Mobile Money Adoption in Africa: A Literature-Based Analysis

Abstract

The study sought to assess the factors that influence the adoption of mobile money banking and financial services in Africa. Despite the growth in the mobile money industry and its potential for the future, studies suggest that mobile money banking/financial services adoption remains low across sub-Saharan Africa. This research work employed a systematic literature review methodology, specifically, a literature-based analysis for the investigation. The researcher, for the purposes of this study, identified, selected, and critically reviewed only secondary data, which refers to data that has already been collected for some other. Twenty (20) recent articles on mobile money banking/financial services and external/internal factors, modeled by various theories concerning technology/innovation adoption, were gathered from highly recognized and profiled research databases, including Google Scholar, Research Gate, Emerald (database), Elsevier (database), Pro-quest, Scopus, and Springer. From the 20 articles reviewed, analyzed, and discussed, the number of external factors that influence mobile money adoption positively or negatively is twenty (20), while the count of internal factors that influence mobile money adoption positively or negatively is eight (8). In conclusion, the external factors outnumber the internal factors, but the internal factors are more grievous and have a significant impact on the mobile money service. The results of this research work also revealed the top five external factors researchers seem to encounter in their studies. The study provides significant insight into both external and internal factors affecting the adoption of mobile money services in Africa. Keywords: Africa, Databases, Mobile Money Banking/Financial services, Systematic.