Call for Expression of Interests:

Electronic-transfers solutions for Cash-Based Interventions for the refugee Crisis Response in Greece

Submitting an application:

Potential applicants are asked to fill in and submit the standard application form attached.

Applications must be sent by Friday March 25 COB to and with cc to

Applicant shortlisted will receive a notice by March 31.

For any question, please contact

1. Background information

1.1 Summary of Product Needs

Caritas intends to utilize electronic transfer (e-transfer) solutions to distribute humanitarian assistance to program participants in Greece. By Caritas’ definition:

  • CBI refers to all programs where cash (or vouchers for goods or services) is directly provided to beneficiaries. In the context of humanitarian assistance the term is used to refer to the provision of cash or vouchers given to individuals, household or community recipients; not to governments or other state actors. CBI covers all modalities of cash- based assistance, including vouchers. This excludes remittances and microfinance in humanitarian interventions (although microfinance and money transfer institutions may be used for the actual delivery of cash). The term can be used interchangeably with Cash Based Transfers and Cash Transfer Programming
  • an e-transfer solutions allow a digital transfer of money or vouchers from the implementing agency to a program participant. E-transfers provide access to cash, goods and/or services through mobile devices, electronic vouchers, or cards (e.g., prepaid, ATM, credit or debit cards). E-transfer is an umbrella term for e-cash and e-vouchers systems.

E-transfer should at a minimum:

  • Enable cash or voucher distribution to program participants.
  • Enable transactions between program participants and approved merchants, permitting the delivery of cash to program participants and or exchange of electronic vouchers for locally available goods, according to program rules. Cash should be able to be delivered in the

Commonly Transactional Currency of country of implementation. Vouchers should be able to be denominated in specific items, baskets, or value.

  • Enable verification of merchant and program participant identities
  • Provide access to a centralized management platform that supports Caritas administration of cash and/or voucher programs.

Caritas will accept applications for the most suitable hardware and transaction process to be used by program participants and local merchants for cash delivery and/or voucher redemption. This could include, but is not limited to

  • 4 parties payment models, 3 parties payments models, mobile money payment models, close loop or open loop
  • Cards with magnetic strips or chips redeemed at Point of Sale devices, voucher codes redeemed through SMS or USSD messages, or smartphone applications that scan barcodes or accept voucher codes. Applicants must include a centralized management platform that is accessible online and provides easy and quick access to relevant transaction data at minimum in English

Application is opened both for Financial Service Providers and non-Financial Service providers, including Aggregators. An Aggregator is an entity that consolidates financial transactions for processing, such as providing a single platform to execute payments via multiple FSPs

Estimated programmatic needs are identified are as follow:

Caritas Hellas / Caritas Athens
Transition to CBI system of existing transfer programs or new programs integrating CBI / New programs / New programs
Experience / Voucher issues by supermarket at national level, reimbursement against receipt ( medical, housing) / Voucher issues by supermarket (under Caritas Hellas), reimbursement against receipt (medical, housing)
How many projects CBI in pipeline / Emergency appeal / START II
Donors / Caritas international (CARITAS, Germany, …) / START fund
Project duration / 6 months / 3 months
Project locations / Plan A: sites (Athens metropolitan area or national, location tbd)+ refugee center
Plan B: refugee center in Athens depending of humanitarian access, needs, Caritas capacity to respond inrefugee/migrant sites / Plan A : refugee/migrant sites in Athens metropolitan area (location tbd) + refugee center Plan B: day center in Athens depending of humanitarian access, needs, Caritas capacity to respond inrefugee/migrant sitesin Athens metropolitan area
Estimated # of beneficiaries / 3500-4000 / 800-1000
Total estimated euro amount of transfer / 250K-350K / 70K-80K
Estimated euro amount/transfer / 90/individuals 250/families (might change once the monthly expenditure basket will be updated) / 90/individuals 250/families
(might change once the monthly expenditure basket will be updated)
Targeting / Cover blanket or vulnerability criteria / Cover blanket or vulnerability criteria
Estimated project start date / End of April 2016 / Mid-April 2016
Transfer mechanism / Unconditional cash transfer in refugee/migrant camp site and day center, potential conditional and/or restricted cash/voucher / Unconditional cash transfer in refugee/migrant site and day center, potential conditional/restricted cash/voucher
Frequency of transfer / one off transfer over course of project with possibility of top off / one off transfer over the course of the project with possibility of top off
Estimated number of vendors(#) / tbd, but if needed please indicate actual # of vendors/POS and disaggregate by geographical location / tbd, but if needed please indicate actual # of vendors/POS and disaggregate by geographical location

1.3 Implementation Environment

Connectivity: Mobile networks are available in the vast majority of program locations; however we cannot guarantee continuous coverage at the point of transaction redemption. For those reasons, we seek solutions that do not rely exclusively on continuous mobile network connectivity.

Program participant literacy and numeracy: Some of beneficiaries using the electronic transfer system will have low to high literacy and numeracy skills and language could be a barrier. Merchant have basic to high literacy and numeracy skills. We seek solutions that are accessible to vulnerable populations with low literacy and numeracy skills, and limited experience with mobile and other technologies. However, we recognize that some vulnerable program participants may require additional assistance to complete any transaction. We seek solutions that offer an appropriate balance between accessibility for vulnerable users while still offering efficiency and transparency gains.

Security: Many implementation areas are secure and our field users (program participants and merchants), however the system should not expose more than usual field users to potential risks.

Protection of program participant is extremely and solutions will also need to comply with financial regulations in area of interventions and meet donors’ requirements. Applicants should demonstrate attention to securely transmitting, processing and storing personal information.

2. Minimum Specifications

Qualified e-transfer systems shall meet the following requirements:

2.1 Program Set-up Requirements

  • The system supports registration of individual program participants and merchants (or communicates with other systems that can manage this information).
  • The system or provider support data migration/export ability, e.g. it will accept uploads of spreadsheets containing program participant and merchant profile data, or offer mechanisms to efficiently identify and manage system user profiles (staff, program participants and merchants).
  • The system will allow Caritas to add or remove additional program participant or merchant profiles throughout the program cycle
  • The system must allow changes and edits by Caritas staff to program participant and merchant profiles (to add missing data, correct incorrectly entered data, etc.)
  • In case of voucher, the system must support definition of voucher content (the value and validity period of each voucher as well will be able to define allowable items or restrict commodities.
  • In case of voucher, the system must support batch distribution of vouchers to program participants, including the ability to assign different types of vouchers to program participants based on attributes.
  • The system must track voucher/cash distribution to participants.
  • All funds will be recorded and tracked in the Commonly Transactional Currency identified for Greece.
  • The management platform must be available in English.

2.2 Communication Requirements

  • Error messaging must be provided when transactions fail to process. Error messaging should be visible to the program participant and merchant and should include reasons for failure and suggested remedy. Errors should also be logged in the management platform. Specific handling of transaction errors and error messaging should be described in the application form.
  • Successful transaction messaging should also be provided, which will notify merchants and program participants about successful transactions and remaining account balances.
  • System is capable of providing transaction and account total updates to merchants and program participants upon their request (for program participants account total = currency amount or quantity of goods left, for merchants this account total = total amount sold in established billing cycle).
  • User interface (merchant and/or participant) must be available in English.

2.3 General Transaction Requirements

  • Merchants must have a means to authenticate their identity before executing a program participant transaction (or a session of transactions).
  • Merchants must be provided with means to authenticate the identity of a program participant attempting a transaction.
  • The system must deduct value from program participant accounts following a transaction.
  • Transactions will be identified by a unique transaction number. Failed transactions should also be assigned a transaction number.
  • The system will track transactions by the following attributes: unique transaction number, merchant, service/item, program participant, date, time, and amount of cash delivered, voucher amount/quantity spent and voucher number.
  • The system ensures transactional integrity by (a) precluding possibility of double spending, (b) avoid deducting value from a participant account for a transaction that later fails, (c) avoid reporting a failed transaction that is later reported as successful.

2.4 Reporting Requirements

  • System can provide real-time Dashboard
  • System can provide both raw, unanalyzed data, and structured reports.
  • All reporting should be downloadable in an excel data format that can be sorted and analyzed by Caritas.
  • Reporting can be provided through pre-defined scheduled reports and on demand reports.
  • Scheduled reports will have defined formats, and will be sent to Caritas according to a defined timetable.
  • On demand reports will have defined formats and will be available on request.
  • Applications should indicate the specific types of reports that are available.

2.5Data protection and management requirements

The administrative cash and voucher management system must be accessible by a range of Caritas staff members. Access management and authentication is required:

  • Staff members granted access will be assigned a user ID, password and access level based on their approval authority. The system should track and capture Caritas user profile information (including user id) for all system interactions.
  • This information must be able to show which Caritas user completed actions within the system (including both file uploading and direct interaction with the system to upload and edit specific records).
  • Differing levels of access and permissions is desired. An example of desired division of responsibilities and access is provided below. System should enable a two stage process for disbursing credit to program participants, including a role for both the preparer and approver.
  • Preparer: enter/uploads: program participant, merchant and voucher data. reviews: program participant data
  • Approver - enters/uploads: Caritas user profiles (viewers, preparers, additional approvers). reviews: merchant, voucher, and deployment data
  • Viewer: no enter/upload or reviewer permissions, but can view system data and generate reports.

As service provider and/or partner will have potentially access to data collected and managed, the system should allowed to compartmentalize information available.

The system is required to encrypt sensitive data collected, communicated and stored on device and platform and when communicated between devices and/or platforms.

All data entered in the system must remain the property of Caritas and any uses of this data beyond program requirements must be authorized by Caritas.

2.6 Connectivity and Durability Requirements

As stated in Section 1.3, transaction must be able to operate in environments where a mobile network is sometime not continuous. Proposed transactions should not require consistent mobile network availability. The hardware must be durable enough to endure moderate amounts of humidity, heat and dust.

2.7 Program Requirements to be handled outside the system

Cash reconciliation or the process of making payments to the merchants (although the system must generate transaction reports that will be used to calculate reimbursement amounts to each participating merchant).

If e-voucher, negative restrictions forbidding use for designated products (i.e. alcohol). Negative restrictions will be handled off-line and will be Caritas’ responsibility to enforce.

3. Desired Additional Features

3.1 Program Set-up Desired Features

System allows for multiple (rounds of) transfers to registered program participants.

In programs with multiple rounds of transfers, enable Caritas staff to set a maximum program participant stored value.

System supports multiple wallets for different allocations (by different agencies or donors)

Provider can conduct in-person training for field staff (and/or vendors)

If participant cards are part of the system architecture, these can be customized and printed in country.

3.2 Communication Desired Features

Availability of platform and user interface in languages beyond English, including Greek, Farsi and Arabic.

3.3 General Transaction Desired Features

System has the ability to prevent transactions beyond the value allocated to the program participant conducting the transaction (including when the transaction is taking place in an environment without internet/network connectivity).

System enables merchants to print transaction receipts.

3.4 Reporting Desired Features

Near real-time reporting/tracking of transfer status, including calculation of total issued value and value remaining in the system.

Solutions that enable Caritas staff to directly generate system reports (instead of channeling this request through service providers).

Ability to generate transaction listing by merchant (in addition to by program participant and overall).

3.7 Ability to link to e-cash systems

As Caritas implements both voucher and cash transfer programming, systems that are interoperable with electronic cash or e-cash systems.