Delivery Mechanisms
What do we mean by 'delivery mechanism'?
Delivery Mechanism: Means of delivering a cash or voucher transfer (e.g. smart card, mobile money transfers, cash in envelopes, etc.).
Vouchers are always restricted: True or False?
True
What types of assessments should we conduct to find out if cash or vouchers are feasible? Name at least 3.
1. Beneficiary needs & preferences
2. Community/Political Acceptance
3. Market conditions
4. Operational conditions
5. regulatory environment
6. Risk assessment
What does CVA stand for? And to what does it refer?
Cash and Voucher Assistance
CVA refers to all programs where cash transfers or vouchers for goods or services are directly provided to recipients. In the context of humanitarian assistance, the term is used to refer to the provision of cash transfers or vouchers given to individuals, household or community recipients.
What is 'biometric authentication'?
Biometric Authentication: Technologies that measure and analyse human physical and/or behavioural characteristics for authentication purposes e.g. fingerprint, voice print, iris recognition.
Name 3 cash delivery mechanisms.
Cash in hand/envelop (hawala also an acceptable answer), mobile money, post office, bank
Define "conditional."
There is a requirement to be fulfilled before receiving assistance in order to receive assistance.
Beneficiary's needs are the first precondition. Describe what factors we'd consider in this regard.
1. Population is familiar with using cash (i.e. no barter system)
2. Income has been disrupted.
3. Cash will not put people at risk.
4. Cash is the barrier preventing people from meeting their needs.
What does MEB stand for? And what is it?
Minimum Expenditure Basket (MEB): Defined as what a household needs – on a regular or seasonal basis – and its average cost over time. The MEB can be a critical component in the design of interventions including Multipurpose Cash Grants/Assistance (MPG/MCA), with transfer amounts calculated to contribute to meeting the MEB
What do we mean by 'financial inclusion'?
Financial Inclusion: Financial inclusion means that a full suite of financial services is provided, with quality, to all who can use them, by a range of providers, to financially capable clients.
Describe what a paper voucher is.
A paper, token or e-voucher that can be exchanged for a set quantity or value of goods, denominated either as a cash value (e.g. $15) or predetermined commodities or services (e.g. 5 kg maize; milling of 5kg of maize), or a combination of value and commodities. They are redeemable with preselected vendors or in ‘fairs’ created by the agency. Vouchers are used to provide access to a range of goods or services, at recognized retail outlets or service centers. Vouchers are by default a restricted form of transfer, although there are wide variations in the degree of restriction/flexibility different voucher-based programmes may provide. The terms vouchers, stamps, or coupons are often used interchangeably.
Give 2 examples of conditional cash assistance
Cash for work
cash for shelter (3 tranches, must make construction progress to receive next tranche)
cash for nutrition: must attend a training on healthy eating before receiving cash
A CVA Feasibility Assessment includes a market assessment. What are we trying to learn?
1. Markets are functioning!
2. They can meet supply and demand. (quality, quantity)
3. Beneficiaries can safely access markets.
What does FSP mean? Give at least 3 examples of FSPs.
Financial Service Provider
An entity that provides financial services, which may include e-transfer services. Depending upon your context, financial service providers may include e-voucher companies, financial institutions (such as banks and microfinance institutions) or mobile network operators (MNOs).
What do we mean by KYC requirements?
Know Your Customer (KYC): This usually refers to the information that the local regulator requires banks to collect about any potential new customer in order to discourage financial products being used for money laundering or other crimes. Some countries allow banks greater flexibility than others as to the source of this information, and some countries allow lower levels of information for accounts that they deem to be ‘low risk’.
Describe types of e-vouchers.
A card or code that is electronically redeemed at a participating distribution point. E-vouchers can represent cash or commodity value and are redeemed using a range of electronic devices.
Cash assistance is by definition unrestricted: true or false?
True
Community & political acceptance are another pre-condition for cash programming. Why? What are the factors we look into?
1. If the community likes cash! They want cash over in-kind or vouchers!
2. If political leaders are supportive of cash assistance over other modalities (in-kind, vouchers)
What is an MNO? Define it.
Mobile Network Operator
MNOs are simply companies operating phone services. They may provide mobile money, which uses mobile phones to access financial services such as payments, transfers, insurance, savings, and credit. It is a paperless version of a national currency that can be used to provide humanitarian e-cash payments
What is a social safety net / social assistance?
Social Assistance / Social Assistance Transfers: Repeated, unconditional, predictable transfers of cash, goods or services provided on a long term basis to vulnerable or destitute households or specific individuals (e.g. the elderly, pregnant women), with the aim of allowing them to meet basic needs or build assets to protect themselves and increase resilience against shocks and vulnerable periods of the life cycle. Usually refers to government assistance provided in cash, but can also refer to in-kind assistance.
Social Protection: Actions carried out by the state or privately, to address risk, vulnerability and chronic poverty. Social protection refers to comprehensive systems including safety nets, social assistance, labour market policies, social insurance options (e.g. contributory pensions, health insurance), and basic social services (e.g. in education, health and nutrition).
Safety Nets (SN) or Social Safety Nets: Safety nets target the poor or vulnerable and consist of non-contributory transfers, such as in-kind food, cash or vouchers; they can be provided conditionally or unconditionally. They are a sub-set of broader social protection systems.
What is the difference between a commodity voucher and a value voucher?
Commodity Voucher: Commodity vouchers are exchanged for a fixed quantity and quality of specified goods or services at participating vendors. Commodity vouchers share some similarities with inkind aid in that they restrict and specify the assistance received, but it is accessed at local markets through traders.
Value Voucher: A value voucher has a denominated cash value and can be exchanged with participating vendors for goods or services of an equivalent monetary cost. Value vouchers tend to provide relatively greater flexibility and choice than commodity vouchers, but are still necessarily restricted as they can only be exchanged with designated vendors.
Explain the difference between restricted and unrestricted assistance.
Restriction refers to utilization of cash after it is received, whether or not the cash can be spent on anything the beneficiary prioritizes or if it can only be redeemed for a specific commodity or service.
Restriction: Restriction refers to limits on the use of a transfer, after it has been received by a beneficiary.
Restrictions may describe either the range of goods and services that a transfer can be used to purchase, or the places where a transfer can be used, or both. The degree of restriction may vary – from the requirement to buy specific items, to buying from a general category of goods or services, or to achieve an agreed output (e.g. to repair a shelter, or start-up a livelihood activity). Restriction is distinct from conditionality, which applies only to prerequisite conditions that a beneficiary must fulfil beforereceiving a transfer.
See also Conditionality, Restricted Transfer and Unrestricted Transfer
Restricted Transfer: A restricted transfer requires the beneficiary to use the assistance provided to purchase particular goods or services. This includes vouchers, which are restricted by default, and cash transfers where receipt of subsequent transfers is contingent on spending previous transfers on particular goods or services.
Unrestricted Transfer: Unrestricted transfers can be used entirely as the recipient chooses i.e. there are no direct limitations imposed by the implementing agency on how the transfer is spent. Cash transfers are by default unrestricted, unless they require beneficiaries to spend their cash on particular goods or services in order to receive subsequent transfers .
There are certain operational pre-conditions. What are they?
1. IRC has the capacity to implement a quality program, or can get enough help to do it.
1. Political instability/corruption is minimal enough to not create or exacerbate violence or increase risk for beneficiaries.
2. FSPs exist and function. There is way to get cash to people safely.
3. Some sort of beneficiary ID system is in place or can be established.
4. Value for money! Cash is usually the most cost-efficient, but not always.
What is a POS?
Point of Service/ Sales (POS): Devices that do not contain any money, but have the capability of performing transactions (carried out in retail stores, restaurants, or mobile locations).
What are some conditions where we would recommend in-kind assistance over cash or vouchers?
1. Beneficiaries prefer it.
2. The needed items are not available in the local market.
3. Extreme inflation (maybe, or commodity vouchers might work in some cases)