Digital financial services leader PayMaya was tapped by Oxfam to deliver pre-emptive cash aid to residents of Tamontaka Villages 1-5 in Cotabato City after flood waters in the area reached the threshold for activation of the early warning system.
Over 950 residents of Tamontaka received financial assistance worth P2,000 in their Inclusive and Affordable Financial Facilities for Resilient and Developed Filipinos Project (iAFFORD) card powered by PayMaya to help them prepare ahead of any possible disaster in their area due to the heavy floods.
The financial assistance was under Oxfam’s Building Resilient, Adaptive and Disaster Ready Communities program and Strengthening Urban Preparedness through Scaling Up of Pre-emptive Action and Emergency Response in Cities of Cotabato and Kidapawan Projects.
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Oxfam, together with PayMaya Philippines, the People’s Disaster Risk Reduction Network (PDRRN), PLAN International, Global Parametrics, and the Local Government of Salcedo, Eastern Samar have been working together for the implementation of the B-READY Program.
Under the B-READY program, smart data is used for the community’s early warning system. Even before a typhoon strikes, digital cash transfers are disbursed straight to the PayMaya accounts of identified beneficiaries, enabling them to better prepare. Beneficiaries use the funds to buy essentials at local PayMaya QR and card-enabled merchants or for telco load and utility bills via the PayMaya app. They can also cash out funds through Smart Padala outlets in their communities.
“Digital cash transfer has proven to be the fastest way to deliver humanitarian and financial assistance to the most vulnerable. And PayMaya is glad to be a platform for Oxfam to deliver immediate cash aid to the residents of Tamontaka to help them make the necessary preparations ahead of the disaster,” said Shailesh Baidwan, president, PayMaya.
PayMaya and Oxfam have been working together since 2018 to increase community resilience in areas prone to disasters by providing financial assistance via the PayMaya e-wallet and Smart Padala outlets. At the height of the pandemic in 2020, Oxfam expanded its partnership with PayMaya enabling beneficiaries to receive donations via the PayMaya donation site, PayMaya QR, and PayMaya app.