UK’s DWP Department Takes Measures to Make Payment Processes Faster and Easier

Time does not wait for anyone and will always keep on moving; time also tells us about the nature of change. Time asks you to change with every passing day, month, or year. So, to keep up with the changing time, UK’s pension and welfare division of the government, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is introducing various changes in its payment architecture with the aim to make its payments faster and easier.

As per a recent announcement, Richard Laycock, Deputy Director at DWP’s digital delivery shared platforms, said that various improvements have been planned so that its 20 million customers can receive their payments on time.

Laycock further added that as the DWP progresses to improve its payment services, it needs to make sure that that the new processes are “efficient, modern. Fast, scalable, flexible, innovative, and available 24/7.”

To make this happen, the DWP has been looking into various tech programs. One program which is expected to be introduced to its customers is Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).

While talking about Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), Laycock added,

“We are starting to see the first full production [DLT] implementation, such as Santander’s One Pay FX. The benefits include reducing time, cost, and failure rate associated with making transactions whilst data is stored on a secure, immutable ledger.”

The department of DWP is looking forward to rebuilding their architecture system for payments to introduce “the biggest set of changes to the way the UK payment schemes process payments in years.” By the year 2021 DWP will be introducing this new payment method with a common payment message system. They will also be adding features like overlay services, request to pay, and confirmation of payee.

Open banking will be a new aspect for the UK’s payment system; third party developers building applications and services for banking will also be allowed.