Evaluation of the Prepaid Card Live Test

Project Director: Jan Gilbertson
Project Duration: 2015

The aim of the prepaid card live test was to explore the feasibility of using prepaid cards to make benefit payments and to help identify any technical issues or opportunities to enhance financial inclusion presented by their use. As part of this, DWP considered that it was essential to examine and capture the experiences of card users, including how the card worked for them as individuals and their views on how useful they found prepaid cards as a budgeting tool.

The aims of the evaluation were to understand:

• the key challenges and opportunities for using prepaid cards to make benefit payments, including technical aspects.
• how claimants use the cards and to capture their experience of using the cards.
• whether it was feasible and desirable to conduct a formal trial of using prepaid cards to support vulnerable claimants.

The project team also included Jude Bennington and Ian Cole.