The Scottish Government Digital Directorate has launched a beta version of the SG Payments Service for the country’s public sector.
It has described it as a minimum viable service and is beginning to work with a number of early adopters to test and iterate the service before pushing it out more widely.
The directorate began to work on the service in 2019, aiming to set up a single digital platform to replace a range of payments systems in the Scottish public sector.
It has worked on the project with technical delivery partner Scott Logic and beta partner Independent Living Fund (ILF) for Scotland, which operates a fund to support disabled people and was first to test a beta version of the service for a payroll run in January.
Partner shows confidence
ILF’s director of digital and information services Paul Hayllor commented: “By going live this week, we have now operationalised a project that has been several years in the making, but are hugely confident that this marks a new beginning in how public services come together to develop high value services that can be shared by all.”
The directorate said it is now beginning to work with the Students Awards Agency as another beta partner, with plans to attract more organisations, build additional features and functions into the service, and to develop opportunities for synergies in service delivery.