GOVERNMENT SERVICES

🇩🇯 Emergency Relief Disbursement

Helping citizens access emergency financial assistance through Citizen Wallet.

Partners: Solution architects · Product Pre-Sales
· Government stakeholders

Emergency relief through Citizen Wallet explores how digital identity, credentials, benefits, and payments can come together in one connected experience.

As part of the Citizen Wallet initiative, this use case explores how governments could proactively reach citizens affected by natural disasters and deliver financial assistance through an existing digital wallet.

With a registered account and verified information already available, citizens could access emergency benefits without starting an entirely new onboarding process.

A faster path to emergency assistance

Following a disaster, accessing government relief can involve multiple applications, eligibility checks, and identity verification steps.

The opportunity

Connect existing citizen information, location verification, and government payment capabilities to simplify how affected communities access financial support.

From platform capabilities to citizen experiences

My focus was translating emergency relief requirements into a simple, connected experience.

Working with solution architects and product partners, I explored three perspectives:

Citizen path
Understanding the steps from receiving an emergency notification to accessing funds.

Technology solution
Connecting location, eligibility, identity verification, and payment capabilities.

Possible UI
Creating a guided experience that makes each step clear and manageable.

Why it matters:

During an emergency, speed and clarity are essential. The experience needed to balance easy access to assistance with the security required to verify eligibility and distribute funds.

Bringing the experience to life

Meet Hassan: Receiving emergency relief after flooding

Hassan Abdourahman is a 32-year-old shopkeeper living in Balbala, Djibouti City.

He runs a small grocery store and supports his wife and two young children.

Following severe flooding in his neighborhood, Hassan receives a Citizen Wallet notification informing him that he may qualify for emergency financial assistance.

As an existing wallet user, he can begin the verification process directly from the notification.

The experience

01. Emergency notification

Hassan receives a proactive notification about available financial assistance following the flooding.

Design consideration: Clearly communicate potential eligibility and provide an immediate next step.

02. Location verification

Citizen Wallet requests Hassan's location to confirm whether he is within the affected area.

Design consideration: Explain why location access is needed and make the permission request transparent.

03. Benefit details

After the initial eligibility check, Hassan reviews his emergency relief benefit and any remaining requirements.

Design consideration: Make the benefit amount, eligibility status, and next steps easy to

04. Identity verification

Hassan completes the required identity verification through a guided biometric capture.

Design consideration: Keep verification simple, secure, and reassuring.

05. Receiving emergency funds

Once approved, Hassan receives confirmation that the relief funds have been disbursed and can access them through his Citizen Wallet.

Design consideration: Provide clear payment confirmation and immediate visibility into available funds.

Designing for urgency and trust

The experience focused on three priorities:

• Speed: Reduce unnecessary steps by building on an existing Citizen Wallet account.

• Transparency: Clearly explain eligibility, permissions, and verification.

• Security: Connect identity and location checks with a straightforward disbursement experience.

These considerations helped shape a journey designed for citizens navigating an already stressful situation.

From journey to interactive prototype

Using Figma, I brought together emergency notifications, eligibility verification, biometric identity checks, and fund disbursement into one connected experience.

The prototype helped demonstrate how government capabilities could work together to support emergency financial assistance.

The outcome

Connecting emergency relief with financial access

The proposed experience demonstrated how Citizen Wallet could help governments identify potentially affected citizens, verify eligibility, and deliver financial assistance through an existing digital wallet.

The work illustrated how reusable identity and payment capabilities could support a simpler, more connected emergency relief experience