the island on a phased basis, is in keeping with the ministry's thrust to make it easier and more convenient for beneficiaries to access their payments.

"With a cash card, beneficiaries may go to an ATM (automated teller machine) or point of sale merchant and use the card as opposed to physically going to a post office to collect the cheques," she explained.

The cash-card system was piloted in October 2006 in six post offices in Kingston, St. Catherine and Manchester, and targeted a total of 380 families.

Expanded access

In April this year, the system was expanded to include all beneficiaries in Kingston, as well as Spanish Town, bringing the total number of families able to access benefits using the card to more than 1,000.

The programme was further extended in June to all urban towns in the parishes of St. Catherine, Clarendon and Manchester.