New card launched for social assistance payments

A new, committed payment offering is making its appearance in France. It takes the form of a bank card carried by Upcoop and CB, and is specifically designed to facilitate the distribution of social assistance. Initially launched as part of an experimental phase, this payment card is designed to facilitate the management of social assistance, while delivering on a dual promise of inclusion and modernization.

FACTS

• Upcoop, the Up group's specialist in payment solutions dedicated to the social economy, has joined forces with the CB network, the French bankcard network, to launch a joint card dedicated to social welfare recipients in France.
• The prepaid card will be used exclusively for social welfare payments and expenses. The project has been developed in collaboration with public and social players, in response to a growing demand for modernization of social aid distribution mechanisms, particularly in the context of the dematerialization of public services.
• The new Upcoop and CB card is based on a physical medium, but also on a dematerialized version to facilitate online purchases. The card also enables welfare recipients to receive their benefits directly in electronic form.
• The card is backed by a mobile application, enabling users to :
• track their balance,
• keep track of their expenses,
• keep in touch with their funder via the application.
• The card is also designed to limit non-compliant purchases, such as products prohibited by certain specific subsidies (alcohol, tobacco, etc.), limiting its use to the purchase of products in targeted universes (food, hygiene, clothing, mobility, energy, etc.).

CHALLENGES

• Social innovation: This initiative by CB and Upcoop enables Upcoop to justify its role as an issuer of vouchers dedicated to social action in France. Upcoop also offers a 100% paperless system, UpCohesia, to modernize the payment of social aid and subsidies.
• Optimizing social assistance: The new CB and Upcoop card is designed to simplify and modernize access to social assistance, while guaranteeing better control and monitoring of expenditure. It offers an alternative to traditional cheques and transfers. It should also help to centralize all benefits into a single, modern and easy-to-use payment method, while guaranteeing transaction security. Upcoop and CB are primarily targeting local authorities, social organizations, associations and NGOs, to help them secure and enhance the impact of the aid they provide.
• Facilitating usage: Acceptance of this card will be integrated into the CB network, ensuring widespread acceptability of the card, both in physical stores and online. This development also responds to the changing consumer habits of beneficiaries, who are increasingly turning to e-commerce.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• The launch of this common card is part of a wider movement to digitalize social assistance, in France as in other European countries.
• A similar initiative was launched in the UK in 2023. At that time, the Soldo expense management platform was chosen to provide payment solutions for Crown Commercial Service (CCS) prepaid cards. Soldo enabled public sector entities such as local authorities in the UK to help people in need to pay for goods and services using prepaid cards.