AYA PAY and KBZPay Utilise Mobile Wallet Technology to Improve Access to Maternal and Child Nutrition

AYA PAY and KBZPay today announced a collaboration to disburse funds to beneficiaries of the Maternal and Child Cash Transfer (MCCT) project across Ayeyarwady Region and Shan State starting from September 2020.

The MCCT project is being implemented by the Department of Social Welfare under the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. Photo Source https://www.kbzpay.com

With the aim of reducing childhood stunting, the MCCT project will increase the utilization of nutrition services and improve key nutrition behaviors. As part of the project, a cash transfer program will support mothers whose children are in the first 1,000 days of their lives. MCCT beneficiaries will receive cash transfers of MMK 15,000 per month, with payments made every three months from the start of pregnancy until their child’s second birthday. The cash transfers ensure that pregnant mothers and mothers with young children can afford to purchase nutritious foods and have access to antenatal and postnatal care.

Since 2017, the MCCT project has been progressively rolled out in Chin, Rakhine, Kayah and Kayin states under a physical cash delivery method to beneficiaries which has been prone to inefficiencies. In order to prevent cash disbursement delays and to leverage industry-leading mobile wallet technology, AYA PAY and KBZPay have been appointed to facilitate digital cash transfers to beneficiaries in Ayeyarwady Region and Shan State. Photo Source https://www.kbzpay.com

To formalize the MCCT cash transfer program rollout with AYA PAY and KBZPay, the Department of Social Welfare held a signing ceremony on Thursday, 13 August 2020 at the M Gallery Hotel, Nay Pyi Taw.

In attendance at the signing ceremony was Dr. San San Aye, Director General, Department of Social Welfare, who said, “The MCCT program will benefit pregnant and lactating women, infants and young children up to age two, and their families and communities in prioritized nutritionally vulnerable geographic areas. In most cases, MCCT beneficiaries are unbanked and financially underserved. Therefore, we decided to appoint AYA PAY and KBZPay to facilitate digital cash transfers to beneficiaries in a modern, reliable, cost-effective, and secure way. In addition to ensuring transparency, speed, accuracy, and efficacy for the MCCT project, AYA PAY, and KBZPay will also drive financial inclusion as beneficiaries will get to access financial services through their mobile wallets.” Photo Source https://www.kbzpay.com

It is estimated that 483,000 beneficiary households in Ayeyarwady Region and 487,000 beneficiary households in Shan State would be eligible to receive at least one cash transfer in the course of the initial four years of program implementation if the program were to reach all areas of the region and state. It is also expected that at least 80 percent of the eligible population in Ayeyarwady Region and 60 percent in Shan State will be able to access the cash transfers.

Beneficiaries of the MCCT cash transfer program are required to submit their pregnancy verification from a hospital or clinic. The applications are processed by the Department of Social Welfare before data about the beneficiaries are included in the MCCT management information system which is linked to AYA PAY and KBZPay for disbursement of the cash transfers.