In a move to transform its in-country payment functions, the Controller’s team collaborated with Citi to use its WorldLink® platform to automate, centralise and standardise payments. The technology rationalised flows via a disbursement process that has allowed the World Bank to issue payments centrally across its global organisation, for 14,000 employees and pensioners in country offices, and 10,000+ vendors and 24,000+ consultants, in 107 currencies, in more than 130 countries.

These efforts included another important seam. Because so many of its employees travel the world, the organisation wanted to find a safer alternative to issuing cash advances for expenses. Today 16,000 staff – equivalent to nearly 85% of the organisation’s employees in 70 countries – use a corporate travel card, tapping into Citi’s extensive global credit card network.

The scale and scope of the programme makes it one of the largest in the world in terms of country presence and local currencies. It has reduced cash handling risks, improved efficiency leveraging technology, and enables better controls around expense management and payments.

The World Bank has also innovated its own funding programme – increasing development impact. It issued pioneering outcome bonds that provide money for specific projects. For example, the World Bank Treasury issued a US$50m Emission Reduction-Linked Bond that targets a reduction in GHG emissions of three million tons over five years and will make clean drinking water available to around two million children. The Treasury team also issued a US$100m Plastic Waste Reduction-Linked Bond that helps reduce and recycle plastic waste in vulnerable communities. Separately, as part of its digitisation strategy, the World Bank issued a first-of-its-kind digital bond on a distributed ledger technology platform, raising €100m to support the financing of sustainable development activities.