The Philippines rolls out social insurance e-kiosks

To bring social insurance services closer to its members and pensioners, the social insurance institution of the Philippines is working to deploy 500 e-kiosks across the country.

Through the kiosks, dubbed GSIS Wireless Automated Processing System (G-W@PS), the members of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) can readily apply for loans, check membership status and loan accounts.

Pensioners can also renew their active status through the G-W@PS kiosks. The G-W@PS makes use of technologies such as radio frequency identification, biometrics, and virtual private network to come up with a secure system that can perform processing remotely in a paperless manner.

It resembles an automated teller machine (ATM) that has a touch screen monitor. Unlike the ATM, however, the GW@PS kiosk does not dispense money.

The automated system can process the GSIS member’s loan applications without any documentary requirement.

Robert Vergara, GSIS President and General Manager, said that a total of 500 kiosks will be deployed across the country in division offices of the Education Department, provincial capitols, city halls and government agencies.

Earlier this year, GSIS has begun the roll-out of additional GW@PS kiosks, starting with 32 government offices in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Vergara said the initial 32 kiosks will serve more than 140,000 members in these offices.“More kiosks spell greater convenience for our more than 1.7 million members and pensioners,” he said.

With the kiosks, members can check their records and apply for service loans by using their eCards without the need to go to GSIS offices “thus saving them time and money for travel expense.”

On Friday, two kioks were turned over to Southern Leyte Provincial Government and the Maasin City government. On August, the GSIS turned over a total of 23 GSIS GWAPs kiosks to the provincial government of Cebu.

GSIS is a social insurance institution under a defined benefit scheme. It insures its members against the occurrence of certain contingencies in exchange for their monthly premium contributions.

The social security benefits available for all GSIS members are compulsory life insurance, optional life insurance, retirement benefits, disability benefits for work-related contingencies and death benefits.