The Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) will soon be shifted to the branch banking model by way of a pilot project which will initially be made operational in urban cities before incorporating rural areas.
This was revealed during a meeting of the National Assembly Poverty Reduction Committee today. The primary focus was on transitioning the program to a bank-based disbursement model to streamline the distribution of funds to beneficiaries.
The BISP secretary announced that every beneficiary would have a bank account opened in their name and allowed to access funds directly from bank branches. The committee was informed that beneficiaries would be able to withdraw money from any bank across the country. Currently, there are 17,000 bank branches, but most are located in urban areas and too far away from rural beneficiaries. Officials acknowledged these difficulties but assured continuing the use of point-of-sale agents to facilitate access to funds in remote areas.
The committee urged the importance of automating the BISP system to minimize human involvement and reduce errors. They said it would help speed up the disbursement process and reduce complications.
On related issues, it was discussed that 130,000 women whose biometric data had not been previously recognized would receive special cards in January 2025. This would help them access their payments.
The pilot project for the new BISP banking model is set to begin in January 2025 and will run until March. Initially, the project will focus on urban areas before incorporating rural beneficiaries.
The new banking model is designed to benefit all BISP recipients, with a particular emphasis on improving access for those in rural, poverty-stricken areas.
The meeting also touched on accountability complaints against BISP officials.
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