Attachments
Background
WFP supports the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) to implement the National Poverty Targeting Programme (NPTP), Lebanon’s first targeted social safety net programme assisting Lebanese living in extreme poverty.
NPTP cash assistance is delivered through e-cards issued by Banque Libano-Francaise (BLF), WFP’s financial service provider. Beneficiaries are able to redeem assistance at their convenience through withdrawal from BLF ATMs and/or at any shop equipped with a Point of Sale (POS) across the country, including WFP-contracted shops, and now at designated agents of local Money Transfer Operators (MTOs). This helps the most vulnerable Lebanese families meet their food and essential needs.
Cash Assistance in a Volatile Context - Challenges to Redeem
As a result of the economic crisis, redemption from ATMs was found not equally accessible to all NPTP beneficiary households. De facto capital controls and banking restrictions put in place at the start of the economic crisis in Lebanon have meant that beneficiaries are limited to using only the FSP’s ATMs instead of the entire network of ATMs that were available prior to October 2019. The resulting uneven distribution of ATMs across the country has led to additional travel time, cost, and crowding for NPTP beneficiaries redeeming their monthly assistance. Based on WFP post distribution monitoring and prior to corrective action, an estimated 20% of NPTP beneficiaries travel more than 50 km to redeem their assistance with an average of 41 minutes and LBP 113,000 in transportation cost to reach the ATM.
WFP implemented several measures in response to these challenges. Additional ATMs were installed by the FSP, with 71 of 200 BLF ATMs now delivering USD, loading of e-cards is staggered over 10 days to reduce crowds, and WFP is working with the FSP to replenish the ATMs more frequently. While this has eased some of the challenges with ATM redemption, in order to ensure all beneficiaries have safe and dignified access to assistance, WFP together with the MoSA are expanding NPTP redemption options.