Financial Services in Humanitarian Crises: Blockchain and the End of the Role of Banking?

Abstract

The potential of blockchain technology for the delivery of aid in humanitarian crises has drawn attention not only for its benefits, but also for the revolutionary nature of its implementation that may involve the displacement of financial entities. This paper describes the problems and limitations of financial services in the humanitarian sector and introduces the role of fintech and blockchain as an opportunity to make the necessary changes in trust between stakeholders to deliver aid in the right place, in the right way and at the right time: the beginning of a new age of disintermediation seems to be the future of the humanitarian system.

Keywords: Blockchain, Humanitarian, Social Change, Resilience, Fintech

JEL Classification: G23