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TL;DR
The Marshall Islands completed the first year of Enra, a quarterly payment for eligible citizens living in the country, and approved $32.5 million for its second year. The program shows how a nationwide payment can be delivered, but no published evaluation yet establishes its effects or whether it offers a model for countries preparing for AI-related job changes.
The Marshall Islands has completed Enra’s first year of quarterly payments to eligible citizens living in the country and approved $32.5 million for the program’s second year. The rollout offers a live example of nationwide basic income, but it does not yet show whether cash payments can cushion the effects of AI-driven changes to work: no evaluation of Enra’s outcomes has been published.
Enra, formally called the Individual Support Distribution, makes payments to eligible Marshallese citizens who live in the islands, including children. It has no means test or work requirement. The payment is not a guaranteed fixed amount: recipients share a fixed annual budget, divided into quarterly payments, so the amount can fall as the registered recipient list grows.
The first payment went out on November 26, 2025, at about $202 per person. The amount later fell to about $160 as registrations increased. A $3.2 million World Bank grant helped raise the third and fourth payments; the August 2026 payment was $215.85 for 40,714 people, according to the Marshall Islands Journal, citing the payment agency. President Hilda Heine said the final payment reached more than 95% of the resident population.
For year two, the trust fund committee approved $32.5 million on September 2, and parliament passed a budget on September 18 that included that amount plus a $3.2 million Enra top-up. The prior year’s budget line was $27.6 million. The payments are supported by a trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States, rather than by a new tax dedicated to Enra. The fund was valued at about $1.77 billion at the end of July 2026, according to the source report.
Infographic 01 · Enra, the first year
Four payments, one fixed pot
How the Marshall Islands paid a basic income to almost every resident citizen between November 2025 and August 2026.
- Nov 2025First payment: $201.92 to more than 33,000 people. MISSA had enrolled 33,119 by 30 Sep 2025.Launch ceremony in Majuro, 26 Nov
- End Mar 2026About $160. Delayed a month to vet new registrations and residence. More than 37,000 registered, same fixed budget.Citizens away more than 3 months are removed from the list, with exceptions
- End May 2026About $200 again, thanks to a $3.2 million World Bank grant ($1.6 million per quarter). More than 41,000 on the eligible list.Pushed by the president over fuel and food prices
- Aug 2026$215.85 to 40,714 people. Fewer paper checks than in earlier rounds.MISSA administrator to the Marshall Islands Journal
Payment per person, year one
US dollars per quarter · March and May rounded as reported
Why the amount moves
- Enra is a fixed annual budget shared equally among everyone eligible that quarter.
- More registrations mean a smaller share unless the budget grows.
- Roughly $780 per person in year one, about 12% of GDP per person (IMF: $6,417, FY2023). My arithmetic.
Sources: Marshall Islands Journal (27 Nov 2025, 26 Feb, 22 May, 6 Aug, 27 Aug 2026) · IMF, 10 Sep 2025. March and May amounts as reported (“about”).
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What One National Payment Can Show
Enra puts a question often raised in debates about AI and employment into practice: can regular, broadly available cash help people manage economic disruption? The first year establishes that a small country can organize quarterly payments at national scale and reach a large share of its resident population. It does not establish that the program has improved financial security, employment, health, or other outcomes.
The distinction matters for governments weighing proposals for income support as automation changes jobs. A payment that reaches people is not, by itself, proof that it offsets lost wages or helps workers move into new roles. Enra’s amount also varies with the eligible population and available funds, which means recipients cannot assume a stable payment level from quarter to quarter.
There are fiscal questions as well. The International Monetary Fund estimated Enra’s cost at 8.1% of GDP in fiscal 2026 and urged the government to replace it with a targeted program at the first feasible opportunity. That is the IMF’s policy assessment, not evidence that Enra has failed. It highlights the trade-off between broad coverage and the cost of providing payments without income-based eligibility.
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How Enra Reached Residents
The program uses three payment routes: checks, bank deposits and a phone wallet called Lomalo. The wallet can deliver a digital instrument called USDM1. The Ministry of Finance disputes descriptions of USDM1 as a stablecoin, saying it is a US-dollar sovereign bond backed one-to-one by short-dated U.S. Treasury securities and is not a cryptocurrency, central bank digital currency or stablecoin.
Access to payment services is a practical issue across the islands. The source report says the main bank branches are on Majuro and Ebeye, while mailed checks can take weeks to reach outer islands. The available figures describe the number paid, but do not say how many recipients use the phone wallet or which payment method is most accessible in practice.
Enra’s rollout has also required checks on eligibility. The government reviewed new registrations and whether people lived in the country. According to the finance minister, the immigration office checks departures; citizens who stay abroad for more than three months are removed from the list, with exceptions including students, diplomats and people sent abroad for medical treatment. Citizens living overseas are not eligible.
What Year One Has Not Measured
No published evaluation has established how Enra affected poverty, household spending, work, health, or resilience to economic shocks. The completed payment schedule and recipient counts show delivery, not impact. The source material also gives no published breakdown of wallet use or a detailed account of how recipients used the money.
It is also too early to tell how the program would respond to future economic pressure or a sustained rise in enrollment. Because the payment comes from a fixed pot, more eligible recipients can mean a smaller share unless additional funding is provided. The longer-term sustainability of that funding, and whether the government will adopt the IMF’s proposed targeted alternative, remain open questions.
Enra is not a direct test of an AI-related policy: the reported material does not link eligibility or payment levels to job loss, automation, or retraining. Any claim that the program proves basic income can prepare a society for AI-driven change would go beyond the evidence currently available.
Second-Year Payments and Evidence
The next immediate development is delivery of Enra’s second-year payments under the budget approved in September 2026. The source material does not give dates or amounts for the next quarterly installments, and the payment may depend on enrollment and available funds.
Readers will also need to watch for published program data or an independent evaluation. Useful evidence would include changes in recipients’ household finances and work, whether payments reach people across the islands on time, and how the program’s costs compare with its results. Until that information is available, Enra is a substantial national policy experiment and a relevant case for basic-income debates—but not a demonstrated answer to the labor-market effects of AI.
Key Questions
Who can receive Enra payments?
Marshallese citizens living in the Marshall Islands are eligible, including children. Citizens living abroad generally do not qualify, subject to the government’s stated exceptions for certain absences.
How much does each person receive?
The amount varies because recipients share a fixed budget. The August 2026 payment was $215.85 per person, according to the Marshall Islands Journal citing the payment agency; earlier payments were lower as registrations grew.
How is Enra funded?
Enra is funded through a trust fund established under the Compact of Free Association with the United States, with additional support including a $3.2 million World Bank grant for payments in the first year. The source report says the trust fund was worth about $1.77 billion at the end of July 2026.
Not yet. The program demonstrates nationwide payment delivery, but no published evaluation has established its effects, and the reported evidence does not measure how it affects people facing AI-related job changes.
What remains unknown about the program?
There is no published assessment of Enra’s effects on household finances, work, health, or poverty. The number of people using the phone wallet and the program’s long-term funding and policy direction are also unclear.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
