UnBlocked Cash Project: using blockchain technology to revolutionize humanitarian aid (OXFAM)

UnBlocked Cash Project: using blockchain technology to revolutionize humanitarian aid | Oxfam International

Accelerating digital cash assistance with blockchain

The UnBlocked Cash solution consists of three key elements: 1) e-voucher “tap-and-pay” cards provided to beneficiary households which they can use to purchase goods, 2) smartphones with a pre-installed app through which vendors receive payments, and 3) a single-payment online platform where NGOs like Oxfam can disburse funds and monitor transactions remotely and in real-time. A dedicated Oxfam team is providing support to beneficiaries and vendors to accommodate the smooth user experience and training in basic digital skills.

Scaling across the Pacific region and beyond

The project originated in 2019 in Vanuatu, where the severity of Tropical Cyclone Harold and COVID-19 restrictions had resulted in a significant reduction in income and livelihoods, particularly amongst households with pre-existing vulnerabilities. Oxfam, in partnership with Australian fintech Sempo and blockchain company ConsenSys first piloted the project with the active participation of 198 beneficiaries and 33 vendors across 2 communities.

After the successful reception of the pilot the project was scaled up and is now being implemented across Vanuatu, to distribute cash and voucher assistance to over 35,000 beneficiaries. The project has harnessed the capacities of more than 15 partners across government, private sector, and local and international NGOs. Delivering together in the Pacific’s first consortium-led response, Oxfam is providing technical design, operational leadership, and strategic direction for the initiative.

Accessing remote communities in Papua New Guinea

Drawing from the learning and experience in Vanuatu, we continued to explore ways to access remote communities and deliver much-needed assistance to people affected by natural disasters. We deployed a similar program in Papua New Guinea, where heavy rains in early April 2020 caused floods and landslides in several highland provinces which affected about 700 people and damaged and destroyed their houses and gardens.

The project has attracted interest in other countries. It has been piloted in Venezuela and will also be deployed in the Solomon Islands in 2021, with the Pacific region leading other pilot locations across Oxfam’s global confederation.

Greater transparency of aid funds

The UBC project is based on the innovative use of a digital version of the local currencies in the form of collateralized blockchain tokens. This technology has introduced the concept of digital financial inclusion in Vanuatu, where the majority of the population are unable to access banking services.

The use of stable digital currencies has also introduced the potential for institutional donors to fund and track funds across multi-country programs, with just a single contribution and access to a central analytics dashboard. The platform has the potential to flexibly integrate direct cash distribution and individual donations, allowing for a more transparent, direct humanitarian assistance.

A technology that empowers people

Cash assistance has long been praised for its efficiency and more dignified means of delivering aid. It is also one of Oxfam’s strategic goals to allow people in need to decide about their future, including the purchases they make. Thanks to blockchain technology we can give people freedom of choice while ensuring their privacy and protecting their data and increasing monitoring capabilities on spending patterns.