In parts of the world shaped by war, sanctions and political collapse, banks may still have doors and buildings, but their ability to function is sharply limited. Cash is scarce, international transfers are frozen, and everyday transactions become difficult or impossible.

HesabPay, a digital global payment platform, was built for exactly those conditions. Created by an Afghan American entrepreneur, the platform allows humanitarian agencies and individuals to send and receive money with nothing more than a phone and an internet connection.

“HesabPay tries to help people receive funds wherever they are in the world,” said Sanzar Kakar, who created the digital wallet in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2016. He previously ran the country’s leading payroll processor. “We particularly focus on very difficult jurisdictions, areas where there might not be any banks.” Kakar said HesabPay now has the backing of the Afghan government, which granted the company a business license to operate as a financial institution.

According to Algorand, the blockchain used by HesabPay, more than 1 million people received lifesaving assistance through the platform in 2025. That support included cash assistance from the United Nations World Food Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Bank.

“In a country with near-total banking collapse, HesabPay has become a lifeline, allowing people to receive and spend digital currency quickly, securely, and with dignity,” Algorand stated on its website. “But it doesn’t stop there. HesabPay is now a household utility platform too. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans are using it to pay electricity bills, a use case that proves digital wallets aren’t just for emergencies, they’re for everyday life. For the Foundation, Afghanistan is now a flagship success. It’s a proof-of-concept we can carry into other distressed banking environments.”

HesabPay is available as a smartphone app and also works on feature phones using USSD technology or QR code cards, allowing access even in low-connectivity environments. For users, much of the technology remains invisible. Accounts are tied to phone numbers, protected by PIN codes and two-factor authentication, and supported by locally managed offices across the country.

A London School of Economics study found that digital aid delivered through HesabPay reduced skipped meals among Afghan women and kept 98 percent of assistance circulating digitally with local merchants.

According to the World Food Programme, HesabPay has been particularly beneficial for women. “HesabPay is an Afghanistan fintech solution providing secure digital cash transfers to vulnerable communities in Afghanistan. With HesabPay, WFP recipients, particularly women, can access aid through digital wallets, SMS-based phones or debit cards. They no longer have to wait in long queues providing dignity of access, and with their own financial accounts they are empowered to withdraw cash or make purchases at 1,000 local merchants. Operationally, HesabPay’s blockchain-backed reporting ensures real-time transparency, enhancing WFP’s operational accountability,” the agency said.

The model is now extending beyond Afghanistan. HesabPay has expanded into Syria and plans to move into Haiti and Sudan, where financial systems exist but are often constrained by sanctions, instability or high transaction costs. In Syria, international financial institutions largely avoid the country, and remittance services such as Western Union can charge fees of up to 10 percent.

A pilot program was launched in Syria in August 2024 when Mercy Corps Ventures partnered with HesabPay and Pioneers Innovation, a local Syrian organization. Mercy Corps is a global humanitarian agency.

According to Mercy Corps, “Under the pilot program, aid funds were sent as stablecoins directly from the Mercy Corps treasury in the U.S. to the Mercy Corps Syria country office’s HesabPay digital wallet. Funds were then distributed to digital wallets of 100 smallholder farmers, shared between 650-700 people in the Al-Hasakah region based on average household size. Participants could spend the digital money at participating vendors at their desired pace, without concern for currency fluctuations. By using crypto-enabled digital wallets with our partner, HesabPay, Mercy Corps is getting support to returnee farmers 96 percent faster and at 60 percent lower cost than traditional cash transfers. That means more farmers rebuilding their livelihoods, and more communities recovering.”