Announcement – CaLP glossary and cash terminology

By Cash Team – British Red Cross

In light of different questions we have received about cash terminology, we would like to announce that the new CaLP glossary is available here and it will be our point of reference going forward.  We will seek to align to CaLP’s recommendation on the use of ‘Cash and Voucher Assistance’ (CVA), which can be used as an umbrella term as “it has the advantage of descriptively matching what it is in practice so cannot easily be misinterpreted”. However since the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is often involved in Cash Assistance (CA), we will be using this term alongside CVA, to be more precise when referring to our activities.

More information can be found on the CaLP page dedicated to the glossary. Below you can also read some of the other key terminology in the CaLP’s glossary, or if you wish to consult the full list you can download the Glossary of Terminology for Cash and Voucher Assistance:

Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA): CVA refers to all programmes where cash transfers or vouchers for goods or services are directly provided to recipients. In the context of humanitarian assistance, the term is used to refer to the provision of cash transfers or vouchers given to individuals, household or community recipients; not to governments or other state actors. This excludes remittances and microfinance in humanitarian interventions (although microfinance and money transfer institutions may be used for the actual delivery of cash).

The terms ‘cash’ or ‘cash assistance’ should be used when referring specifically to cash transfers only (i.e. ‘cash’ or ‘cash assistance’ should not be used to mean ‘cash and voucher assistance’). This term has several synonyms (see Cash Based Interventions, Cash Based Assistance, and Cash Transfer Programming). Cash and Voucher Assistance is the recommended term.

Cash Assistance: The provision of unrestricted assistance in the form of money – either physical currency or e-cash – to recipients (individuals, households or communities). The terms ‘cash’ or ‘cash assistance’ should be used when referring specifically to cash transfers only (i.e. ‘cash’ or ‘cash assistance’ should not be used to mean ‘cash and voucher assistance’).

Cash Transfer: The provision of assistance in the form of money – either physical currency or e-cash – to recipients (individuals, households or communities). Cash transfers are by definition unrestricted in terms of use and distinct from restricted modalities including vouchers and in-kind assistance.