Ehsaas Program introduces supplementary payment solution for beneficiaries

Ehsaas has introduced a supplementary payment solution to facilitate beneficiaries of Ehsaas Emergency Cash who are eligible but were facing problems in withdrawing money owing to defying biometric identification.

The supplementary solution has done away with the biometric verification of fingerprints from NADARA offices. Now, beneficiaries with this issue will be paid exclusively in the designated bank branches of partner banks without biometric verification. Two banks are partnering with Ehsaas for emergency cash transfers- Habib Bank Limited is serving in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan and Bank Alfalah across KP, GB and AJK.

Ehsaas Program introduces a supplementary payment solution for beneficiaries

According to Ehsaas Emergency Cash distribution process, the biometric verification of thumb or finger impressions was previously mandatory to collect the cash handout being disbursed to the low-income strata.

Under the newly introduced supplementary solution, Ehsaas will send out a new payment SMS to qualified beneficiaries through 8171 service. The message will signify the name and CNIC number of beneficiaries, date of payment and name of designated bank along with address of bank branch to withdraw money. This process has already been kicked off and SMS messages are being sent in a phased manner to all beneficiaries whose biometric verification was defective. To ensure maximum facilitation, Ehsaas has maintained lists of all beneficiaries to be facilitated through bank branches.  The most important thing is that beneficiaries will have to carry their original CNIC and mobile phone with a message of payment on it to collect one-time cash assistance from banks.

“Direct payments through branches of partner banks is a key facet of the Ehsaas innovative disbursement solution that has been built to support only those who had difficulty with fingerprints verification for emergency cash withdrawals”, reiterated Dr. Sania Nishtar, PM’s Special Assistant on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation. She further added, “All people on the eligibility list of Ehsaas with biometric challenges will be receiving new disbursement messages from 8171 service and the process is being completed nationwide in several stages to avoid overcrowding at bank branches. Banks have to ensure all necessary precautionary measures to avoid the spread of the COVID-19.”

Pakistan’s COVID-19 safety net response, Ehsaas Emergency Cash, has disbursed more than 117.49 billion Pakistani Rupees among 96.63 million vulnerable families. Recently, Ehsaas has commenced distribution of emergency cash to daily wage earners, pie rate workers, labourers, and small shopkeepers across North and South Waziristan areas of KP.