In a randomised cash transfer programme in rural Tanzania, mothers assigned as recipients could receive funds via mobile money or nominate another person to receive the transfers on their behalf. We show that women with limited digital access are substantially more likely to nominate others to receive a transfer and thus are less likely to directly receive the transfers intended for them. Among those who nominate others to receive transfers, women with lower autonomy in the household are more likely to nominate their spouse. Because intermediaries can either return the cash or gain control over how it is spent, these nomination patterns can shift effective control away from the targeted women. Thus, the women most in need of empowerment may be the least likely to receive and benefit from transfers.
These findings highlight a key challenge for targeted transfer policies: without addressing underlying digital and intra-household constraints, programmes may fail to reach and empower the intended beneficiaries.