The second installment of the Alliance Learning Series!
In the first edition of the Better Than Cash Alliance Learning Series, we compiled lessons from our initiatives on country diagnostics, as well as on digitizing merchant and tax payments.
In this issue, we explore lessons from working with our member governments to design and execute Government-to-Person (G2P) payments. We also reflect on how being gender intentional has advanced our work on reaching financial equality for women, and we reinforce our commitment to building a more resilient future for the humanitarian community.
Theme 4: G2P payments as a cornerstone for
financial inclusion
In India, the scale of G2P payments can be discerned from the fact that US$75 billion (₹5.53 lakh crore) was transferred digitally across 319 government schemes, spread over 54 ministries during 2020-21, as part of COVID-19 relief efforts.
We highlight lessons from working with Alliance members India and Colombia in designing and executing inclusive G2P transfers. We explore how the UN Principles for Responsible Digital Payments can be applied to user-centric G2P programs and how public and private sectors can cooperate to increase inclusion.
Theme 5: Progress on the journey to financial equality
The Government of Bangladesh mandated that all salaries be paid digitally to receive the Ready-Made Garment Wage Relief Fund. This resulted in the opening of 2.5 million new accounts.
Our understanding of how to effectively prioritize women in digital payment initiatives continues to evolve. Here, we share reflections on this crucial priority from our varied engagements with members.
Theme 6: Collaborating to scale the responsible digitization of humanitarian payments
Interoperability of data and systems is crucial to effective and flexible end-to-end delivery across agencies, and harmonization delivers solutions focused on recipient needs. For example, WFP’s Building Blocks has developed the largest blockchain network in the humanitarian sector that allows organizations to better coordinate assistance.
Digital payments have revolutionized the humanitarian sector with enhanced accountability, accessibility, user choice and operational efficiencies. We identified three key lessons for UN agencies working on digitization of humanitarian payments.
