Art Appraisal Blog

COVID-19 has seen governments across the globe walk a tightrope as they scramble to contain the spread of the disease while keeping the economy stable. In this unprecedented situation, ground-level data for evidence-based decision-making assumes critical significance. This blog looks at five key lessons from MSC’s research on COVID-19.

Social cash transfers to vulnerable households and individuals have been adopted at an unprecedented scale across sub-Saharan Africa. While most programs initially relied on manual cash disbursements, digital payment technologies have been on the rise since the early 2000s. Through a survey of 130 programs in 44 countries this paper offers a comprehensive overview of payment instruments and providers used in the region. Although cash continues to play a key role in the disbursement of social transfers, the adoption of electronic payments through private companies is increasing and further payment reforms and digitization efforts can be expected.

Advances in payment infrastructure are enabling governments to channel payments through multiple providers, giving people greater choice over how to receive payments. This is an important shift with implications for financial services providers, recipients of government payments and financial inclusion.

This event will highlight the opportunities and challenges of using COVID-19 financial transfers to individuals and MSMEs to build better digital payments infrastructure