Challenge

A global payments organization sought to better understand the scale, structure, and potential for digitization of government disbursement programs across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. While governments distribute significant volumes of social benefits, subsidies, and humanitarian aid, many programs still rely on cash, vouchers, or legacy payment methods, limiting transparency, efficiency, and financial inclusion.

Approach

The team conducted a multi-country research engagement combining secondary research with targeted primary interviews across public agencies and program managers. The analysis sized addressable domestic government disbursement volumes, mapped current payment-method mix, assessed policy and regulatory dynamics, and identified key ecosystem players. It also evaluated key disbursement challenges and tested the resonance of digital payment value propositions. A bespoke prioritization framework was developed to compare programs and markets based on digitization readiness and prepaid card opportunity.

Outcome

The study delivered a clear, fact-based view of where and how the value of digital prepaid solutions offer the greatest potential to displace cash and vouchers in government disbursements. Findings highlighted priority programs and markets, key barriers to digitization, and value propositions most likely to resonate with public-sector stakeholders, providing a robust foundation to guide go-to-market focus and partnership strategy.