LONDON (AP) — In the Za'atari refugee camp in Jordan, Amar Al-Eid heads toward the checkout of the food distribution store carrying supplies for his two children. The shopkeeper raises a black box to his face and scans the Syrian refugee's iris. The transaction goes through and a day's rations are secured.
The data technology that underpins virtual currencies like bitcoin is now also used to deliver aid more efficiently by lowering the risk of bribes and fraud by local officials, a longstanding problem in the industry.
The so-called blockchain keeps a record of all transactions and buyers, making sure recipients get their goods without the added costs of graft or bank transfer fees. And donors can track the use of their aid money, all the way to the refugee it helps survive.
