Review of the Handling of Public
Money Project — Final Report
4.1 Efficiency of Payment Processing
Efficiency occurs when the HPM system uses limited resources to process payments, resulting in minimal processing delays. The large volumes of applications processed by HPM at the three CPCs demand efficiency in payment processing. CPC employees are able to read clients’ HPM receipts with bar code readers, thereby eliminating the need to input codes manually, a task that can take time and result in data input errors. Since the pilot review, the HPM receipt has been redesigned to prevent errors that were occurring during the pilot and in the initial stages of full implementation. Overall, the systems are now well established. Once payment is indicated on the CPC database, the payment and application process is fast and very efficient.
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Surveys conducted over the past two years, however, have consistently produced results showing that less than 5 percent of HPM receipts do not show up in the system within the five-day standard. A survey conducted in March 1999 indicated that 96 percent of all receipts were in the system and available to the CPCs within a five-day period. In March 1999, payments could be made only at NBC branches, as the other banks were not participating yet.
Another survey—with a sample size of 279, or 30 percent of that day’s intake—conducted in February 2000 revealed that 95 percent of HPM receipts were available to the CPCs within five days and 97 percent were available within six days. Three HPM receipts (1.4 percent) were still not available to the CPCs 23 days later, and one receipt had no bank stamp. The overall average period needed for the receipt information to reach the CPCs’ databases was 3.2 days. On average, it took 3.7 days for CPC Sydney, 3.2 days for CPC Mississauga and 2.9 days for CPC Vegreville to be able to access the receipt data from the database once payment had been made at a bank.
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Even though a CPC may receive an application with an attached, bank-stamped HPM receipt, the payment must show up in the system electronically to ensure verification before processing can begin on the application. With more clients using a courier service to send their applications to the CPCs, more applications are arriving the day after payment has been made at a bank. (Section Removed)
To fully illustrate these concerns from the CPCs’ perspective, here is an example from CPC Vegreville. This CPC has a 25-day service standard for processing visitor applications. Mailing takes an estimated 10 days (five days each way), leaving 15 days for processing the application. However, application kits often contain receipts that have not yet cleared and shown up in the CPC system. Therefore, the CPC is forced to carry a five- to six-day inventory so that HPM receipts can clear before the applications are processed.
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While the source of the scanning error has been solved, there are still old kits in circulation with the former receipt (which had two lines of business on it rather one line of business, as on the current receipt). (Section Removed) The number of these kits will decrease over time and the kits will eventually disappear.
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F&A and DDN have not yet clearly determined how CPCs should treat out-of-status clients. The treatment should depend on whether the client is at fault (because he or she sent the application late or sent the wrong payment instrument) or not at fault (because the stamped HPM receipt has not shown up in the system yet or there was a bank input error).
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Recommendation 1
It is recommended that the Departmental Delivery Network (DDN), in consultation with the CPCs and the Finance and Administration Branch (F&A), (a) clearly outline the policy indicating when an application should be treated as out of status; and (b) develop procedures to be disseminated to CPC Vegreville.
Management Response
Management agrees with both parts of this recommendation.
Recommendation 2
It is recommended that, in order to eliminate any misinformation about HPM among CPC staff, DDN (in consultation with the CPCs) and F&A prepare a handbook outlining the process and procedures relating to HPM (such as HPM rationale, flow of HPM receipt information and its impact on the CPCs, acceptable payment procedures and ways to deal with exceptions to HPM).
Management Response
Management agrees with this recommendation. It will be incorporated into the policy referred to in recommendation 1.
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