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A transformative odyssey: The impact of Smart Payments in benefit delivery

Posted on by Deepesh Singh

Background:

How far would a dollar go if it went straight to someone in need when they need it most?

With government-to-person (G2P) payments, governments increasingly disburse welfare benefits directly to individuals or households. These high-volume, low-ticket-size G2P transactions are vital to boost financial inclusion and empower vulnerable communities. Globally, programs such as Brazil’s Bolsa Familia and Zambia’s supporting women’s livelihoods (SWL) report cost savings, leak reduction, and timely payments for grant recipients through digital payments. In India, Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhaar for identity verification, and mobile payment applications enabled by the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) have boosted financial inclusion. These have allowed government programs to incorporate direct benefits transfers (DBT).

While promising, digital G2P payments remain in their early stages, and face challenges, such as friction in payments, information gaps, and contextual barriers. The MUKTA program in Odisha, India, is an example of a multi-stakeholder collaboration to reengineer digital systems and government policies and processes to operationalize digitally-enabled Smart Contracting and Just-in-Time funding systems (JiT-FS). It has enhanced program’s reach, improved observability, and provided a clear understanding of performance bottlenecks. Additionally, it has empowered stakeholders to refine and optimize the system continuously.

Admirable goal, administrative friction

MUKTA is a pioneering initiative designed to generate wage employment for vulnerable workers in urban Odisha during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rooted in community needs and responsive to local demands, MUKTA uses existing community-based organizations (CBOs) to execute public works projects that are sustainable and climate resilient. These CBOs enlist wage seekers to work on these projects and generate income for them.

Delayed payments to CBOs and wage seekers were a key challenge in program implementation. Beneficiaries faced lengthy wait times. Additionally, a baseline study across two pilot urban local bodies (ULBs) found that more than 50% of completed tasks were not processed for payment, and the rest encountered delays that exceeded one month. Wage seekers come from low-income households, and such delays undermine the program’s welfare objectives.

Such delays arise largely from cumbersome, paper-based compliances, billing, and verification processes. Every step—from attendance tracking and bill submission to verification, approvals, and payment instructions—relied on manual processes. It increased the administrative burden on local government personnel, who were overburdened already. These long-drawn processes also resulted in the underutilization of sanctioned funding as funds were parked idle in banks and had limited transparency.

Making processes and payments smarter

These challenges threatened to undermine MUKTA’s goals. It was clear that a transformative intervention was required. MUKTA embraced a three-phase “Smart Payments” approach to address these challenges:

  • Discovery: The identification of pivotal problems in program implementation

Extensive consultations with stakeholders at each government tier helped identify key requirements to complete payments under the MUKTA program and administrative inefficiencies that prevented timely completion. The tiers included the Finance Department (FD), Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Department, local government officials, and CBO representatives.

Such programs require multi-entity coordination. Project definition, estimate creation, progress monitoring, and bill approval occur at the local government level. The state government sanctions overall fund tranches and executes electronic payments. The first step in the solution was to identify the information the state government would need to disburse payments and find a way to communicate it most efficiently. We used existing Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) and Public Finance Management System (PFMS) data standards to develop functional requirement specifications. This further led to the development of a two-part solution: MUKTASoft, which streamlines processes and reporting through program implementers, and JiT-FS, which simplifies and speeds up fund disbursal.

  • Design: Solution development and reform proposal

MUKTASoft is a workfare program management platform that streamlines project management and information flow among CBOs, local government bodies, H&UD, and FD. The expedited flow of standardized project information is key to reduce payment delays. MUKTASoft’s key operational components include project finalization, wage-seeker registration, digital attendance tracking, expense logging, and payment verification. All of these are streamlined through user-friendly interfaces for different users, such as CBO and ULB officials, among others.

MUKTASoft was designed to improve the overall efficiency of local and state government officials with consideration of the administrative burden-related challenges. This was done by:

  • The simplification of project progress tracking and wage payment approval. It sought to move from more than twelve steps, as identified in the baseline, to a simple three-step approach for each key document, which would involve the maker, checker, and approver;
  • The enhancement of the visibility of project progress or delays in payments. This ensured that the responsible authority or individual takes accountability for the problems. It also enabled them to take steps to resolve these problems;
  • Faster payments to wage seekers through Smart Payments through direct integration with the state IFMS.

The alignment of project management and program verifications set the stage to integrate Smart Payments and use digital technologies, such as JiT-FS, for pull-based release of funds once project milestones were achieved. Core PFM principles, such as “single source of truth” (to ensure data accuracy), “observability” (real-time tracking of performance), and “minimization of administrative burden” through smart contracts, have been woven into the design of both MUKTASoft and JiT-FS to strengthen transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the system.

  • Deployment: Orchestration of a seamless implementation

The implementation phase required multiple dependencies’ management. A fundamental challenge was to build trust and reliability in the solution to replace manual ways of working because of its high success rate. The deployment timeline faced disruptions, and development hurdles were common initially, as is typical when new systems are integrated for the first time. However, collaborative testing uncovered edge cases that affected transaction success rates, and a robust user testing phase helped validate various scenarios and user needs.

Checks and balances were introduced and implemented within MUKTASoft and the JiT module to address these emerging issues. For instance, at the project finalization stage, MUKTASoft checks for the availability of funds to cover the project’s expenses. This sanction validation establishes a spending ceiling before the approval of projects or payments. This was a key control that the State Finance Department must maintain. Similarly, when payments are directly transferred to wage-seekers’ bank accounts, each transaction’s success or failure must be checked, and corrective measures must be taken where payments fail.

Local governments, while initially hesitant, saw that MUKTASoft’s use for project creation, estimate approval, and work orders had tangible benefits. These included reduced administrative burden, fewer delays, faster payments, and enhanced accountability. With a clear demonstration of the value to all stakeholders, the adoption of the solution became universal.

Maximized impact: Outcomes of successful deployment

  • Reduced delays: The digitization of processes from attendance tracking to payment verification dramatically streamlined workflows, which facilitated the disbursement of payments to wage seekers and CBOs. Pilot data indicates around a 60% reduction in payment disbursement time for wage seekers. Under the new system, beneficiaries no longer have to wait months to get paid, as most bills are now processed in a matter of days.
  • Enhanced efficiency: Automation freed local government officials from administrative burdens. This allowed them to focus on project management and monitoring and led to improved project execution and resource use.
  • Transparency and data-driven decision-making: The integrated data platform enabled real-time tracking of project progress, expenditure, and beneficiary coverage, which enhanced transparency and accountability for all stakeholders. Insights from real-time data facilitated informed decision-making for administrators. This allowed quicker identification and resolution of bottlenecks and strategic allocation of constrained resources.
  • Empowering wage seekers: Timely wage payments and improved project execution under the Smart Payments system enhanced urban communities’ livelihood opportunities and overall well-being.

Lessons learned:

The system is being scaled to 25 ULBS out o 115 in Odisha after the pilot’s success in two ULBs. MUKTA’s journey offers valuable lessons for other G2P initiatives that seek to use technology for efficient PFM and inclusive development:

  • Existing infrastructure matters: Wage seekers’ enrolment is simplified through Aadhaar’s use for identity verification. Wage seekers’ mapping to bank accounts is already in place, with Aadhaar linked to Jan Dhan UPI’s widespread use addresses concerns around cash in and cash out. MUKTASoft and JiT-FS are a new wave of innovations that rely on the building blocks provided by India Stack and related reforms.
  • Process streamlining is a key lever for any tech-enabled reform: When workflows are digitized, with automation and minimized manual intervention, the time and effort users have to spend on administrative tasks decreases. They can focus on tasks that require human interaction or attention. At the same time, data’s reliability and timeliness improve, which enables administrators to manage performance better, and policymakers can develop data-driven plans and strategies.
  • Active and consistent collaboration: Strong partnerships between government, technology providers, and frontline users, which include grassroots organizations, are essential for successful implementation. The solution will be used when stakeholders feel ownership over it. For this, they should be involved throughout the process, with their needs being prioritized in the product design.
  • Data fragmentation undermines progress at all stages: All stakeholders must accept a “single source of truth.” which they contribute to by ensuring that all transactions take place through a single system of record. Although, it may require some transition period to achieve this goal, data should be updated promptly in the system of record, with appropriate verification or triangulation.
  • Adoption requires users to trust the new way of working: Adoption is not instant. Extensive training and support are essential to overcome initial resistance. As each set of stakeholders sees the new system’s benefits, they will be more likely to use it and advocate for it with their peers. This can also be used in periodic retraining as trained resources move and new resources join the department.
  • Adaptability is essential: Unforeseen challenges are inevitable. Flexibility and a willingness to find solutions are crucial for successful implementation.

Other G2P programs can unlock technology’s transformative potential to deliver effective social safety nets, empower vulnerable communities worldwide through these lessons, and build upon MUKTA’s success.

Smart Payments as a catalyst for inclusive development

The early success observed with Smart Payments for the MUKTA program underscores technology’s transformative potential in G2P transactions to reduce delays in service delivery and heighten public finance efficiency. It serves as a model for government agencies and prompts them to adopt smart payments as a catalyst for inclusive development.

Odisha’s journey is a model for an efficient and citizen-centric benefit delivery system, which emphasizes the need for adaptive strategies, collaborative partnerships, and a commitment to governance principles. Tailored to the local context, the solution can progress from basic Smart Payments, that encompasses digital recording of conditional payments and compliances, to a medium level incorporating workflow management systems and APIs. The ultimate moonshot solution integrates artificial intelligence or machine learning models, smart devices, and Internet-of-Things (IoT) to revolutionize the public finance landscape.

White paper: Enabling and financing locally-led adaptation

Posted on by Saumya Dixit

The world spends roughly USD 30 billion on climate adaptation annually. However, this represents just 10% of the USD 387 billion needed each year. Moreover, a limited proportion of this funding actually reaches developing countries and finances locally-led initiatives.

This disparity between current funding levels and the projected costs underscores the urgent need for locally-led adaptation to climate change. This localized approach captures the immediacy of climate change impacts and ensures strategies resonate with the community’s lived experiences.

However, little has been done to use digital technologies to scale them or involve the private sector in financing those initiatives. Read on to discover how we can bridge the gap in climate adaptation funding and empower communities to tackle climate change.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on SHG Bank Linkage

Posted on by Deepesh Singh

The SHG Bank Linkage FAQs booklet serves as a comprehensive guide for Self-Help Group (SHG) members, organizational staff, and banking officials engaged in the SHG bank linkage process. This informative resource addresses a myriad of questions and concerns related to the SHG bank linkage program, ensuring clarity and understanding among all stakeholders.

The booklet is meticulously structured to provide detailed insights into the SHG bank linkage through clear and precise answers. To bolster its credibility and relevance, the booklet incorporates references to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circulars and National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) guidelines. By aligning with these authoritative sources, the FAQs booklet ensures that the information is in accordance with the regulatory framework and best practices endorsed by these esteemed institutions.

Furthermore, the booklet is available in both English and Hindi versions, facilitating ease of understanding for diverse stakeholders. Additionally, hyperlinks to the referenced RBI circulars and NRLM guidelines are thoughtfully embedded beneath each answer, enabling stakeholders to seamlessly access the source documents with a single click.

Through the delivery of clear and concise answers, the booklet aims to foster a heightened understanding of SHG bank linkage procedures, thereby facilitating smoother interactions between SHG members, organizational staff, and bank officials. This resource significantly contributes to the efficacy of the SHG bank linkage program, promoting financial inclusion and empowerment at the grassroots level.

White paper: Elevating the voices of affected people in climate adaptation

Posted on by Deepesh Singh

By 2030, half of the global population could be exposed to the harsh realities of heatwaves, droughts, and floods. This is a direct consequence of an increase in Earth’s temperature by 1.5C above preindustrial levels. Vulnerable communities bear the brunt of these climate shocks and stresses. It affects their homes, health, livelihoods, and access to essential services.

Research in various sectors, such as finance, agriculture, health, and food security, has shed light on how financial services can boost the resilience of those most affected by climate change. However, very few studies directly incorporate the affected individuals’ perspectives, which poses a significant challenge. Without their perspectives, we risk oversimplification of their experiences with climate events and overlook existing community resilience efforts. The ripple effect of climate shocks further complicates matters. This emphasizes the need for holistic solutions that consider the multifaceted impacts on vulnerable populations. Rushed efforts to create targeted interventions may overlook these complexities, which can result in ineffective outcomes.

We must amplify the voices of vulnerable populations and understand their experiences firsthand to address their challenges. Only then can we develop holistic, community-driven solutions that recognize the multidimensional impacts of climate change and foster genuine resilience.

Our whitepaper with CGAP and CIFAR Alliance provides more information on elevating the voices of affected people in climate adaptation.

Engendering digital connectivity: Is women’s exclusion in design the missing piece to gender digital inclusion? (Part 1)

Posted on by Saumya Dixit

The gaping gender digital divide

Digital connectivity is no longer a luxury but essential to connect with the external world. However, access to the digital world and its sustained use are restricted and often gendered. This is revealed in the stark gendered differences in digital access and participation, where women in LMICs are 7% less likely to own a mobile phone and 19% less likely to use the Internet than men, resulting in 310 million fewer women using the Internet than men. This gendered digital exclusion has cost countries USD 1 trillion in GDP, deprived women of digital possibilities, and deepened socioeconomic and gendered inequalities.

Even when women own mobile phones, their usage differs from that of men. This difference arises from their limited range of use of mobile technologies. In Senegal, while 57% of women use mobile internet users, only 17% perform three or more mobile internet use cases daily. In India, only 18% of women perform three mobile internet use cases, compared to 30% of men.

The scarcity of digital use cases for women

Women frequently encounter challenges when they attempt to access the same digital services as men. In India, women use only 4.3 mobile use cases on average, whereas men use 6.3. This disparity is due to women’s limited digital skills, the lack of relevant available functions, and insufficient use cases tailored to women’s specific needs.

The challenge of limited use cases is evident from the limited phone usage despite the distribution of free smartphones to women in Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and India. In these instances, the absence of digital literacy and limited use cases for such phones did not translate into women’s use of free phones. The low usage also suggests that mobile phone ownership among very poor people can be precarious. They may encounter other challenges in using these devices effectively to enhance use cases, particularly when these phones are lost, broken, or stolen, and when economic externalities hamper use cases among women.

Digital products and services are often tailored to suit the preferences and needs of the default users, who are most likely male, which inadvertently neglects the diverse experiences of women. In the health sector, for example, women often experience limited digital use cases due to the underrepresentation of their health issues in digital innovations. A well-known example of this was seen when Apple’s Health App launched in 2014. The app was equipped with numerous features to help users track various aspects of their health and fitness. Yet, notably absent was the option for women to track their menstrual cycles. Similarly, other health-related digital tools and platforms have been designed primarily from a male perspective, which overlook women’s unique health concerns and needs.

Where do these gender disparities arise?

Gender biases in AI have roots in the design stage, the training of datasets, or via AI-generated decision-making. Existing sex-disaggregated data gaps aggravate these biases. Facial recognition software exhibited higher accuracy on male and lighter faces but had significant challenges with darker-skinned women and experienced error rates as high as 34.7%. Similarly, AI tools, such as ChatGPT reinforce gender biases and stereotypes. The AI tool offered advice on maintaining a work-life balance and spending quality time with their families exclusively to men and neglected to extend this guidance to women. Similarly, voice recognition systems perform better with male voices and often struggle to recognize female voices accurately.

The Unicode Consortium designed emoji characters of police officers and athletes predominantly as male professionals despite having a 70% female user base. Similarly, women’s representation in video games is also stereotyped, which results from a significant gender imbalance in creative development that directly influences the content and leads to the portrayal of negative and stereotypical female characters.

Men as the default users

A fundamental reason for missing use cases for women is the predominant role of men in designing digital spaces. Men often create digital platforms for male users based on their own experiences and perspectives and inadvertently exclude women’s needs and experiences. They do not consider women’s barriers in accessing digital products, including the type of devices and data packs, digital literacy, and social norms. Such products fail to address women’s content needs, interests, and perceptions.

Furthermore, design limitations of digital products and platforms neglect the female experience. Phones and software are not designed intuitively for low-literacy populations, which mainly comprise women, especially in least developed countries and developing nations. Additionally, women have shared access to phones or cheaper devices with fewer features, including limited RAM, which prevents them from using digital applications.

A large gap persists in data on women in healthcare innovation. Healthcare-related AI systems are driven mainly by men and operate on statistics skewed toward men. This gender gap has led to a lack of women-specific innovations and AI systems. Such systems are 50% more likely to misdiagnose heart attacks in women due to underrepresented physiological indicators, which leads to fewer use cases. This is because fewer women design these AIs, not because fewer women have heart attacks.

The lack of range of data disaggregated by age, sex, income, location, and education on user behaviors leads to design oversights, especially for various women’s segments. This data gap leads to a lack of digital products tailored specifically for women.

MSC’s DEBIT framework helps us understand use cases better by assessing the choice of channels by individuals through five factors: Diffidence, Education, Bias, Investment, and Trust. This perception of gain or loss helps individuals choose their transaction channel, which determines if they will use a digital channel. The DEBIT framework study revealed that the user experienced the least perceived loss (DEBIT) when she transacted at phygital channels and the highest perceived loss at digital channels.

Another MSC study showed a significant gender gap in the usage of digital financial services among male and female garment workers due to limited use cases for women. While 91% of men surveyed visit ATMs alone, less than half of women do the same. This is because women preferred informal financial channels that fulfilled their credit needs and did not see much use in digital financial channels. Women’s uptake of digital products and services remains low due to the lack of compelling use cases, lack of trust, and low confidence in the digital ecosystem.

Digital service providers do not consider gender norms and gender roles or illiterate, innumerate people—the oral segments—when they design new digital products and services, which significantly diminishes the use cases. In the context of financial services, many women do not use advanced use cases even with a regular inflow of cash. This is because of product design challenges and limited communication of the value of these products. All these suggest that provisions or designs that can enhance the use cases of a digital product or service for women will be valuable for its uptake.

Product designs that grant users more control and ensure privacy can also enhance use cases. Even the size of phones, as with most gender-neutral products, are often tailored to the average male hand, which poses usability challenges for women. This is evident in women’s discomfort while they hold and use larger smartphones with one hand, especially for tasks, such as taking photos.

We wonder why is the digital world not gender intentional. We also deliberate on how we can make the digital world gender intentional and discuss women’s roles in this endeavor. Please read the second part of this series, where we unpack this question.

AgriStack – A DPI for farmers and the agriculture ecosystem

Posted on by Deepesh Singh

“AgriStack” is being developed as a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) that consists of registries, datasets, APIs, and IT Systems. It is enabled by a common set of policies, standards, and guidelines that make agricultural data accessible to the public and private sectors for the creation of services and solutions. The initiative is designed with a clear vision – to simplify farmers’ access to affordable credit, high-quality farm inputs, personalized advisories, and convenient market linkages. It also aims to streamline government planning and implementation of farmer-centric benefit schemes.

In addition, there are state-level initiatives such as the Digital Farmer Services (DFS) platform in Bihar. The DFS will serve as a one-stop solution for Bihar’s small-scale producers (SSPs) to cater to their needs and aspirations through a unified digital platform. It will provide unified and seamless access to services, such as government programs, agriculture advisories, financial services, and market linkages.

It will be built upon the existing state databases and will also be integrated with private service providers for additional capabilities and specialized services.