Supporting Digital Payments in Cash Programming - Sudan

The report examines the supply and demand sides of digital payments in Sudan to help humanitarian actors like the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) transition from cash to digital transfers. It identifies systemic barriers, including political instability, low digital literacy, and the prevalence of informal airtime credit transfers. The analysis segments beneficiaries by digital readiness, highlighting a significant gender divide and the high cost of handsets as primary barriers. Recommendations include subsidizing devices, providing digital capability training, and advocating for the recognition of refugee IDs for KYC purposes.

• Sudan's financial landscape is heavily cash-based, with only 15% of adults having a financial institution account as of 2014. A prevalent informal system exists where airtime is used as a proxy for money transfers, with resellers charging commissions of 10-15% in cities and 20-50% in rural areas.
• There is a significant digital gender divide in Sudan. Women are more likely to be in the least digitally ready segment (Segment 1) and are 2 to 3 times less likely than men to be in the most digitally ready segment (Segment 4).
• The cost of mobile handsets is the most prominent barrier to digital access across all beneficiary segments in both White Nile and West Darfur. For those without phones, this was the top barrier for both men and women.
• Refugees in White Nile exhibit higher digital readiness than host community members, while in West Darfur, host community populations are more digitally ready than internally displaced persons (IDPs).
• Despite a 2019 Central Bank of Sudan decree, refugee identity cards (COR IDs) are generally not recognized as valid Know Your Customer (KYC) documents by most financial institutions, hindering access to mobile money wallets.
• Digital readiness is strongly correlated with age, with individuals under 30 making up the majority of the most digitally ready segment (Segment 4), particularly in White Nile where they represent 69% of that group.
• Supply-side actors face multiple systemic challenges, including political uncertainty, high regulatory costs for licenses, low internet penetration (30.9% at the start of 2022), and a reliance on the national switch (EBS) which represents a single point of failure.

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} }