Direct Bank Deposits for St. Elizabeth PATH Beneficiaries

Residents of selected communities in St. Elizabeth are receiving their Programme for Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH) benefits through direct deposit payments to their accounts.

This is under a pilot programme being undertaken by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in the parish.

The Ministry’s St. Elizabeth Parish Manager, Michelle Senior, said that the payment option is being piloted in Black River, Santa Cruz and Junction, and community engagements were executed in the areas in November and December to sensitise residents.

“So, if they have a bank account, their PATH benefits can go there. They can also use Bill Express and Paymaster, which they had access to before, but now they have National Commercial Bank (NCB) and JN Bank, as well, outside of having a regular bank account,” she pointed out.

Ms. Senior was addressing Thursday’s (January 12) monthly meeting of the St. Elizabeth Municipal Corporation in Black River.

She noted that the direct deposit payments will extend to other areas overtime.

“A lot of [persons] are under the impression that they are no longer going to get payments at the post office, but that is not so. This is just for those [pilot] areas for now until adjustments have been made,” Ms. Senior pointed out.