CC.3.8 Number of women WFP has transferred cash to, into an account in their name, disaggregated by account type (bank, mobile money, others)

CC.3.8 Number of women WFP has transferred cash to, into an account in their name, disaggregated by account type (bank, mobile money, others)

VERSION

V1.0 - 2026.03 — NEW

INDICATOR CODE

CC.3.8

TECHNICAL OWNER

GPI Unit

INDICATOR TYPE

Country Level Cross-cutting Indicator

Priority Area: Empowering women and girls, and advancing equality

INDICATOR CLASSIFICATION

Mandatory

INDICATOR SCOPE

Programme specific

APPLICABILITY

This indicator is applicable at CSP activity level:

This indicator is applicable for all CBT operations that transfer money to accounts owned by women and men themselves (i.e. ‘individual-owned accounts’ often referred to as ‘beneficiary-owned accounts’).

Note: This indicator is not applicable to (and therefore exempt in the COMET logframe) CBT operations that send money to people through WFP/partner-owned bank or WFP/partner owned mobile money accounts, nor through modalities for which no financial accounts are opened, like cash in hand or voucher modalities, i.e. commodity vouchers, value vouchers, or value voucher transfers for services are not required to report this indicator.

UNIT OF MEASUREMENT & ANALYSIS

Number (absolute)

DEFINITION

This indicator counts the number of Tier 1 direct female cash recipients that receive money on their own bank, mobile money or other financial account.

Below are some key terms for this indicator:

Direct cash transfer recipients: This indicator focuses on women who are direct recipients of the unrestricted cash transfer on their own account as opposed to indirect recipients impacted by the cash transfer.

Unrestricted cash: Cash transfers are unrestricted if recipients have no programmed limitations on how they use the transfer. The recipient can spend the money as they deem appropriate e.g., to purchase food, pay rent, save or repay loans at any location and when they desire to do so.

Account ownership: An individual-owned account is an account that is owned and managed fully by the person who holds it, not by WFP or another entity. It is an account in the name of the assisted person, provided by a financial institution, such as a bank, credit union, microfinance institution, or post office that falls under prudential regulation by a government body, or a mobile money provider. People we assist have an independent contractual relationship with the financial service provider, which establishes their rights as account holders. Any money on the account (including WFP cash transfers) as well as data associated with the account belongs to the individual, not WFP, and the account remains open regardless and independently from the duration of the cash programme. This is different to a WFP/partner-owned account, where WFP or a partner owns and manages the account on behalf of the individual.

Account type: WFP differentiates between 3 types of accounts through which it sends money to assisted people: bank account, mobile money account and other financial institution account. Other financial institution accounts are accounts at credit unions, microfinance institutions, or post offices that fall under prudential regulation by a government body.

Digital financial inclusion (DFI): DFI is the access to and use of affordable formal digital financial products and services (e.g. payments, savings, loans, insurance) suited to people’s various needs. People should feel comfortable using these products and trust their capabilities to manage their own finances. Ultimately, digital financial inclusion should increase people’s financial health and resilience.

RATIONALE

Enabling Digital Financial Inclusion (DFI) and Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) through cash transfers is a top priority for WFP as outlined in WFP Policy on Cash. Women’s account ownership is a concrete measurable proxy for women’s basic financial inclusion. Account ownership is one of the first steps which enables people to partake in an increasingly digital financial ecosystem. Having sex-disaggregated data on account ownership enables an understanding of the gender gaps in account ownership.

DATA COLLECTION TOOL

Data is collected from beneficiary registration and beneficiary payment lists, which includes sex disaggregated data.

Reporting intervals and formats should be included in all field-level agreements, memoranda of understanding and other partnership agreements.

Administrative programme data collected through WFP corporate systems (e.g. COMET) and implementing partner reporting, including:

1. Beneficiary registration databases, which capture sex-disaggregated beneficiary information and account ownership details;

2. Payment and reconciliation lists generated by Financial Service Providers (FSPs), disaggregated by sex and account type;

3. Partner monthly CBT reports validated by WFP COs prior to entry into corporate systems.

Where applicable, account type and ownership information are verified during registration, enrolment or payment verification processes.

SAMPLING REQUIREMENTS

This indicator is based on census data and does not require sampling.

All direct cash transfer recipients receiving unrestricted cash transfers into an individual-owned account during the reporting period must be included in the calculation. Sampling methodologies are not applicable, as the indicator relies on complete administrative payment and registration records.

INDICATOR CALCULATION FOR REPORTING

This indicator is calculated by counting number of women and men WFP transferred money to, into an account in their name (regardless of age group), disaggregated by account type: bank, mobile money or other financial institution account.

Women who are benefiting from the cash transfer as part of the larger household but are not the principal recipient of the money (or the account owners) should not be included in the calculation.

For comparative purposes, the number of women WFP has transferred money to an account in their name will be analyzed as part of the total number of people to whom WFP has sent money to on their own accounts in the specific context.

Testing is currently underway to automate calculation for this indicator.

DATA ENTRY AND DISAGGREGATION IN CORPORATE SYSTEMS

Data is entered at CSP activity level.

To determine the number of women who are the principal recipients of cash transfers into accounts in their own name, we inherently need to know the total number of people receiving transfers into their own accounts; providing both male and female figures enables HQ to calculate the percentage accurately.

BASELINE

The baseline value corresponds to the first year of reporting within the CSP period in which WFP reports cash transfers made into accounts held in women’s own names in the given country context.

For this first reporting year, the “no data” function and its “Not applicable” sub-function should be used to report on the follow-up value.

TARGET SETTING

Annual target:

The indicator has an annual target-setting approach.

• For the first reporting year, the “No data” function should be used, with the “Not applicable” sub‑function, as no previous reference value exists.

• For subsequent reporting years, the actual follow‑up value from the previous year (K‑1) should be used as the target for the reporting year (K).

End of CSP targets:

The end of CSP target is normally set once the baseline has been established.

As annual targets are derived from previous‑year actuals, setting a meaningful multi‑year end‑of‑CSP target is not always feasible at the outset.

Accordingly:

• Country Offices are encouraged to set the end‑of‑CSP target as “Not applicable”, unless a context‑specific numerical target can be credibly defined based on programmatic planning, financial inclusion strategies, or engagement with financial service providers.

• Where such a target exists, it may be set and updated in line with evolving operational realities.

Progress is primarily assessed through year‑on‑year performance, using the annual target‑setting approach based on the previous year’s actual value (K‑1).

In line with the organization’s strategic vision, COs should increasingly be digitizing their transfers and directing the transfers to women owned accounts. The data will be compared overtime, year on year.

FREQUENCY OF DATA COLLECTION

Minimum: Annually

Data will need to be entered in the logframe module as soon as available, based on and in line with completion reports.

INTERPRETATION

For comparative purposes, the number of women WFP has transferred money to on an account in their name will be analyzed as part of the total number of people to whom WFP has sent money to on their own accounts in the specific context. This will enable us to analyse the gender gap in account ownership overtime.

REPORTING EXAMPLE(S)

WFP distributed USD XX million cash transfers in X country in 2026. XX women received money on their [specify type of account] account, out of a total of XX million people who received money on their own account.

INDICATORS COLLECTED & ANALYSED AT THE SAME TIME

The following indicators may be reported along with these indicators:

• T.1 Number of people (Tier 1) receiving direct food/cash-based/commodity vouchers/individual capacity strengthening transfers (disaggregated by sex, age group, residence status, modality and activity)

• T.5 Total amount (USD) of cash, value vouchers and commodity vouchers transferred to people assisted by WFP (disaggregated by modality)

COMPLEMENTARY QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Where feasible, this indicator may be complemented by qualitative research to better understand barriers, enablers and outcomes related to women’s account ownership and use, including focus group discussions and key informant interviews exploring women’s experiences with account opening, usage and control over cash.

DECISIONS DATA CAN INFORM

This indicator supports evidence-based decision-making related to:

• Design and scale-up of CBT modalities that promote women’s account ownership and control over resources;

• Selection of Financial Service Providers and account types that are more accessible to women;

• Targeting strategies and accompanying measures (e.g. financial literacy, digital literacy, protection mitigation);

• Monitoring progress toward WFP’s corporate commitments on Digital Financial Inclusion and Women’s Economic Empowerment.

VISUALIZATION

Graphs disaggregated by sex and account type.

LIMITATIONS

This indicator measures WFP’s commitment to opening and directing cash transfers to bank, mobile money or other financial institution accounts that are owned by women themselves. Programmatic accompanying measures are needed to further enable digital financial inclusion and financial resilience such as:

• Developing digital and financial literacy skills to ensure that people have the technical capacities, and basic numerical and financial management capabilities to use digital financial products to their benefit;

• Advocating for an inclusive national regulatory environment (e.g., IDs and flexible Know your Customer requirements), as well as national financial inclusion strategies; • Enabling access to affordable financial services and products tailored to people’s needs (such as savings, remittances, credit, insurance etc.);

• Ensuring that people, particularly women, can safely use the digital services they are provided with and understand their rights, and that information on the cash assistance can be accessed and is understood by all;

• Carrying out demand, supply and national regulatory environment analysis to unpack barriers and opportunities to digital financial inclusion;

• Supporting the move from physical cash to digital payments (e.g., link small retailers to the digital financial ecosystem).

FURTHER INFORMATION

WFP Policy on Cash

CASH board

COMET Manual- Inserting monthly CBT data

Digital Financial Inclusion Technical Note

Prioritizing Women Technical Note