PNG Adopts Faster Payment Processes as Works Department Goes Digital

PNG's drive towards digital government services has reached another milestone, with the Department of Works and Highways preparing to replace manual payment methods with electronic transactions.

The move is expected to improve the management of public funds, reduce operating costs and provide clearer records of expenditure under major infrastructure programs.

 PNG Adopts Faster Payment Processes as Works Department Goes Digital

Works and Highways Secretary Gibson Holemba said the new Electronic Funds Transfer system would support the department's efforts to improve governance and strengthen oversight of project spending.

He said the Connect PNG Program, which involves billions of kina in investment, required efficient financial controls and timely reporting mechanisms.

Under the new arrangement, payments will be processed electronically rather than through traditional paper-based systems.

Mr Holemba said this would help remove unnecessary delays and improve expenditure reconciliation processes.

He also noted that maintaining manual payment systems was costly and resource-intensive.

According to him, the department would no longer need to rely heavily on physical cheque processing or send officers to provinces to manage payment-related matters.

The Department of Finance is overseeing the rollout of EFT across government institutions.

First Assistant Secretary for Financial Control Division Marlene Philip said all state agencies were being encouraged to adopt the digital payment platform ahead of the planned phase-out of cheque payments in 2027.

Mrs Philip said the initiative was aligned with government plans to modernise financial operations and improve service delivery throughout the public sector.

She described the recent launch of the EFT system at the Office of the Prime Minister and National Executive Council as a positive step in the transition process.

The Department of Works and Highways is now the eighth government agency to come on board. The EFT platform forms part of the Integrated Financial Management System, which allows public funds to be tracked and accounted for more effectively.

Before the system is fully operational within the department, the Department of Finance will undertake testing on a trustee account.

"I hope the system improvement in terms of going into EFT process will help us cut down this bureaucratic process on payment system to at least bring in efficiency in the public service and help also restore accountability, transparency, and most importantly, the reporting aspect of it as well, that we can able to report on time and also look at payment on the expenditure reconciliation and all that stuff."