The Better Than Cash Alliance is a partnership of governments, companies, and international organizations that accelerates the transition from cash to digital payments in order to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
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Earlier this year, we shared the story of the World Food Programme (WFP) introducing cash transfers on mobile phones at the Gihembe refugee camp in northern Rwanda.
Guest post by Allegra Palmer, Women’s World Banking
The World Bank expects people to send USD$581 billion in remittances in 2014, through a network of banks and money transfer operators (MTOs). This is an increase of 7.8% over 2013.
The Better Than Cash Alliance, hosted by UNCDF, gathered with colleagues at the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) Council of Governors Annual Meeting last month in Urubamba, Peru. The event brought together over 30 international organizations dedicated to expanding global financial inclusion.
Care leavers receive allowance via prepaid cards
The following is a guest post by Sara Murray, Electronic Payments Program Manager at Mercy Corps, a Better Than Cash Alliance member.
One Million Low-Income People to Reap Benefits of Digital Money
Kenya has been hailed as one of the developing world’s leaders in electronic payments. So it should come as no surprise that a sparsely populated, dusty village 500 kilometres from Nairobi is home to a pilot project testing whether an electronic delivery model for aid can be viable on a larger, commercial scale. Drought prone Merti is a small town in the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), of northern Kenya where The World Food Programme, MasterCard and local partner Equity Bank have been running a pilot point-of-sale electronic payments programme. .
As part of its commitments to enhance food security, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has introduced mobile phone facilitated cash transfers to feed the 14,500 refugees in Gihembe refugee camp in northern Rwanda.
Better Than Cash Alliance discusses digital financial strategy with government
CRS Commits to Increase Electronic Payments to Strengthen Local Economies
Two months ago, Mr Paolo Baltao, President of G-Xchange, a subsidiary of Globe Telecom, one of the leading telecommunications services providers in the Philippines
As part of its massive humanitarian response to the Syrian crisis, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is rolling out an innovative electronic voucher programme in Lebanon that will allow hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees to meet their food needs and help boost the local economy.
In looking at ways to bring financial services to the more than two billion people outside formal financial systems, often the focus has been on piecemeal efforts to improve specific elements such as product design, pricing, delivery, banking regulation, or consumer protection.
$1.5 Million Grant Adds Momentum to Global Movement to Empower People and Grow Economies by Shifting from Cash to Electronic Payments
Eighteen-year-old Djélika Haïdara was pregnant when she fled her home in northern Mali to escape the violent aftermath of a military coup. She and her extended family were among more than 227,000 people displaced within Mali. Djélika and her baby now live in Bamako, the nation’s capital, in a rented apartment with 20 other family members.
Malawi Announces Commitment to Transition to Electronic Payments
While in Zambia last week, I was struck by the changes in the mobile money sector that have happened since my last trip in 2011, which admittedly is about 20 years ago in technology years. When MEDA first started our partnership that year with Zoona, a mobile transactions company, they were the new kid on the block in a market pretty unfamiliar with cashless payments. They were doing a fair number of transactions, but many of those were directed e-vouchers for subsidy recipients, and there was not a lot of competition for customers doing cashless transactions. Uptake was slow going, and it wasn’t yet clear: Would cashless payments ever take off in Zambia?
