Page 84 - The Digital Financial Services (DFS) Ecosystem

ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services
Ecosystem

systems, Gelb & Clark (2013) argue that establishing new national identity programs represents an opportunity
for economic, social, and political development. However, certain populations, such as people living in poverty,
women, and minority groups, are vulnerable to exclusion from these programs. Obstacles are rarely put in place
deliberately to block particular populations, but in practice, various administrative procedures (including the
location of administrative offices and the languages spoken by implementing agency staff) or other challenges
can create hurdles and/or indirect costs that prevent certain groups from participating (The Carter Center,
2011). Exclusion effectively cuts off these populations from many of the services linked to national identity
programs. People who lack any official documentation are deprived of public transfers and services, financial
services such as opening bank accounts or registering property, and health care (Gelb & Clark, 2013).

None of the evidence we review for the 48 national identity programs includes information for the percentage
of the enrolled who are poor and the percentage of the poor in the target population who are enrolled.
However, we find some evidence of challenges faced by the poor in enrolling or using the national identity
programs. The two main barriers or deterrents faced by poor populations are expensive fees for ID card
registration (Cambodia – National ID, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mozambique, Pakistan, and Peru), and the costs
associated with obtaining the prerequisites for registration, such as birth certificates or housing certificates
(Angola, Iraq, and Peru). General poverty and economic vulnerability is also cited as a challenge in some
countries (Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire). In addition, we find links between geographic and demographic challenges
in terms of coverage of the poor (Table 4). Limited registration centers can especially impact poor, rural
communities without the resources or time to travel long and/or challenging distances to register in person.

Table 4 – Challenges Enrolling Poor and Rural Populations

Poor Individuals Lack Challenge Enrolling
Country Official Name of National ID Program
Access Rural Residents
Angola National ID X X
Cambodia National ID X

Cameroon National Identity Card X X
Congo Elector's Card X

Cote d'Ivoire National ID X
Ecuador Cedula de Identidad X X

Guatemala Documento Personal de Identificación (DIP) X

Iraq Civil Status Identification Card (Bitaka X
shakhsiyeh)

Kenya Third Generation National ID X
Mozambique Bilhete de Identidade X X

Pakistan National Database and Registration Author- X
ity (NADRA)
Peru Registro Nacional de Identificacion y Estado X X
Civil (RENIEC)
Sudan National Identity Card X X

Zambia National Registration Cards (NRC) X

Women are another group at risk of exclusion from national ID programs. We are able to find information on
the percentage of the enrolled who are women for just three countries: Cote d’Ivoire (51 percent), Indonesia
(51 percent), and Pakistan (44 percent). Nevertheless, several of the documents reviewed describe challenges
that women face with enrollment or use of the national identity programs in their countries. For example,

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