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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The Report Responsible Practices to Address Seven Major Risks in COVID-19 Digital Financial Transfers identifies seven heightened risks resulting from the speed and scale of COVID-19 digital transfer responses.
This webinar responds to the question of how governments and humanitarian agencies can manage the risks associated with COVID-19 response payments, ensure women’s inclusion, and improve communications with recipients.
This essay outlines the use cases of Blockchain technology for the humanitarian and development sectors and reflects on potentials and pitfalls that come with the adaptation of this new technology.
This paper recommends actions that policy makers and donors can take to improve the provision of financial services to crisis-affected populations.
Originally published on CGAP.org
Crises of all sorts, from conflicts to natural disasters to health emergencies, are happening at unprecedented rates around the world — so much so that the United Nations convened the first World Humanitarian Summit this week.
A report by Electronic Cash Transfer Learning Action Network (ELAN)
A report by International Rescue Committee's (IRC)
The ability to make and receive payments electronically has emerged, in recent years, as a technology hero during natural disasters and health pandemics. At a time when more people than ever are affected by conflict and crisis, there is good news.
By using digital payments to pay Ebola response workers, Sierra Leone massively cut payment times, avoiding large-scale strikes and ensuring a stable workforce to defeat Ebola. Sierra Leone’s experience shows the critical importance of preparing early for digital payments before crises hit.
This report builds the case for electronic payment preparedness to support humanitarian interventions by providing a baseline analysis of existing donor support for electronic payment preparedness and actual electronic payment preparedness needs in select high-risk disaster prone countries.
This is the fourth in a series of articles written by Maura Hart on the achievements of several Better Than Cash Alliance members. These highlights capture the innovative work by governments, businesses and development organizations to fulfill their commitment to transition from cash to digital payments.
Beneficiaries received electronic transfers via mobile savings accounts
Digitizing the delivery of humanitarian aid has so much appeal. By taking cash out of the equation, electronic transfers (often called e-transfers or e-payments) promise a faster, more secure and more transparent (so less corruptible) means of getting help to those who need it, even in the most hard to reach places.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is pleased to join the Better Than Cash Alliance, in support of our commitment to provide essential services within the first 72 hours of crisis.
There is growing consensus in the humanitarian community that cash (digital or physical) – as opposed to delivery of food and materials – is often the best way to help communities bounce back from crisis.
The following is a guest post by Sara Murray, Electronic Payments Program Manager at Mercy Corps, a Better Than Cash Alliance member.
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. .
CRS Commits to Increase Electronic Payments to Strengthen Local Economies
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.