Labor Minister Oversees Launch of Electronic Social Security Contribution Payment Service

The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) launched a service to pay contributions through four money transfer companies: OMT, Bob Finance, Whish Money, and Cash Plus. The launch took place during a ceremony attended by Labor Minister Mohammad Haider, NSSF Board Chairman Bachara Al-Asmar, NSSF Director General Dr. Mohammad Karky, Technical Committee Head Makram Ghosn, board members, technical committee members, fund directors, representatives from the relevant companies, and the project implementation company.

The Fund's Public Relations Directorate stated in a press release that "this initiative is part of the Fund's policy to bring services closer to insured persons, alleviate their burdens, and enable them to pay their contributions easily without needing to visit social security offices, thereby saving them time, effort, and travel costs." It clarified that "the first phase of the service covers four categories (approximately 65,000 people): mukhtars, retirees, doctors, and voluntary insured persons, with plans to gradually expand it to include students, drivers, institutions, and other categories once the necessary technical processing is completed."

On his part, Labor Minister Mohammad Haider affirmed that "launching this service marks a new milestone within the comprehensive reform path witnessed by the Fund," stressing that "the primary goal is to facilitate the lives of insured persons and improve the level of services provided to them."

In his speech, he explained that "the Ministry and the Fund chose to launch the service for technically ready categories instead of waiting an additional 5 or 6 months to complete the digitization of all categories, especially since some files require processing related to fines and late penalties."

Haider revealed "advanced steps expected to be taken next week to address the end-of-service indemnities file, particularly indemnities affected by the financial and economic crisis between 2019 and 2024, along with indemnities for the upcoming period."

Regarding health coverage, he pointed to "the trend towards raising the prices of medicines approved by social security in an upcoming NSSF board meeting based on the median price rather than the lowest price." He also emphasized "the importance of electronic linkage with pharmacies," praising the cooperation of the Pharmacists' Syndicate and announcing a near-term meeting to continue discussing this project.

Haider stressed that "providing the Fund with new employees, as decided by the government, does not eliminate the need to accelerate digitization, because citizens cannot wait for full human resource reinforcement to obtain the services they need."

Concluding his speech, he praised the efforts made by the Board of Directors, the Director General, the Technical Committee, and the staff, and the accelerated pace of taking decisions and reform measures, expressing "hope for completing the transition to comprehensive digitization as soon as possible."

Al-Asmar

For his part, NSSF Board Chairman Bachara Al-Asmar affirmed that "efforts to develop services must stem from the fundamental priority of social security, which is ensuring adequate health and hospitalization coverage for insured persons and safeguarding their social rights."

He considered that "the transition from the end-of-service indemnity system to the retirement and social protection system has become a legitimate right for insured persons, requiring concerted efforts from all stakeholders to complete this path." He stressed that "comprehensive digitization constitutes a fundamental pillar for improving performance and accelerating transaction completion," praising the efforts of the Director General, the Technical Committee, and all staff who continue to perform their duties despite the difficult conditions facing the institution.

Karky

In turn, NSSF Director General Mohammad Karky affirmed that "launching the contribution payment service via money transfer companies represents a new achievement added to the series of accomplishments achieved over several years, within a gradual plan to modernize administration and develop electronic services."

He said: "The Fund continues to translate its commitments into practical steps, starting from the principle 'We promised and we fulfilled,'" revealing "115 successful payment transactions recorded up to the date of the ceremony." He confirmed that "the Fund is open to cooperating with other money transfer companies that meet the required conditions, ensuring the expansion of the service scope and facilitating access for beneficiaries."

Karky noted that "this initiative comes as a continuation of the path to develop the Fund's interactive website, which has enabled dozens of electronic services over the past years, including issuing certificates, verification and inquiry services, as well as the electronic clearance certificate, which recorded approximately 14,000 completed transactions since the beginning of the year."

In this context, he commended all efforts that contributed to the success of the electronic clearance certificate project and the electronic contribution payment project, specifically thanking Dr. Bachara Nassif (representative of the project implementation company) and the administrative and technical teams that worked on its execution within the Fund.

Regarding upcoming steps, Karky announced that "the Fund is preparing to launch two new services before the end of this year."

He concluded by thanking the Labor Minister, the Board Chairman, the Technical Committee Head, and all staff who contributed to the project's completion, affirming that "the goal is to reach a stage where insured persons can complete their transactions and pay their contributions from their homes, within an integrated electronic system."