Discussions on the Possible Use of Huduma Smart Card Service and Payment Card to Disburse Social Welfare Funds Held
Two teams drawn from the Ministry of Labour and East African Affairs (MLEAA), State Department of Social Security and Services and the Ministry of
Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs held initial discussions on the possibility of using the relatively new Huduma Smart Card Service and Payment Card
to disburse social welfare funds currently managed by MLEAA. The discussions took place in a meeting held on 22nd March 2016 in NSSF building in Nairobi.
Participants in Huduma Smart Card Service and Payment Card meeting in NSSF building in Nairobi on 22nd March 2016.
The Principal Secretary, Social Security & Services, Susan Mochache lead the MLEAA team in the discussions, while the PS Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs Ms. Lilian Amollo, led the team from her Ministry. The meeting also provided a platform for the Ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs
which has developed the Huduma Smart Card Service and Payment Card (through the Huduma Centre Secretariat) to introduce and expose the product and service to the MLEAA team. This service was introduced in the market, in line with the government’s focus on cashless payment and was developed in partnership with institutions such as Master Card. The card is standardized and can be used in any automated teller machine. It also has a multiwallet feature that contains over 100 different government services transactions with flexibility for expansion to cover a variety of services desired by users. Partnering banks include Kenya Commercial Bank, Equity, Commercial Bank of Africa and Diamond Trust Bank. There are government initiatives already using the service, including the National Youth Service, Youth and Women Enterprise Fund amongst others. Efforts are in place to explore and incorporate other government services and payments such as tax returns, per diem allowances, merchant payments, National Hospital Insurance Fund and National Social Security Fund contributions among others in the Huduma card