IslamicFinance.de

The humanitarian sector has long struggled to determine how to provide assistance during a crisis. Recently, the sector has begun experimenting with digital financial payments. In Afghanistan the World Food Program (WFP) has issued e-vouchers and mobile money to cover food aid. In Lebanon aid organizations have created points of access and developed a fully functioning distribution network, allowing refugees to use their pre-paid cards in more transactions than ever before. Whereas in the past humanitarian organizations focused on financial networks in times of crisis, the new approach focuses on developing a more lasting system. More and more humanitarian organizations are considering how payment networks can evolve into a system that facilitates savings, credit and insurance.