The practice in many countries is for the Treasury to release the funds to the EMB in a lump sum after legislative approval has been secured. This applies where the EMB has autonomy over its finances, and often its own banking account, as in The Gambia and Macedonia. For Governmental Model and Mixed Model EMBs, funds for electoral processes may be released through the treasury or to the host ministry, and disbursed through that ministry’s or the treasury’s bank accounts. In some cases, EMB funds are kept and managed by the Ministry of Finance, with the EMB making requisitions for the Ministry to pay its creditors and staff, mainly by cheque. EMBs in this category include Botswana and Namibia.

In Russia, the CEC may obtain a loan from the private sector if there are delays in receiving state budget funding. The Georgian EMB has a procedure to ensure timely disbursement of funds by the Government: it can bring a claim before the Supreme Court if funds are not disbursed in a timely manner. Charging the EMB’s budget directly to the consolidated fund occurs in countries such as Barbados. There may be significant legal and administrative barriers to be dealt with before such an approach can be implemented in other countries.

EMBs are more likely to use cheques and bank transfers for significant payments, though cash transactions are still used extensively for payment of temporary staff and in general in post conflict environments where the banking system has broken down, as in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In Cambodia, salaries are paid in cash while other transactions are made through bank transfer or by cheque. Other EMBs, such as in Australia, limit cash transactions to small petty cash amounts under strict controls.