Financial services provider Kenya Commercial Bank has won a contract to roll out a US$328 million biometrics-backed welfare scheme on behalf of the Kenyan government.KCB will take charge of implementing the "Inua Jamii" card social protection scheme, which will transfer some 30 billion Kenyan shillings (US$328 million) for the initial 400,000 beneficiaries the government expects to register in the first year.The Labour Ministry last month has launched a biometric registration programme with recipients given unique identification numbers for the programme linked to their fingerprints.KCB will receive the data and produce biometric smart cards for them after verifying each beneficiary at the point of registration."KCB will not charge beneficiaries for the services rendered. The bank is in an agreement with the government regarding disbursement of the funds, details of which are confidential," the lender said in a statement.The National Safety Net Programme (NSNP) includes Cash Transfer to Orphans and Vulnerable Children (CT-OVC); Older Persons Cash Transfer (OPCT); Persons with Severe Disability Cash Transfer (PwSD-CT) and Urban Food Subsidy Cash Transfer (UFSCT).President Uhuru Kenyatta Tuesday launched the cards on 29 January that will capture fingerprints of the beneficiaries or their caregivers."This biometric registration will ensure funds are passed directly to the vulnerable groups for whom the funds have been set aside," the president said in January.Last October, Kenya launched a massive rationalisation of public service employees that aims to use fingerprint biometrics to weed out potential "ghost workers".
Kenya Commercial Bank wins biometric welfare card contract
