Cash in transition: The State of Cash and Voucher in Syria (August 2026)

Country: Syrian Arab Republic Source: Oxfam Please refer to the attached file. Executive Summary Objectives: Syria’s humanitarian response is entering a period of rapid transition, while evidence on the role, effectiveness and future direction of Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) remains limited and fragmented. Since December 2024, changes in political authority, market access, financial services, liquidity, currency use and coordination structures have altered the conditions under which cash assistance is designed and delivered. At the same time, households continue to face severe food insecurity, weak purchasing power, debt, displacement, documentation barriers and limited livelihood opportunities. This report provides evidence on what is working, where CVA programming is constrained, and how MPCA and wider CVA can support both immediate needs and the shift towards recovery. Methodology: The review is based on a mixed method approach combining secondary literature, 24 key informant interviews with CWG members, coordinators, sector actors, donors, CALP, CashCap and market experts, and analysis of programme monitoring data. The quantitative evidence includes 8, 300 PDM records1, baseline and endline data, repeated PDM rounds and written monitoring reports shared by 14 I/LNGOs. The evidence base is broad and triangulated, but it should be interpreted as programme monitoring and stakeholder evidence rather than nationally representative or causal impact evidence. The data comes from different organisations, tools, locations and years, with no consistent comparison group and limited coverage of Damascus, Rural Damascus and Daraa. Context: Syria continues to face a complex humanitarian crisis marked by large scale displacement, gaps in basic services, protection risks, socio economic pressures and climate shocks. Significant return movements have taken place since December 2024, but displacement remains extensive and conditions for sustainable return are uneven. Policy and funding increasingly favour return programming, but barriers remain in areas of return, including limited access to legal documentation, high living costs and limited livelihood opportunities. IDPs, returnees, women, children, older people, persons with disabilities, minorities, female headed households and camp-based households remain disproportionately affected. Food insecurity remains very high and is driven mainly by limited purchasing power rather than physical food availability. There have been modest improvements linked to remittances, lower inflation, reduced tariffs and wage increases, but humanitarian needs remain high. The report therefore recommends maintaining adequate humanitarian funding while pairing assistance more deliberately with investments in infrastructure, basic services, legal assistance, employment, livelihoods support, market systems development and other self-reliance interventions. CVA and MPCA Mapping: CVA remains a central modality in Syria’s humanitarian response. In 2025, 19 percent of the implemented HRP was delivered as CVA, while 27 percent of 2026 HRP requirements represented CVA. However, MPCA accounted for only 30 percent of total CVA in 2025, and approximately 27 percent of total CVA requirements in 2026. Available data points to a potential shift away from flexible MPCA towards more sector specific CVA. Reported/delivered MPCA fell from USD 133 million in 2023 to USD 69. 8 million in 2025, a 47. 5 percent decrease. By contrast, broader CVA rebounded from reported USD 22 million in 2024 to USD 160. 1 million in 2025, mainly reflecting the increase in sectoral cash for food. The report recognises that this shift is understandable where sectors need to meet defined objectives and demonstrate sectoral outcomes, but it also identifies risks, as MPCA remains one of the most relevant and most efficient modalities for households facing multiple overlapping needs. A reduced space for MPCA may limit households’ ability to make flexible expenditure decisions based on their own priorities. Market developments: Between 2024 and 2026, Syria saw major changes in market openness, access, availability of goods and services, and the financial services ecosystem. Markets have generally become more open and better supplied since the December 2024 political transition, but market functionality remains fragile and increasingly constrained by affordability, liquidity and currency volatility. The temporary improvement seen in mid 2025, supported by lower prices, reduced restrictions, cheaper imports, lower tariffs and improved market access, began to reverse from late 2025 and early 2026 as inflationary pressure returned. Primary data analysis points to a better food security situation in 2025, likely influenced by lower prices and improved availability. However, Syria experienced severe liquidity shortages in 2025, particularly from late 2024 into the first quarter of 2025, which disrupted humanitarian operations, caused delays and contributed to some suspensions. The temporary authorisation of USD payments helped organisations manage liquidity shortages, protect transfer values and maintain continuity of operations. Macro-economic policies: The shift back towards mandatory SYP payments in 2026 could support monetary normalisation in the long term, but without sufficient liquidity, realistic exchange rate management and clear regulatory guidance, it risks reducing beneficiary purchasing power, delaying distributions and recreating some of the constraints seen before the transition. CVA programmes delivered in SYP may therefore have reduced impact unless transfer values are regularly adjusted to offset purchasing power losses. The report finds no robust evidence that CVA has caused market distortions or price increases. Wider macroeconomic factors are identified as the main drivers of market trends. The report recommends that the CWG continue to advocate for USD as the main delivery currency for cash programmes to preserve the purchasing power of the most vulnerable households. If SYP becomes mandatory, the CWG should agree with relevant stakeholders on a process to continuously review and adjust transfer values for inflation. Banking and financial sector: Syria’s financial sector remains highly constrained. Formal banking channels have not meaningfully resumed, correspondent banking remains limited and international banks continue to apply conservative risk controls. FSPs and hawalas remain central to humanitarian operations, providing liquidity, transfers and access to remittances in a context where the formal banking system is weak and trust in banks is low. However, they also involve high transaction costs and compliance challenges. Hawalas have adapted to the restrictive environment and already use stablecoins mainly as back-office treasury and settlement tools rather than direct delivery mechanisms for beneficiaries. The post 2024 transition is pushing the system towards more centralisation and stronger Damascus based regulation, including stronger Central Bank regulation, SYP payments, formal FSP licensing and stricter Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements. These requirements can exclude IDPs, returnees, people without valid documentation and other vulnerable groups. While formalisation may support future compliance and financial sector recovery, it may also reduce access where licensed providers have limited reach.

Read full story on Reliefweb