5.3 Set up beneficiary registration and identification system

This process is the same as with an in-kind distribution and includes the following key steps:

• Create a database which congregates information needed to implement the distribution, reconcile information and identify the targeted beneficiaries. This will vary based on the modality and payment mechanism chosen.
• Agree on identification methods, which could include national ID card, biometric details, identity confirmation by a community leader or a combination of different methods. The legal system in country will be favored, but with the limitation that in many places women or marginalized group may not have formal identification or ID could have been lost in the crisis. In such cases, the Project Manager is responsible to develop identification mechanism (e.g. CARE Beneficiary Card) so that all the targeted groups can access the CBI. Identification method should also be on line with the payment agent requirements.
• Select method of authentication, i.e. the method by which the CARE and the payment agent will ensure the beneficiary identity (such as visual verification of the identification document, signature, biometrics, PIN number, password and/or visual authentication).

NOTE on data protection: All programmes present risks in terms of data protection that are associated with the collection, storage, use and disclosure of the data of beneficiaries. This personal data is however often more extensive than that gathered in in‐kind aid distributions and is usually shared with payment agents, sometimes with governments and may be subject to request from donor agencies. It is the responsibility of Project Manager and the Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning officer to assess the risk of misuse of information by the payment agents in cases where sensitive personal information on beneficiaries is shared with them.