The introduction of pre-paid Visa cards for persons eligible for Social Service benefits was described as “revolutionary” by Minister of Social Services, the Hon. Melanie Griffin, during a visit to Grand Bahama on Monday. She said the pre-paid card programme is innovative, and the first phase of the effort to implement safety net reform.

While at a press briefing at the Ministry for Grand Bahama, the Minister described the introduction of the pre-paid Visa card, which was launched last week in Nassau.

The pre-paid Visa card will actually take the place of the food coupon, and is being done in conjunction with the Bank of The Bahamas.

Initial launch will take place at the Wulff Road center in Nassau: in preparation, training sessions for clients, vendors and the staff have been conducted by the staff of Bank of The Bahamas.

“This is a revolutionary event, a new system of delivering service to our people. And what it does, first of all, is preserve the dignity of our clients and eliminate the long lines of people coming to receive assistance. At the end of each month, the funds for the coupon will be loaded onto the pre-paid card and it can be used at any vendor that has a Visa credit card system.

“It will be good for the clients, it will preserve their dignity.”

The use of the card, continued Minister Griffin, gives clients the opportunity to choose how they would like to use their funds. They may use it all at one store, or some at one store and some at another, giving them more choice. It will be at their leisure during the course of the month.

“It really makes a difference. Sometimes when you purchase all of the food at once and put it in the house, especially if you have a lot of children and they get into it, it’s gone in no time.

“It’s a new paradigm for the vendors. Right now they have to wait for two to three months to be paid. Now, they will be paid through the system within 24 to 48 hours.

“And of course the staff will not have to be dealing with that paper intensive food coupon. We hope to be able to eliminate fraud in the system as much as possible. It really is an innovative programme, and it is the first phase as we move to implement our safety net reform.”

Minister Griffin said after the Wulff Road launch, the programme will move to Fox Hill and then throughout the Family Islands where the Bank of The Bahamas has branches. It was not announced when the card will be issued in Grand Bahama.

“We are very pleased with this new system and clients who have received the new credit card were also very, very pleased.” The Minister added that the programme is scheduled to begin Friday.

She said the card will not be able to be used in a web shop, or a liquor store. It cannot be used in a clothing store or a beauty supply store. It is restricted for certain purposes, just for food initially. As the programme progresses, other assistance will be included, which will free up social workers. She noted The Bahamas has some of the best-trained social workers in the region, and they will be more able to spend time with the social issues that challenge the family.