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The Opportunities and Challenges of Digitizing Government-to-Person Payments

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  • Leora Klapper
  • Dorothe Singer

Abstract

This paper reviews evidence on the benefits and challenges faced by governments migrating from cash to digital (electronic) government-to-person (G2P) payments. When supported by an appropriate consumer financial protection framework, digital payments enable confidential and convenient financial services, which can be especially important for women. By shifting government wages and social transfers into accounts, governments can lead by example. Digitizing G2P payments has the potential to dramatically reduce costs, increase efficiency and transparency, and help recipients build familiarity with digital payments. Digital wage and social transfer payments can also provide the on-ramp to financial inclusion and in many cases the first account that the recipient has in her own name and under her control. However, digitizing G2P payments is not without its challenges. Most importantly, digitization may require significant up-front investments in building an adequate physical payment infrastructure that is able to process such payments, as well as a financial identification system and a consumer protection and education framework to ensure that recipients have safe, reliable, and affordable access to the digital payment system.

Suggested Citation

  • Leora Klapper & Dorothe Singer, 2017. "The Opportunities and Challenges of Digitizing Government-to-Person Payments," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 32(2), pages 211-226.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:wbrobs:v:32:y:2017:i:2:p:211-226.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/wbro/lkx003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Catia Batista & Pedro C. Vicente, 2013. "Introducing Mobile Money in Rural Mozambique: Evidence from a Field Experiment," Nova SBE Working Paper Series novafrica:wp1301, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Nova School of Business and Economics.
    2. Richard Wright & Erdal Tekin & Volkan Topalli & Chandler McClellan & Timothy Dickinson & Richard Rosenfeld, 2017. "Less Cash, Less Crime: Evidence from the Electronic Benefit Transfer Program," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 60(2), pages 361-383.
    3. Demirguc-Kunt,Asli & Klapper,Leora & Singer,Dorothe & Van Oudheusden,Peter, 2015. "The Global Findex Database 2014 : measuring financial inclusion around the world," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7255, The World Bank.
    4. Catia Batista & Pedro C. Vicente, 2013. "Introducing mobile money in rural Mozambique: Evidence from a field experiment," NOVAFRICA Working Paper Series wp1301, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Nova School of Business and Economics, NOVAFRICA.
    5. Dani Rodrik & Mark Rosenzweig (ed.), 2010. "Handbook of Development Economics," Handbook of Development Economics, Elsevier, edition 1, volume 5, number 6.
    6. Demirguc-Kunt,Asli & Klapper,Leora & Singer,Dorothe, 2017. "Financial inclusion and inclusive growth : a review of recent empirical evidence," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8040, The World Bank.
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    Cited by:

    1. World Bank [WB], 2018. "The Global Findex Database 2017: Measuring Financial Inclusion and the Fintech Revolution," Working Papers id:12735, eSocialSciences.
    2. Rajas Saroy & Sakshi Awasthy & Naveen K. Singh & Sonali M. Adki & Sarat Dhal, 2022. "The Impact Of Covid-19 On Digital Payment Habits Of Indian Households," Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking, Bank Indonesia, vol. 25(Special I), pages 19-42, March.
    3. Jenny Aker & David A Carroll, 2022. "The State of Digital Financial Services in Francophone West Africa," Working Papers hal-03642499, HAL.
    4. Asli Demirguc-Kunt & Leora Klapper & Dorothe Singer & Saniya Ansar & Jake Hess, 2018. "Global Findex Database 2017 [La base de datos Global Findex 2017]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 29510, December.
    5. Omika Bhalla Saluja & Priyanka Singh & Harit Kumar, 2023. "Barriers and interventions on the way to empower women through financial inclusion: a 2 decades systematic review (2000–2020)," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, December.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • O16 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance

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