Launch of a new special account for families with children
A special account 'Care for the Child' has started operating in Ukraine — which translates from Ukrainian as 'Care for the Child'. Just in the first seven days, more than 164 thousand such accounts were opened. For the Russian-speaking audience, let’s clarify: this is a targeted account within the initiative 'Diia Card', to which state payments are transferred, and the funds can only be spent on permitted categories of goods and services. According to 'Rubrika', citing the Ministry of Social Policy, it is designed to simplify the receipt of government support for families with children.
What payments can be credited to the special account
Several types of state assistance can be received on this account:
- 'Baby Package'
- 'Schoolchild Package'
- childcare allowance for children under one year
- payments under the 'eNursery' program
An account can be opened in one of five partner banks: PrivatBank, Monobank, A-Bank, Sense Bank, and Kredyt Dnipro Bank. To do this, one must contact the Pension Fund of Ukraine, the center for administrative services (CNAP), or an authorized representative of the territorial community. If a person already has a card with a special account, the specialist simply pulls it up in the Unified Information System of the Social Sphere. If the card is not available, they show the QR code of the chosen bank, and the client is left to issue a 'Diia Card' in the bank's mobile application.
Recipients of children's payments can also submit an application to change their current account to switch to the new special account. For targeted children's payments, there is a unified list of permitted categories of goods and services, secured by 30 MCC codes. This list is published in the section 'Questions and Answers about Assistance to Families with Children' on the Ministry of Social Policy's website. In addition, a program 'Schoolchild Package' has recently been launched for parents of future first-graders, and its payment can also be directed to the special account 'Care for the Child'.
The initiative of the Ministry of Social Policy with participation of the Ministry of Digital Transformation is aimed at improving the system of government support for families: to make it more convenient and accessible for parents.
The new mechanism is an important step in the development of social assistance in Ukraine. It allows families with children to receive funds for the upbringing and development of their child faster and easier. Such high activity in opening accounts shows that the demand for such tools is indeed great. In the future, the program may become even more accessible and cover more types of support for parents.