US humanitarian organisation Mercy Corps has partnered with UK digital payment company sQuid to launch a digital aid payment programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The system is planned to help users receive payments on smartcards and withdraw cash at appointed terminals. The system does not require users to have a bank account and it is similar to Kenya’s mobile money M-Pesa system, where no accounts are needed.

The programme is especially geared towards helping those displaced by conflict, returnees, host communities and people living in areas which have recently experienced violence.

“sQuid will be supporting Mercy Corps from London and from our base in Nairobi. We are developing further aid initiatives, particularly in Africa,” Adam Smith, chief executive officer of sQuid, said.

“Providing cash ensures families can purchase exactly what they need to get back on their feet, and using smartcard technology helps us closely monitor and automate some aspects of aid distribution,” Sara Murray, electronic payments programme manager at Mercy Corps, commented.

sQuid finished a successful test programme in northern Kenya in 2012 with the system.

The 2012 pilot project partnered with feeding prrogramme SOS Kenya to aid those affected by drought to buy foodstuff using the smartcards.

Over 2,000 families benefited from this initiative.