First published in 1948, the International Social Security Review is the principal international quarterly publication in the field of social security.
More often than not, the existing modes of contribution collection and benefit payment of social security organizations are adapted to the collective arrangements that characterize employer‐employee relationships. Extending coverage to individuals in difficult‐to‐reach groups, however, may require new modalities of service that can cope with many separate, secure transactions rather than a few bulk data transfers between organizations. Recent developments in electronic payment show its wide applicability in enabling huge volumes of such individual transactions. It is in this light that the article explores the potentials of this technology and identifies possible arrangements through which electronic payments could surmount barriers that stand in the way of covering difficult‐to‐reach groups. The high level of mobile phone penetration on a global scale augurs well for using e‐payment mechanisms to collect social security contributions and to deliver social security benefits and services. A generic model is used to describe the requisite elements to implement electronic payments in social protection programmes. Based on empirical evidence of current social protection practices from around the world, five scenarios are presented to describe possible configurations for electronic payment, from the simplest to the most sophisticated. The broader objective is to contribute in a practical manner to the international commitment to extend social protection to all, as defined by the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Using survey evidence collected from social security organizations and contribution collection agencies, a major aim of this article is to advance knowledge sharing and good practice on contribution collection and the enforcement of compliance. Although contribution collection and compliance have important social protection, political and fiscal dimensions, this article frames the pursuit of these objectives as an aspect of administrative good governance. The evidence suggests that seven core factors combine often to form the basis of success in contribution collection and compliance. In addition to improving benefit adequacy and the financial health and public standing of programmes, such success may support also national and international efforts to extend social protection coverage. Ultimately, the achievement and scale of any such success may be determined and delimited by the broader national policy environment, over which most social security organizations have little or no influence.