A new generation of government-to-person (G2P) payment systems is emerging in Africa, Asia and the Pacific.

As described in CGAP’s new publication, “The Future of G2P Payments: Expanding Customer Choice,” modern approaches of transferring cash assistance can reduce costs for governments, significantly improve recipients’ access to payments and bring digital G2P one step closer to becoming the large-scale conduit for financial inclusion that observers have always hoped it would be.

Many low-income country governments have begun to digitize government-to-person (G2P) payments by making electronic transfers directly into the accounts of individual customers.

While digitization has helped to fill the gaps in delivery, further advances are needed. Building modern payments systems can: Improve the customer experience by allowing customers to choose which providers and accounts they use to receive funds; they have a wider array of service points from which to withdraw cash; and they can switch providers.

This note describes the main strategies used by, and available to, countries to deliver cash support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of the note is to inform both ongoing responses to COVID-19 and medium to long term investments in delivery mechanisms that could be used to respond to future crises.

Marshall Islands Social Security Administration (09.06.2020) With the recent installation of the Bank of Marshall Islands (BOMI) debit card machine at MISSA’s front desk, a taxpayer will no longer need to write a check nor pay cash for social security contributions. Just like the way customers pay their groceries while shopping at K&K or Payless Supermarket, the MISSA cashier will insert the BOMI debit card to the machine and then enter the amount of MISSA taxes based on the completed MISSA Tax Form MISS-3 that will support the payment.

socialprotection.org (July 2020) This note describes the main strategies used by, and available to, countries to deliver cash support in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of the note is to inform both ongoing responses to COVID-19 and medium to long term investments in delivery mechanisms that could be used to respond to future crises.

Center For Global Development (01.05.2020) The Ehsaas Emergency Cash program was launched at the end of March to distribute funds to 12 million families (an estimated 67 million people) whose livelihood has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic or its aftermath. Each eligible family is entitled to 12,000 Pakistani rupees (PKR), equivalent to $72.07. As of the end of April, 6.6 million beneficiary families representing some 37 million people had already received the payment, for a total of PKR 79.2 billion ($476 million).

Better Than Cash Alliance (2019) 

The ability of digital payments to deliver better outcomes for governments, businesses, and individuals—including driving financial inclusion—has been one of the success stories of the digital age.

The tie-up of Kenya's mobile sensation M-Pesa with PayPal and Western Union, coupled with the joint venture between two of the largest cellular operators – MTN and Orange – for a mobile wallet that operates across networks have capped a year that has seen significant developments in Africa's already blooming mobile payments market.