You can now request a statement (and not only) from Social Security by WhatsApp

O Social Security Institute (ISS) announced this Tuesday that it arrived at WhatsApp. Now, beneficiaries can request statements or arrange a service through this channel.

“Social security launches a new service channel through WhatsApp, designed to bring citizens’ services closer together and simplify the resolution of everyday issues”, can be read in the statement released by the ISS. 

Thus, “from now on, it is possible to interact directly with Social Security from your phone, avoiding unnecessary travel and waiting times”.

ISS also notes that “this functionality reinforces the commitment to providing a faster, more accessible and fully adapted public service to users’ needs”.

What can you do through WhatsApp?

“ With this new automated and intuitive service, you can perform two of the most frequent operations immediately,” explains Social Security, detailing:

• Schedule service: “Mark the day and time and your attendance in just a few steps”;
• Get official statements: “Request and receive your official documents and statements directly on your mobile phone screen with full convenience and validity”.

How to start using?

“To access the new channel, just click the service shortcut available in the menu Help > Contacts and Call Channels > WhatsApp Channel on the Social Security Portal or the Social Security App in Menu > Contact Us > WhatsApp Channel“, explains the ISS in the same statement. 

Authorize statements? There are news on the Social Security website

Citizens can already give permission to directly consult their Social Security statements to third parties through the Social Security Portal or App, the Social Security Institute (ISS) announced in a statement published on their website. 

In practice, “with this dematerialised system, it is no longer necessary to download, print or send documents on paper”.

How does the authorization process work? The ISS explains that the “model ensures that it is always the citizen having access control”, and there are two forms of management:

• Authorisation on request of a third party: “When an entity (such as a bank, municipality, university or company) requests access to a statement, the citizen is notified immediately in his reserved area of the Portal or App. The query is only active after the user’s express approval”;
• Proactive citizen sharing: “The citizen can anticipate the process and give prior authorization. The process is very simple: Identify the entity: Access Declarations > Request and manage access to statements, click “Give new authorization” and enter the recipient’s NIF/NISS and the purpose”;
• Choose the declaration: “Select the desired declaration from the list and proceed”;
• Issue and set validity (Conclusive Pass): “In the list of authorisations, click on the three points of the declaration in status “Wait for authorization”, select “Send document and authorize”, set the date of validity of the access and confirm “Authorize access”.