Supporting Digital Payments in Cash Programming - Sudan

This report, commissioned by FSD Africa and conducted by Strategic Impact Advisors (SIA), examines the challenges and opportunities for implementing digital financial services (DFS) for humanitarian cash transfers in Sudan. It analyzes both the supply side (financial institutions, MNOs, and fintechs) and the demand side (beneficiaries in White Nile and West Darfur), providing recommendations to improve digital readiness and infrastructure to support displaced populations.

• Sudan's financial landscape is heavily cash-based, with only 15% of adults (15+) holding an account at a financial institution as of 2014. A significant volume of funds is moved through informal 'credit transfer' mechanisms, where airtime is used as a proxy for money and converted to cash by resellers.
• The adoption of formal mobile money is hindered by the high commissions airtime resellers earn from informal credit transfers, which range from 10-15% in large cities to 20-50% in rural areas. This creates a negative economic incentive for agents to transition to formal DFS.
• There is a significant gap in the recognition of refugee identity documents for financial services. Despite a 2019 Central Bank of Sudan decree stating the refugee ID card is a KYC document, most financial institutions have been slow to adapt their procedures to accept it.
• Beneficiary segmentation in White Nile and West Darfur reveals that 'Segment 3'—those who own a phone but only use basic functions—is the largest group. A digital gender divide exists, with men being 2 to 3 times more likely than women to be in the most digitally ready segment (Segment 4).
• The primary barriers to phone ownership for the least digitally ready populations (Segments 1 and 2) are the cost of handsets and airtime, alongside limited network coverage. For those in Segment 3, the most significant barrier to using mobile internet is a lack of knowledge on how to use it.
• Supply-side actors face multiple systemic challenges, including political uncertainty, high regulatory costs for licenses, and a reliance on the national switch (EBS), which represents a single point of failure for many financial service providers.
• The Central Bank of Sudan's prescribed pricing guidelines and price ceilings for the EBS can result in minimal or nonexistent margins for payment products, reducing the economic incentive for providers to invest in service expansion.
• Humanitarian organizations are encouraged to support the transition to formal DFS by providing FSPs with detailed projected transfer numbers to demonstrate revenue potential and by advocating for clearer regulatory guidance on refugee access to mobile wallets.

APA

FSD Africa (2022). Supporting Digital Payments in Cash Programming - Sudan. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/22-12-09-Supporting-Digital-Payments-in-Cash-Sudan-Final_v2-KW-2.pdf

Chicago

FSD Africa. Supporting Digital Payments in Cash Programming - Sudan. 2022. https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/22-12-09-Supporting-Digital-Payments-in-Cash-Sudan-Final_v2-KW-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=FSD Africa |title=Supporting Digital Payments in Cash Programming - Sudan |date=August 2022 |url=https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/22-12-09-Supporting-Digital-Payments-in-Cash-Sudan-Final_v2-KW-2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fsdafrica2022supporting, author = {{FSD Africa}}, title = {{Supporting Digital Payments in Cash Programming - Sudan}}, institution = {FSD Africa}, year = {2022}, month = aug, url = {https://fsdafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/22-12-09-Supporting-Digital-Payments-in-Cash-Sudan-Final_v2-KW-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }