A study developed by Nova SBE, through the Leadership for Impact Knowledge Center, in collaboration with the Fast Forward Foundation, analyzed for the first time in Portugal the complete journey of social welfare payments — from the recognition of the right to the effective arrival of the payment to the beneficiary. The work, titled Welfare Sector Payments – Portugal, constitutes the first application of the WSP Assessment methodology created to evaluate the efficiency of social payment systems in Europe, with Portugal chosen as the pilot country.
The study reveals that pensions, social benefits and health move annually in Portugal more than 86 billion euros in direct public transfers to citizens and health providers. The results indicate that the country has favorable conditions for modernization: solid financial infrastructure, developed digital public services, high levels of financial inclusion and robust legal framework. However, the main challenges are not in the processing itself, but in the preceding stages — information exchange, process validation and coordination between entities.
The analysis proposes six improvement pathways: creating a coordination space dedicated to social welfare payments; measuring end-to-end performance in key flows; defining clear responsibilities for data exchange between institutions; better leveraging instant payments; strengthening proximity channels for those with less digital access; and continuously monitoring beneficiary satisfaction.
The results were publicly presented on September 10, at the Italian Embassy in Lisbon, during the international conference The Future of Money, Payments and Welfare Delivery. Ricardo Zózimo, from Nova SBE, stated that "the challenge is no longer technological, it is about coordination between institutions." Lívia Piermattei, president of the Fast Forward Foundation, emphasized that social sector payments have a direct impact on the lives of millions of people and that the study allows understanding how already solid systems can become more efficient and inclusive.
