The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security has partnered with Mobile Money Guyana (mmg) to offer pensioners an additional option to receive their monthly old age pension.
The new option was unveiled on Monday at Herdmanston Lodge. Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr Vindhya Persaud, said the mission is to improve the old age pension delivery system continuously.
“With the addition of multiple locations of mmg across Guyana, senior citizens now have another alternate pathway system that reduces long lines, wait times, is closer to home and facilitates convenient transactions,” Dr Persaud noted.
She added, “As the life expectancy increases, the number of pensioners, we are offering more tech-savvy methods of improving access and increasing safety. As we launch this new alternative payment method, I thank MMG for their partnership with Human Services.”
With the rolling out of this new delivery system, pensioners can now cash out their pension at over 1000 agents nationwide across all 10 administrative regions.
This will ensure a reliable system that allows for the receipt of this service as scheduled, avoiding long lines to cash their pension. The beneficiaries will also have 24/7 access to their mmg wallet. To date, over 1200 pensioners are already registered with mmg accounts.
General Manager of mmg, Bobita Ram, said that mmg believes in the power of innovation to transform lives.
“Providing pensioners with the option to receive their pension through our secure and reliable payment platform, we are giving them the tools to manage their finances with ease and convenience. Whether they prefer to make bill payments, purchase goods and services, or transfer funds, mmg allows them to do so from their homes.”
“Furthermore, mmg’s collaboration with the Ministry of Human Service and Social Security goes beyond simply providing pension payment options. It is a testament to our shared vision of improving the lives of pensioners and ensuring that they have the resources they need to live with independence. By combining our expertise with the Ministry’s dedication to social welfare, we are creating a stronger and more inclusive financial ecosystem,” Ram continued.
Donald Nurse, 76, said, “This is a very good initiative; I endorse this, I have already signed up for this, and I think it will be very successful; we don’t have to go to the post office anymore to collect pension and pensioners can do it from the comfort of their home, especially those persons who are shut-ins because they can access this service and pay bills, I support this initiative by mmg and the Ministry of Human Services.”
Another pensioner, 77-year-old Reginald Sampson, noted, “I think it will be beneficial to pensioners, you know the long lines and uncertain weather, sometimes you can’t make it to cash your voucher and if you get this assistance with technology why not use it? You can find something else to do with the time you would take to join the lines. It’s a good thing the Ministry has so many alternatives for a pension because it is less headache for the pensioners.”
Pensioners desirous of utilising this service can register at the Ministry’s office or through the many registration campaigns to be rolled out. When visiting, persons must walk with a form of identification before completing the application.
Pensioners wanting to set up an mmg account would be required to visit any of the agents nationwide, the mmg office at 69 Brickdam or online.
