Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 48 | Page 48

COUNTRY FOCUS: IRAQ Refugees in Iraq are now able to cash-out their financial assistance via iris identification to ensure the highest level of protection against fraud for the beneficiaries of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The 100% accurate solution removes risks, increases beneficiary privacy, improves speed and ultimately ensures that those who need it receive aid faster and in a more secure way. ///////////////// Refugees in Iraq benefit from iris identification technology R efugees in Iraq are able to cash- out their financial assistance via iris identification following the introduction of an innovative EyePay Cash platform from Zain Cash. Zain Cash is an award-winning mobile wallet, money transfer, electronic bill payment and funds disbursement service in Iraq, and is operated by the Zain Group, a leading mobile telecom innovator in eight markets across the Middle East and Africa. The programme has been developed by Zain Cash in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and IrisGuard, a UK-based 48 INTELLIGENTCIO electronic payment solutions company and a leading supplier of end-to-end iris recognition biometric technology, to ensure the highest level of protection against fraud and improved accountability in transferring cash assistance to the beneficiaries of UNHCR. Currently over 120,000 vulnerable families in Iraq and approximately 30,000 refugees in the country receive cash support via UNHCR, with the agency disbursing over US$60 million through its partners in 2018 alone. The introduction of iris technology for payment of cash assistance will improve identification accuracy, efficiency and speed as it is the most accurate, fast and secure biometric personal identifier available today. Only the entitled refugee will be able to cash-out without any need for any other identification tools, it massively reduces fraud and as such, the much-needed aid is provided to those who it is intended for. It is worth mentioning that UNHCR has in place a high level of security and encryption for its registration data. A streamlined disbursement process will significantly aid UNHCR and other humanitarian organisations in Iraq who are targeting more than one million displaced www.intelligentcio.com