Digital Payments
Digital technology is transforming the way we respond to emergencies. Innovations range from how we identifying people eligible for assistance, to data collection for assessments and monitoring, to communication with crisis-affected communities. Digital payment systems, including mobile devices, electronic vouchers, and cards – when used appropriately – can deliver timelier, more secure, more cost effective, and inclusive assistance. But as the volume of data we collect, store and share about people grows, we must ensure that our data protection systems keep pace and that we understand and mitigate for the risks inherent in new technologies.
Featured Content
Podcast: Is informed consent possible in humanitarian CVA?
Podcast
Episode 2 of the CashCast tackles data responsibility with Amos Doornbos, Linda Raftree, James Eaton Lee and Ric Tighe
Consent and Ownership in the Shift to Digital Cash and Voucher Assistance
Blog Post
Part of committing to cash and voucher assistance (CVA) is committing to going digital and collecting data. While they are two different things, they are deeply intertwined. And while an...
E-Transfers and operationalizing beneficiary data protection
Course
This two hour course will provide humanitarian practitioners with the necessary steps to operationalize the protection of beneficiary data in programmes using electronic transfers, or e-transfers.
Latest
Mitigating Risks of Abuse of Power in Cash Assistance in Afghanistan
Report
This document outlines lessons learned from a joint UNHCR-WFP project in Afghanistan aimed at identifying and mitigating the risks of abuse of power in cash assistance. The cash transfer mechanisms discussed during the mission were cash distribution through Hawalas, mobile token, mobile e-vouchers and...
Data Responsibility: Let’s not wait for another wake up call
Blog Post
This blog is the second in a series on cash and voucher assistance (CVA) and risk. While the first blog busted some myths around misappropriation and fraud in CVA, this second blog looks into a specific risk for recipients of CVA: the risk of misuse of personal data.
Cash is no Riskier than Other Forms of Aid. So Why Do We Still Treat In-kind like the Safer Option?
Blog Post
The first in a new series of blogs on cash and voucher assistance and risk, this article from CaLP’s Stefan Bumbacher debunks some common myths around the risk of misappropriation and fraud in CVA.
Cash for Shelter in Kenya – A Field Experience
Report
Displaced & Disconnected – Connectivity for Refugees
Report
Unblocked Cash Pilot Full Report
Report
This full report details the project scope, impact and learnings from the Unblocked Cash pilot in Vanuatu. The project was delivered in partnership with Oxfam Australia and ConsenSys, with funds from the Australian Government, and utilised a stablecoin, Dai, as the underlying value .
Kızılaykart Cash Based Assistance, Information Note
Report
Following the first refugee wave in May 2011, refugees from Syria has continued to seek asylum in Turkey. As a result of the open-door policy between 2011 and 2015, Syrians were welcomed by the Turkish government and obtained legal status under temporary protection. Subsequently, Turkey is hosting more...
The Digital Lives of Refugees: How displaced populations use mobile phones and what gets in the way
Report
GSMA in partnership with UNHCR conducted quantitative surveys and qualitative research to understand the ways in which refugees are using mobile phones in order to help guide digital interventions by humanitarian organisations and mobile network operators. The research identifies key trends, statistics,...
Mitigating Risks of Abuse of Power in Cash Assistance – Workshop Nairobi, Kenya
Report
UNHCR and WFP are implementing a joint project to identify and mitigate risks of abuse of power by private sector service providers in the delivery
of cash assistance to vulnerable populations. The workshop, held in Nairobi on 10-11 December 2018, followed visits to the first two pilot countries,...
What I learned at CaLP’s Celebrating Digital Humanitarian Cash Event
Blog Post
This workshop was a triumphant but sad goodbye to ELAN, the Electronic Cash Transfer Learning Action Network. This was their closing event after four years of hard work, and they leave behind a rather magnificent legacy of tools, guidance, learning, webinars, resources and case studies on how to best...