Enhancing the State of Unemployment

Kansas Department of Labor

Facing one of the most challenging economic periods of the last 50 years, the Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) turned to Citi® Prepaid Services to quickly eliminate hundreds of thousands of paper checks annually issued to beneficiaries. KDOL now delivers efficient, economical payments to unemployment beneficiaries with their Citi Prepaid solution

The Challenge

Historically, KDOL relied upon a check-based payment process, with tens of thousands of Unemployment Insurance Claimants receiving benefits via paper check. To add efficiency and speed to the payment delivery process, State unemployment administrators sought to implement an electronic platform that would remove the inefficient and costly manual paper check issuance process and help drive unemployment insurance claimant adoption of an electronic benefit payment program. One of the main objectives of this platform was to streamline the agency's processes and empower KDOL with improved control and transparency over their payments.

To meet these goals, and an aggressive 90-day implementation schedule, KDOL issued a comprehensive request for proposal for Unemployment Insurance Debit Card Services, entering into a conversation with Citi Prepaid through the competitive bidding process.

The State of Kansas and Citi had not worked together prior to Kansas' initiation of their extensive search for a partner who could offer payment via prepaid card. However, the Citi Prepaid team understood that KDOL was looking for a turnkey solution with a proven methodology and a scalable platform in order to deliver payments amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars on time – without error.

The Solution

After consulting with Citi, KDOL chose Citi Prepaid Services to implement a solution for their claimants on their 90-day timetable. For KDOL, the solution delivers payments quickly and accurately at a significantly reduced cost, and beneficiaries are able to reduce their own personal banking expenses and take advantage of toll-free, 24/7, multilingual Customer Service, online account management and enhanced fraud protection features with their personalized benefits prepaid card.

The Citi Prepaid team partnered and consulted with KDOL throughout implementation working to ensure a seamless implementation and widespread adoption by beneficiaries. KDOL and Citi teams worked jointly on the development of marketing campaigns, training programs, card design, technology integration, Customer Service and detailed reporting.

The Result

The Citi Prepaid solution immediately eliminated 100 percent of KDOL's paper unemployment checks for beneficiaries in a matter of weeks, easily saving the State hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in check paper and postage costs alone.

In addition to the major taxpayer savings associated with the elimination of check management, KDOL's foresight and partnership with Citi Prepaid has led to a significant reduction in paper processing, supporting strategic environmental initiatives. According to KDOL Secretary Jim Garner, "By replacing our paper checks with the new debit cards, benefit payments will now be delivered faster and in a convenient, secure and economical way. This program also benefits taxpayers by improving efficiencies and reducing operational costs."