UNHCR uses cash-based interventions to provide support with meeting basic needs, protection, assistance, and services to the most vulnerable. Cash helps the displaced meet a variety of needs, including access to food, water, healthcare, shelter, that allow them to build and support livelihoods.
What types of direct cash assistances does UNHCR provide?
Multipurpose Cash Assistance: cash for basic needs provided on bi-monthly basis or once-off during the winter months to the most vulnerable registered refugees and asylum seekers, according to the results of the vulnerability assessments.
Other cash grants: such as livelihood and cash for education are provided as once-off following sectoral criteria applied by UNHCR and other relevant partners (such as the Catholic Relief Services).
Multipurpose Cash assistance is provided only to the most vulnerable refugees based on specific eligibility criteria and on the availability of funds.
How does UNHCR determine who is eligible for multi-purpose cash assistance?
UNHCR relies on multiple sources of information to reach eligibility decisions related to cash assistance.
Information used for selection includes the information recorded during your registration with UNHCR as well as other information recorded.
The decision takes into consideration several factors like financial, well-being and risk profiles. Variables including refugee/asylum-seeker’s age, place of residence, number of family members, education level, financial status, access to other types of assistance, specific needs, medical and employment status among others are considered.
Each refugee and asylum seeker’s profile are compared against other refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR and the one who is more vulnerable is selected. Any eligibility decisions related to cash does not deny or enhance access to other assistance programs.
I was asked to provide money to be included on the cash assistance list, what should I do?
Please do not trust anyone who claims to be able to directly add you to the list of beneficiaries in exchange of money. The eligibility determination process is automated using desk formula and no human intervention is possible. UNHCR is the final decision maker related to inclusion to cash assistance.
UNHCR services are free of charge. Do not pay for the interview and report the incident to UNHCR Infoline immediately.
We ask you not to deal with anyone claiming to provide or expedite any of UNHCR services and to report the incident as a case of fraud to: [email protected]
How long will I receive cash assistance?
The cash assistance is provided only for limited period based on your continued eligibility and on availability of funds. If you are no longer eligible to the assistance according to UNHCR criteria, UNHCR will send you the following SMS to inform you about the date of stopping the cash assistance.
“Your case [CASE NUMBER] is no longer eligible for regular cash assistance according to UNHCR criteria. Your assistance will be stopped from [MM/YY].
How will I collect my cash assistance?
You can collect your cash assistance at post office branches in Egypt. Once your assistance is ready at Egypt Post, you will receive a notification SMS from UNHCR on the phone registered at UNHCR indicating the amount of money you should receive and the deadline for receiving the assistance. Please make sure to go to the post office once you receive the SMS. Also, please make sure to always keep your phone number updated at UNHCR to ensure receiving the SMS, and to always renew your UNHCR card as expired UNHCR cards are not accepted at Egypt Post Offices
In case you were notified of an IRIS enabled cash collection; you will be required to approach any IRIS enabled post office from the list below. If no iris-enabled collection is mentioned in your SMS, then you can receive your assistance from any post office branch using your valid UNHCR card.
| PO Branches | Address | |
| North October City | ||
| 1 | El Hossary | El Hossary Square behind the Mosque |
| 2 | Service Complex | Sixth District behind October Traffic Unit |
| 3 | Seventh District | The Seventh District, next to the Palace of Culture |
| 4 | Sixth District | 6th District, 6th neighborhood, Al-Ahram Center |
| 5 | Third District | Third District, Al-Ghaz Center |
| 6 | First District – Zayed | First District, Sheikh Zayed, next to the General Hospital |
| 7 | October Main | 6th District, next to Central October 2 |
| Giza | ||
| 8 | Ard El Lewa | Taraet Al-Zumar Street, Ard El Lewa |
| 9 | Haram Central | Haram Street, in front of Cairo Mall, next to Haram Central |
| 10 | Kafr Tohormos | Beside Kafr Tohormos Pipe Store |
| 11 | El Maleka | Amr Bin Al-Aas subdivision off El Maleka Street, Faisal |
| 12 | El Mohandessin | 1 Musa Galal Square, Mohandessin, behind Saudi Market |
| 13 | Rabie El Gizy | Al-Rabi’ Al-Jizzi Complex of Authorities |
| Central and North Cairo | ||
| 14 | Cairo Main | 1 Abdel Khaleq Tharwat Street |
| 15 | Ramsis | 57 Ramsis Street |
| South Cairo | ||
| 16 | El Maadi | 9th Street, Maadi |
| 17 | Hadayek El Maadi | Street 105, Hadayek El Maadi |
| East Cairo | ||
| 18 | Zahraa Ain Shams | 121 Zahraa St., Ain Shams |
| 19 | Ain Shams | 5 Kamel Mahdi Street – from Qamar Street – Ahmed Essmat |
| 20 | Martyr Abdel Moneim Riad | 23 July Villas – Aziz Al Masry – Gesr El Suez |
| 21 | Qubaa East | 59 Quba Mosque Street – Quba City |
| 22 | Abbasiya First | 5 Salim Abdo St. – Abdo Pasha Square – Abbasiya |
| 23 | Eigth District | After Al-Manhal School – 14 Ahmed Hassan Street – Eighth District |
| 24 | Tenth District | Tenth District – Mahdi Arafa Street – Building No. 14 – Rawda Tower |
| 25 | Hadayek El Qobba | 133 Misr Sudan Street – Hadayek El Qobba |
| 26 | Swiss Project | Building 94 – Swiss project |
| Kattameya | ||
| 27 | Youth Housing Obour | Youth Obour City |
| 28 | Obour City | Obour City |
| 29 | First Neighborhood | 10th of Ramadan |
| 30 | Madinty | Madinty |
| 31 | 10th of Ramadan | 10th of Ramadan |
| 32 | Ninth Neighborhood | 10th of Ramadan |
| Damietta | ||
| 33 | New Damietta | Construction Authority Building |
| 34 | Faculty of Commerce | New Damietta, next to the Faculty of Commerce |
| 35 | New Damietta Second | Sixth Neighborhood, First District – Market Building in New Damietta |
| 36 | Mubarak Housing | Next to the traffic unit in New Damietta |
| Dakahlya | ||
| 37 | El Bahr El Sagheer | Mansoura, Gohar Al-Saqali Street, off Al-Geish Street, next to the international bus station |
| Alexandria | ||
| 38 | El Mandara | El Mandara in front of the train station |
| 39 | Sidi Beshr | Abu Qir Street in front of Sidi Gaber Station |
| 40 | Madinet Faisal | Faisal City, Sidi Bishr |
| 41 | Alexandria Main | Chamber of Commerce Street, next to Abu Ghareeb |
| 42 | El Saray | Sidi Bishr Tram Station |
| Borg El Arab | ||
| 43 | El Agamy Bitash | Al-Ajami, below the Families Tower |
| 44 | El Amiriya | El A’ameria housing |
| 45 | Old Borg El Arab | The old city of Borj Al Arab, next to the city council |
| Aswan | ||
| 46 | Aswan | Aswan, New Street, behind B.Tech |
How do I know if I should receive the cash through Iris scan or through my UNHCR card?
You will know this information through the notification SMS you will receive from UNHCR. If you are to receive the cash assistance through Iris scan, this will be clarified in the SMS. Also, a hyperlink to the list of iris-enabled post offices will be provided in the SMS.
Otherwise, and if the SMS does not mention that you are iris-enabled, then you can receive your cash assistance from any post office branch all over Egypt using your valid UNHCR card.
A sample of the SMS you will receive is demonstrated below:
Iris-Enabled Cash Collection:
“Your case [CASE NUMBER] is eligible for regular cash assistance. You will receive cash amount of [VALUE] EGP through IRIS scan from Post Office until [END DATE]. To find the nearest Iris-Enabled Post Office please check [URL]. Duration of assistance depends on funding availability and fulfilling eligibility criteria.”
Non-Iris Cash Collection:
“Your case [CASE NUMBER] is eligible for regular cash assistance. You will receive cash amount of [VALUE] EGP through Post Office until [END DATE]. Follow this link to find the nearest Post Office [URL]. Duration of assistance depends on funding availability and fulfilling eligibility criteria.”
What should I do at the post office to collect my assistance?
You may be asked to either:
- Present your valid UNHCR Identification/ card at the cashier in the post office. The post office will review your photo, case number, name and card expiry date. then, you will receive the cash assistance. The procedure is the same at all post- offices.
OR
- Scan your Iris on the iris scanners at the post office. If your iris scan matches with UNHCR records, you will receive the cash assistance. Please make sure to hold the iris-scanner on the same level with your eyes, not downward, and that you look straight into the iris-scanner with your eyes wide open, to ensure a correct recognition of your eyes. Please do not blink or look sideways while your iris is being scanned. Also, please make sure that not to wear any colored or patterned contact lenses.
In either case, you will need to present your valid UNHCR card, and the teller will need to keep a photocopy of the card. It is important that you timely renew your UNHCR card as expired UNHCR cards are not accepted by Egypt Post.
I have an emergency, and I cannot go the post office to receive the cash assistance (on the day I received the SMS). What can I do?
UNHCR gives refugees and asylum-seekers enough time to collect the cash assistance. Therefore, UNHCR usually extends the collection period over five working days. The exact time period is included in the text message sent by UNHCR, so please approach the nearest post office before the end of the collection period, otherwise you will not be able to collect the cash assistance.
What should I do if our family composition has changed? (add-on family member, passing away of the principal applicant)
Please book a registration appointment as soon as possible to make sure the right composition of your family is rightly reflected on the UNHCR database. If the principal applicant who collects the cash assistance passed away, we strongly encourage you to go in-person as soon as possible to book an appointment through UNHCR Office, please mention that you are on our cash assistance list.
You will not be able to receive the cash assistance without changing the principal applicant.
I am not receiving the SMS for cash assistance; but when I go to the post office, I find my name on the list, why is that?
Text messages are the main method of communication by UNHCR, through the phone number you provided to UNHCR. If you did not receive the notification SMS, please make sure that all your contact information is updated with UNHCR. Contact UNHCR Infoline in case you have changed your telephone number. Also, please make sure that your phone connectivity is working. Poor connectivity may affect the delivery of SMSs.
When I went to receive my cash assistance, I was asked to pay additional fees at the post office. What should I do?
Receiving your cash assistance from the Post Office branches during the normal operating days and hours (From Sunday to Thursday, from 8:00 am to 3:00 am) is free of charge, and you should not pay any additional fees to receive your cash assistance. If you are asked to pay any additional fees during these standard operating days and hours, please refuse and report this incident to UNHCR.
However, according to Egypt Post regulations, if you receive your assistance from Post Office branches outside the above standard working days or hours, i.e. after 3:00 PM or on Saturdays, you will be asked by the teller to pay an additional fee of 10 EGP. Also, if you receive your assistance from any Post Office Kiosk/ mobile branch at any time, you will have to pay an additional fee of 5 EGP.
I went to the post office, but it was very crowded, and I had to wait for a long time before I could receive my assistance. What shall I do to avoid this in future?
If you are receiving your cash assistance using only UNHCR card, then you may go to any of the 4,000 Egypt Post branches distributed across Egypt.
If you are receiving your assistance using iris-scanning, then you may to any of the branches enlisted below to receive your assistance. If you find one of those branches crowded, please go to the nearest iris-enabled post office according to the list below or ask the post office staff on alternate post offices, and they will instruct you accordingly.
I missed the collection period. Can UNHCR still send me the money?
No. Cash assistance is available at the post office until the deadline indicated in SMS.
Please make sure you collect the cash assistance on time, preferably once you receive the SMS on your phone. At the end of the collection period UNHCR reclaims the cash assistance, and there will be no possibility of sending you the missed cash assistance.
I spoke to UNHCR staff about my cash assistance, and they were rude. What should I do?
If you believe that any humanitarian staff did not behave in a professional manner during your interactions, you can pursue any of the following actions:
- Submit a written complaint and drop it at UNHCR’s complaint boxes;
- Deliver a written complaint to UNHCR staff during outreach visits to your location;
- Send an email with your complaint to: [email protected]
Anonymous complaints will not be processed. You must indicate your name, case number and contact information. Please be assured that your identity will not be shared further without your consent. Please be assured that your complaint will not affect your assistance in any way. Please note above channels are only used if you have a complaint about UNHCR staff and not about inquiries about inclusion to cash assistance or general information.