Hosted by UNCDF, the Better Than Cash Alliance’s mission is to catalyze a global movement from cash to digital payments to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Specific benefits include efficiency, transparency, women’s economic participation and financial inclusion, helping build economies that are digital and inclusive.

The Alliance has 75 members, including national governments from Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America, companies and international organizations which have committed to digitizing payments.

The Secretariat works with the Alliance members on their journey to digitize payments by:

• Providing advisory services based on member priorities.
• Sharing action-oriented research and fostering peer learning
• Conducting advocacy at national, regional, and global level.Achieving togetherStriving for excellenceService orientedResults oriented

The purpose for the intervention is to identify a company which will carry on action research to support the efforts of FMCG companies are leading in Mexico to digitize payments across their value chains. The research will entail the strategic analysis of several multi-company and multi-service payments platforms and the identification of barriers and accelerators for the adoption and usage of digital payments for small merchants in Mexico’s retail segment.

The insights from the research will provide FMCG companies inputs for establishing a consolidated industry agenda including structural changes and accelerators in which the industry needs to work collaboratively with relevant actors (other FMCGs, government, financial sector, small retailers’ associations, etc.) to reduce external barriers for small merchants to achieve adoption and usage of digital payments. The research will also include an industry strategy for implementation and reflect consensus reached by FMCG companies on industry standards regarding terminology, concepts, benchmarks, and indicators.

The elaboration of this research will require consultation with stakeholders in the FMCG sector; and it will entail several pieces of research and analysis and workshops/presentations.

Expected deliverables and timeline

The Better Than Cash Alliance is seeking applications from qualified technical partners (e.g., commercial for-profit consulting firms, non-for-profit organizations, social enterprises) with proven experience in conducting multi-stakeholder interviews and analysis for recommendations, as well as research on the adoption and usage of digital payments for small merchants in Mexico’s retail segment. The service provider needs to have experience working on access to financial services in Mexico, with a particular focus on the adoption of digital financial services and business model analysis, as well as understanding of FMCGs business models and distribution. Experience of facilitating multi-stakeholder workshops and providing action-driven recommendations based on innovative approaches, is essential.

The objective of the study is to support the members of the Forum to align their thinking on the main opportunities and actions that will allow accelerating the digitalization of payments in the traditional Mexican channel. As part of the analysis done by the consultant, current public and internal studies will be used as inputs; for which members of the Forum will be asked to contribute with relevant studies available to them. Furthermore, Forum members will be asked to act as promoters of work paths to support and validate the consultant's work.

The selected applicant who will be technically responsive to this Request for Application will be signing a Performance-Based Agreement (PBA). The PBA template can be found in Annex. UNCDF will contribute a grant for up to USD 100,000 and will award one applicant pending on the investment readiness level and outreach potential of the solution proposed.

All applications must be submitted online by 23:59 Hrs. EDT time on August 3, 2021 on UNCDF online platform:

https://apply.uncdf.org/prog/btca_rfa_mexico_action_research_on_private_sector_scaling_digitization_initiative_industry_acceleration_of_adoption_of_digital_payment