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 organisation can ‘go digital’ without cash programmes, it’s nearly impossible to commit to cash programmes in the long term without going digital. Yes, it is true we’ve done cash and voucher programmes...
Latest
Shock-Responsive Social Protection Systems Research: Literature Review (2nd Edition)
Report
DFID has commissioned research into Shock-Responsive Social Protection systems, to further understand the nature of the interaction between social protection, humanitarian and disaster risk management systems and ways in which long-term social protection systems can be scaled up to provide support in...
Cash or in-kind? Why not both? Response Analysis Lessons from Multimodal Programming
Report
This research reviews lessons learned about response analysis from multimodal responses, that is, responses in which practitioners determined that more than one response modality between cash,vouchers, and in-kind, was a “best fit” or in which the conclusions about “best fit” changed over...
Kenya Red Cross Society Using New Technology to Reach Communities in Hardship Areas
Report
Kenya Red Cross Society responded to the severe drought through cash transfers in Marsabit county. Unlike an earlier drought, where KRCS used manual system to pay beneficiaries in the same geographical area, this year the organisation used a payment technology provided by a company called Compulynx....
A buffer against the drought
Report
The Government of Kenya in partnership with DFID undertake a long term social protection program(Hunger Safety Net Program) in Northern Kenya reaching out to poor households with bi monthly cash transfers. So much investment has been put in this program including pre-registration and carding of...
Cash-based transfers. Analytical Paper on WHS Self-Reporting on the Agenda for Humanity
Report
Forty-three stakeholders reported on World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) commitments related to cash-based transfers (CBT). Self-reports indicate that cash is increasingly a preferred option, when appropriate, taking into account context and feasibility considerations. Cash programming is being streamlined...
Adaptable and effective: Cash in the face of multi-dimensional crisis
Report
A summary of the learnings and recommendations from an internal and external evaluation of the Emergency Cash-First Response to Drought-Affected Communities in the Southern Provinces of Zimbabwe project which was carried out from August 2015 to May 2017. The external evaluation was carried out by Oxford...
Digital Cash Transfers in Liberia. A case study from Save the Children’s Emergency Food Security Program (2015- 2016)
Report
Through its USAID-funded Emergency Food Security Program, Save the Children was the first organization to implement cash transfers through mobile money at scale in Liberia, where mobile money services are nascent. From liquidity management to incentivizing agents, the challenges, lessons, and...
Mobile Money in Somalia – Household Survey and Market Analysis
Report
Key findings from an assessment of mobile money in Somalia. Provides information about mobile money penetration; practicalities; usage; perceptions and the use of shillings versus dollars.
ELAN Humanitarian KYC Case Studies
Report
Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations, also known as customer due diligence, are designed to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other related threats to the financial system. They refer to the ID checks that financial institutions perform to comply with national financial regulations....
Can E-Transfers Promote Financial Inclusion in Emergencies: A Case Study from Ethiopia
Report
The Electronic Cash Transfer Learning Action Network (ELAN) launched this research to build an evidence base around connecting emergency electronic transfer (e-transfer) recipients with additional financial
services. They also wanted to learn if, when, and how e-transfers can promote sustained uptake and...
The Financial Journey of Refugees Full Report
Report
This document details how refugees and migrants from the Middle East, South and Central Asia and East, West and North Africa finance their journeys and manage money along the way.
Review of the Common Cash Facility approach in Jordan
Report
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Jordan has pioneered a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach to the delivery of cash, known as the Common Cash Facility (CCF). The aim of the CCF is to provide humanitarian actors with direct and equal access to a common financial service...
Cash Delivery Mechanism Assessment Tool
Guidelines and Tools
In line with its commitment to institutionalise the use of Cash-Based Interventions (CBIs), the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released the Operational Guidance for Cash-Based Interventions in Displacement Settings (“the Guidelines”) dated 4 February 2015, to...
E-transfers Procurement Learning and Good Practices
Guidelines and Tools
Humanitarian agencies have increased their use of cash transfers and related distribution technologies. Yet, most rely largerly procurement and contracting processes designed for goods and professional services. An Elan Survey of humanitarian operations staff and e-transfers providers indicated several...
Enabling Digital Financial Services in Humanitarian Response: Four Priorities for Improving Payments
Guidelines and Tools
The humanitarian sector is increasingly turning to digital payments to distribute cash-based aid, but many efforts remain fragmented around custom built solutions that miss opportunities to build strong, enduring pathways to financial inclusion and resilience for crisis-affected populations. Few solutions...
Cash transfer platforms in humanitarian contexts
Report
This report is based on ten days of desk-based research prepared for the Australian Government that aims to respond to the following questions: What is the rationale for using multi-purpose cash transfers and single platforms? What is driving donor agency positions on these issues? What is the evidence...
Partnering with Mobile Network Operators in Zimbabwe to Deliver Cash Transfers
Report
This case study seeks to investigate and document the following: The process of engagement between MNOs and CARE. Clarity of roles between CARE/WVI as implementing agencies and MNOs. Successes and challenges in the partnership between CARE/WVI and the MNOs Measures taken to manage the impact of the...
Delivery Mechanism Mapping for Cash Based Interventions in Cox’s Bazaar Bangladesh
Report
The ‘Delivery Mechanism Mapping for Cash Based Interventions (CBI) in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh’ was conducted in December 2017 by a ‘Cash Champion’ deployed from Catholic Relief Services (CRS) with the support of the Global Shelter Cluster and ECHO, and involved consultations with numerous...
Zimbabwe ‘Cash First’ Humanitarian Response 2015–2017: Evaluation Report
Report
CARE International and World Vision International (WVI) in Zimbabwe implemented the UK Department for International Development (DFID)-funded project ‘Emergency Cash First Response to Drought-Affected Communities in the Southern Provinces of Zimbabwe’ from August 2015 to April 2017. The project...
Managing Cash-Based Programmes in a Volatile Markets Contexts: The Case of Delivering Cash Using Mobile Money During the Zimbabwe Cash Liquidity Crisis
Report
This case study examines how the Zimbabwe national cash crisis evolved and the ways in which affected communities and the CTP adapted to the challenges it posed. The study highlights what worked well, what was less effective, and some other possible future opportunities. It also provides operational...
