## Digital Treasury Reform and Fiscal Efficiency: Evaluating Costa Rica’s SUPRES Platform Adoption

_IMF Working Papers, April 10, 2026_

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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Maria Chiara Cavalleri, Ivania García-Cascante, Andualem Mengistu, Gerardo Uña, Mona Wang
- Published: April 10, 2026
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798229043335.001

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### Overview
- Evaluates the impact of Costa Rica’s adoption of SUPRES, a digital treasury platform that centralizes and automates cash transfer payments for social assistance programs.
- Addresses a gap in GovTech literature by empirically assessing effects of digitalization on treasury operations, cash management, and opportunity costs of borrowing for the treasury.
- Uses administrative data and survey evidence to measure changes in operational lead times, opportunity cost savings, and administrative perceptions after SUPRES adoption.

### Key findings and statistics
- Average lead times for the analyzed social cash programs:
  - Before SUPRES: 9–13 days
  - After SUPRES: 2-3 days
- Estimated opportunity cost savings for the Treasury: exceeding USD 4 million.
- In 2020, the pre-SUPRES opportunity cost was about 1.1% of total domestic short-term interest payments.
- Implementation characterized as relatively low cost with strong value-for-money given the savings and operational gains.
- Savings are modest compared to GDP but significant for treasury operations, particularly during tight cash periods.

### Fiscal and operational impacts
- Cash management:
  - Reduction in lead times materially improved liquidity management and reduced the opportunity cost of borrowing.
- Treasury operations:
  - Opportunity cost savings exceeded USD 4 million, improving fiscal efficiency.
  - Pre-reform opportunity cost equivalence (about 1.1% of total domestic short-term interest payments in 2020) underscores the role of digital treasury reforms in managing liquidity.
- Administrative outcomes (survey evidence):
  - Enhanced operational efficiency
  - Increased transparency
  - Improved inter-institutional coordination

### Broader benefits beyond treasury efficiency
- Strengthened targeting of social assistance programs.
- Expanded financial inclusion through digital payment mechanisms.
- Supported diversification and resilience of the social payments ecosystem by enabling a multi‑bank payment model.

### Policy implications and recommendations
- Relatively low‑cost digital treasury reforms can deliver meaningful efficiency gains in cash management and generate wider operational and financial inclusion benefits.
- Prioritize GovTech investments in treasury platforms to:
  - Reduce lead times for payments and lower borrowing-related opportunity costs.
  - Improve liquidity management, especially during tight cash periods.
  - Enable multi‑bank payment models to foster resilience and financial inclusion.
- Use administrative data and staff surveys to monitor and evaluate GovTech reforms’ impacts on both fiscal metrics and operational outcomes.

*IMF Working Paper: "Digital Treasury Reform and Fiscal Efficiency: Evaluating Costa Rica’s SUPRES Platform Adoption" (Working Paper No. 2026/077).*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2026/04/10/digital-treasury-reform-and-fiscal-efficiency-evaluating-costa-ricas-supres-platform-575387_