Mobile Money Transfer Services Research Articles

The Effect of Mobile Money Services Usage on Financial Inclusion in Nyamigamba Village

Several studies have shown that most of citizens living in rural areas are financially excluded due to several reasons such as lack of awareness of using mobile money financial services but also high cost of using the mobile money services. Thus, this study tend to analyze the effect of mobile money services usage on financial inclusion in Nyamigamba village which is one of the rural area located in Mwanza region, Tanzania. However, the selected mobile money services were mobile money transfer service, mobile money receiving service, mobile money payment service and mobile money loan service.

Chain upgrading, technology transfer, and legitimacy: The Schumpeterian character of China in the information and communication technology sector in SSA

Drawing on technical change and technology transfer theories, we explore the Schumpeterian character of China in the information and communications technology (ICT) value chain in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using data collected from various online sources, including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and World Integrated Trade Solutions (WITS) databases, we establish three key findings. First, relative to the traditional Global North sources, China has become a major source of ICT in SSA. Second, over the past two decades, Chinese firms operating in SSA have adopted a Schumpeterian character to gain legitimacy in the communities in which they operate. Third, with the easier transfer of ICT from China, local ICT firms in SSA have upgraded their value chains from only delivering information services to becoming important players in the financial sector, including the provision of mobile money transfer services. We conclude that China's expansive size, coupled with its ability to produce technologies for low-income economies, is likely to ensure that it will remain the dominant source of ICT innovations for SSA.

Influence of mobile money transfer business on the economic welfare of their operators in Takoradi

The number of Mobile Money subscribers is on ascendency in Ghana even though the service is a new phenomenon. This has provided opportunities for all manner of people to act as mobile money vendors within the sector for various economic reasons. The study therefore sought to examine the impact of Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) business on the socioeconomic impact of Mobile Money (MM) vendors in Ghana. The variables used to assess the socioeconomic impact on vendors include: income levels, employment characteristics and the standard of living. The study also assessed some of the relevant challenges facing MMT service within Takoradi that are likely to affect their activities. The research approach was a quantitative (through questionnaire) where a descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was MM vendors in Takoradi of which a sample size of one hundred and four respondents was chosen for the analysis with the aid of SPSS software. The responses revealed that there is a significant effect of income levels, employment characteristic sand standards of living on the socio economic status of the MM vendors in the study area. The results also show that network and system challenges as well user unfriendliness negatively affect the service delivery within Takoradi. Although MMT service is relatively a new field in Ghana, it has unlimited exploration potentials within which one can study for further research for academic, government agencies, corporate bodies, NGOs and other fields of interest. The study therefore recommend that Bank of Ghana, Ministry of Communication and National Communication Authority and other policy makers take critical measures to ensure that MM operators address these challenges to improve upon the quality of service delivery in the sector since that significantly affect the activities of MM operators in Ghana.

Drivers of the experience value of mobile money transfer service: Senegaleseuser perspectives

Purpose Digital service innovations have enabled service market access, transforming Africa. This paper aims to investigate individual and contextual drivers of experience value of mobile money transfer (MMT) service during post-adoption given impacts of individual/cultural characteristics in Senegal. Design/methodology/approach Mixed methods. Study 1 qualitatively investigates the effects of individual-contextual drivers on the experience value of MMT and behavioral intentions. Study 2 quantitatively tests the main causal effects between drivers and MMT. Findings Conceptual models of experience value including ethical and social dimensions proposed in MMT are positively related to behavioral intentions. Need for social interaction (NSI), self-efficacy (SEFF) and social pressure (SP) – sources of experience value creation/destruction – must be integrated into business practices. Results show the indirect positive influence of NSI on behavioral intentions through MMTs experience value. Moreover, traditional cultural orientation (TCO) is a source of value creation/destruction. Managers should build ethical relations with users, integrate social functions in MMT and understand users’ cultural and individual characteristics for better customer relationship management policy. Originality/value Few studies examine how MMT experience creates/destroys value in a Sub-Saharan African context, specifically in Senegal. The authors show that SP might destroy value and reveal how individual variables such as SEFF, NSI and TCO affect experience value creation/destruction. Surprisingly, NSI creates value, revealing MMT as hybrid self-service technology.

Digital Financial Services and Financial Performance of Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies in Kakamega County, Kenya

Savings and Credit Co-operative Societies (Saccos) in Kenya have realised a tremendous growth in the subsector and are investing huge amount of their scarce financial resources in digital technology to enhance services delivery and offer a wide variety of products and services range, increased membership mobilisation and size, ensure better structure and effective financial performance. Digital financial Services as used in the Saccos industry is as a result of Information Communication Technology revolution commonly referred to as digital commerce. Many Saccos are steadily changing from manual banking system of operations to providing digital Financial (e-banking) services that include internet banking, M-banking and Automated Teller machine support. The adoption of digital financial Services by the Saccos is a strategic attempt to deal with increased cut throat competition from traditional banking institutions and non-banking financial institutions, to cut costs and add value to their services in order to optimise benefits to the shareholders. Despite the fact that Saccos have rapidly adopted digital financial services to provide services, and that they drive a huge section of the financial sector savings of the economy, they have experienced various challenges such as uncertainty and risk due to digital financial services. The study sought to establish the influence of digital financial services on the financial performance of SACCOs in Kakamega County, Kenya. The specific objectives was to determine the effect of the mobile banking, internet banking, use of credit cards and digital funds transfer on the financial performance of SACCOs in Kakamega County, Kenya. The research was guided by three theories of innovation and technology: Diffusion of Innovation Theory, The Theory of Task-Technology Fit Theory and the Technological context, Organisational context and Environmental context Theory.The study used a descriptive research design. The population of study were staff at the three SACCOs operating in Kakamega County. This consisted of 162 respondents who are the staff of the SACCOs. A sample of 49 respondents was taken which forms 30% of the target population which shall be evenly spread across the three SACCOs. The primary data was collected by use of self-administered semi-structured questionnaire.Collected data was analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics by the use of SPSS. Findings were presented by use of tables, frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviation.The study found that the financial performance of the SACCOs was significantly influenced by the digital financial services instituted by the SACCO managements. They demonstrated to have reliable mobile banking system where most of their customers had enrolled on the mobile banking platform and most of customer queries and updates were sorted via the mobile platform.Given the limitations and findings of this study, the researcher recommends that since there exists a positive relationship between digital financial services and bank performance and that e-banking has brought services closer to bank customer’s hence improving banking industry performance, SACCOs must also enhance the dynamics of the sector and embrace digital banking fully and extensively. Mobile banking faces various challenges among them being, system delays by the mobile money transfer service providers, slow processing of transactions, high transactions costs, limit on the amount of money that can be withdrawn in a day and fraud.

Impact of mobile money access on internal remittances, consumption expenditure and household welfare in Ghana

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of mobile money access on internal remittances received, per capita consumption expenditure and welfare of household in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe study used data from the latest round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey (GLSS 7) and employed the propensity score matching technique to estimate average treatment effect between users and non-users of mobile money transfer services.FindingsThe study finds that using mobile money is welfare enhancing, particularly for poor households and the channel by which it impacts on welfare is through higher internal remittances received and per capita expenditure. The results from the average treatment effect indicate that mobile money users receive significantly higher remittances and consequently spend averagely higher on consumption than non-users.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the data employed in this study is limited to one country, the findings support the financial inclusion role and developmental impact of mobile money transfer services. Hence, mobile money transfer services should be promoted and facilitated by the telecommunication and financial sector regulators.Originality/valueIn addition to making original contribution to the literature on the welfare impact of mobile money, the study's use of the propensity score matching is unique.

PORTER’S FIVE FORCES INFLUENCE ON COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN TELECOMMUNICATION INDUSTRY IN KENYA

Purpose: Competition is at the core of existence of firms. This determines the appropriateness of a firm’s activities that can contribute to its performance, such as innovations, a cohesive culture, or good implementation. Many firms have performed poorly in a competitive environemnt due to failure to analyse and strategise on the Porter’s Five Forces, regardless of the industry sector. Competitive strategy aims to establish a profitable and sustainable position against the forces that determine industry competition. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of Porter’s Five Forces on competitive advantage in telecommunication industry in Kenya. The study aims at establishing the extent to which barriers to entry, rivalry among established firms, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers and substitute products influence competitive advantage of telecommunication industry in Kenya.
 Methodology:The study adopted desktopresearch. Specifically, the paper identified documentary evidence in the form of already completed studies that focused on influence of porters five forces on competitive advantage both locally, regionally and globally.
 Findings:The study findings indicated that there was threat of new entrants in the teleommunication industry in kenya due to presence of various competing firms. In addition, although the suppliers in the industry had formed associations to negotiate prices with the input providers, the buyers bargaining power was high. The firms had to strategize on how to attract and retain the customers to avoid shifting from one company to the other. Findings on bargaining power of buyers of mobile phone providers indicate that, firms have spent time and energy in ensuring their customers are well protected and incentivized so as to stick to their respective mobile networks. Similarly, findings on intensity of rivalry, indicate that to strategize and win in this highly competitive industry, product differentiation, process innovation, product innovation and technological innovation are some of the strategies the companies use to stay ahead. Findings on threat of substitute products indicate that, the industry has a number of substitutes that can highly influence the profitability of these companies. The study concludes that porters five forces framework indeed influenced performance of telecommunication firms in Kenya. The study also concludes that the threat of new entrants applies to the mobile phone providers in the Kenyan Telecommunication industry due to the presence of various competing organizations. These organizations are offering similar products and services such as mobile money transfer services, handheld devices, airtime and accessories.
 Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy The study recommends that the telecommunication firms should keep monitoring their business environment so as to structure the appropriate strategies to keep up with competition and technological changes.

Factors Determining the Continued Intention to Use Mobile Money Transfer Services (MMTS) Among University Students in Ghana

This study explored the factors influencing the continued intention to use mobile money transfer services among university students in Ghana. The UTAUT was used as the research theoretical framework while the analysis was conducted with SPSS and SmartPLS. The results demonstrate that the continued intention to use mobile money transfer services is influenced by performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, and perceived service quality. Also, perceived service quality was found to be a significant predictor of the actual use of mobile money transfer services. The study further revealed that the continued intention to use was a positive determinant of the actual usage of mobile money transfer services. The implications of these and other findings of the study are discussed.

‘Upliftment’, friends and finance: everyday exchange repertoires and mobile money transfer in Kenya

AbstractThe rapid and massive adoption of mobile money transfer (MMT) services in East Africa, particularly in Kenya, stands in stark contrast to historically low use of formal financial systems on the continent. Its ‘fertile grounds’ therefore require in-depth analysis to understand the implications for African financial systems. This paper argues for the need to examine the underlying conceptual environment that enables low income and poor people's MMT adoption. It innovatively combines anthropological with ethnolinguistic analytical approaches to distinguish two repertoires around resource exchange. First, is a relational financial repertoire where relationships are developed and consolidated to create support and ‘upliftment’. A contrasting resource-focused repertoire is more like that of the formal financial sector. Identifying the conceptual features of relationality, the study offers a new perspective on the adoption and use of MMT in Africa and highlights the potential for disjunctures with policy efforts to increase financial inclusion.

UTAUT2 모형과 보안을 적용한 대학생의 모바일 간편송금 서비스 이용의도에 관한 연구

UTAUT2 모형과 보안을 적용한 대학생의 모바일 간편송금 서비스 이용의도에 관한 연구

Effects of Market Share by Use of Mobile Phone Money Transfer on The Profitability of Micro and Small Enterprises in Bungoma County

There have been relatively few studies focusing directly on the way mobile payments are used to enhance the quality of the services of MSEs especially those in rural areas and therefore increasing their profitability. The main purpose of this study was to determine the effect of mobile phone-money transfer services (M-PESA) on the profitability of Micro and Small Enterprises in Bungoma County. The target population was Micro and Small Enterprises which consisted businesses such as retail shops, tailoring, chemists, hardware's, carpentry, metal workers, hair salons, repair services and butcheries. Descriptive research design was used to obtain information about the existing phenomenon by use of questionnaires. The sampling technique used was multi-stage random sampling where a total of 57 sample size was yielded. Excel Computer Package was used to analyse data which was descriptive and presented in form of graphs, pie-charts and percentage tables. Some of the major findings included that almost each business own or have used a mobile phone in their business at 98% which signifies that the high penetration of the mobile phone among the MSEs in rural areas can serve to help the high percentage of unbanked small businesses access financial services through M-pesa which helps them to increase their profits and as a result, the mobile phone industry can be seen as an ideal partner to offer mobile services to MSEs in rural areas. The government should assist in bringing down the cost of m-pesa transactions so as to induce MSEs in using mobile money transfer services.

THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL MOBILE REMITTANCES IN PROMOTING FINANCIAL INCLUSION AND DEVELOPMENT

The purpose of this paper is to examine the contribution that international mobile remittances make in promoting financial inclusion and development. We use the case of the EcoCash Diaspora service that is offered by Econet Wireless Zimbabwe for the study. EcoCash Diaspora is a mobile money transfer service that enables users to send remittances directly to the EcoCash mobile phone wallet of recipients in Zimbabwe. We argue that international mobile remittances are a spectacular innovation in that they are able to reach people banking institutions had faced challenges with reaching, particularly those in rural areas. Given that there are significantly more people who own mobile phones in comparison to those who hold formal bank accounts, providing financial services through mobile networks could provide financial access to several unbanked households. In addition to this, international mobile remittances also promote human development by enhancing the financial capabilities of the recipients. Our study demonstrates the important role mobile technology is playing in improving lives of people at the bottom of the pyramid and we encourage greater use of mobile technology in delivering services to this population. Keywords: Remittances , Mobile Banking, Financial inclusion, Human Development.

EXAMINING DETERMINANTS OF BEHAVIORAL INTENTION IN ADOPTION OF MOBILE MONEY TRANSFER SERVICES IN UGANDA

Mobile Money has continuously brought changes on our daily lives by offering interesting and advantageous services specifically enabling users to pay for goods and services using their mobile devices wherever they go, withdraw and deposit of money using mobile phones, mobile banking and buying of airtime top ups. This study aimed at examining the determinants for adoption of mobile money transfer services (MMTs) in the rural parts of Uganda, where the adoption rates are said to be low. The study used a cross sectional survey methodology to gather data from 300 respondents from the rural parts of Kampala district on the variables captured by the modified facets of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology Model. Results of correlation and regression analysis demonstrate that Customer Expectancy and Social Factors have a positive and significant influence on Behavioral Intention towards the use of Mobile Money Transfer service while Transaction costs was found to insignificant. The findings of this study provide useful information to Mobile Network Operators that they can use in fostering the implementation of Mobile Money Transfer services in the rural areas of Uganda.

M-Pesa and Mobile Money in Kenya: Pricing for Success

The Kenyan government’s announcement of a new 10 percent tax in March 2013 threatened the future prospects of M-Pesa, Safaricom’s mobile money transfer service, which had revolutionized the way money moved in Kenya. The new tax would be levied on all cash transfers but was largely targeted at M-Pesa, which controlled around 80 percent of the cash transfer market. In response to the new tax, Safaricom, the mobile communications market leader, announced a 10 percent price increase.The case presents the structure Safaricom established in order to develop a mobile money transfer service in Kenya. As a concept, M-Pesa was unprecedented in Kenya: prospective customers had to get comfortable with the idea that a mobile communications company could provide a payment system, that transactions could be initiated through a mobile phone, and that nonbank outlets could provide cash-in/cash-out services. Even when the concept was accepted, however, customers needed a convenient network of agents to handle transactions, and stores needed to see demand from customers in order to be motivated to become agent outlets. Thus, in order to grow, M-Pesa needed to aggressively pursue and acquire both customers and agents in this two-sided market. Understand the complexity of pricing in two-sided markets Evaluate the profitability of different pricing strategies in two-sided markets Understand the effect of an innovation on the creation and capture of value Identify possible threats to competitive advantage in two-sided markets as well as in developing countries Understand the value of co-opetition and how cooperation with competitors and complementors can increase a company’s profitability

Detection of Anomalous Activity in Mobile Money Transfer Services Using RadViz-Visualization

Currently mobile money transfer services (MMTS) managed by a mobile network operator are being widely adopted all over the world. In this paper, the authors present an approach to detection of the anomalous behavior of the MMTS users which is based on RadViz-visualization. This visualization technique is characterized by an ability to detect groups of similarities and outliers among users, and it has low computational complexity. The results of application of the developed visual analytics technique for detection of different fraudulent scenarios specific for the given MMTS use case are presented and discussed.

Visualizing co-presence: discourses on transnational family connectivity in ethnic advertising

Transnational family members rely on a vast array of strategies to keep in touch with their loved ones scattered in distant places. In this context, providers of mobile phones and money transfer services have quickly identified international migrants as lucrative market niches, producing particular discourses on migrant connectivity through ethnic advertising. In this article, I analyse 30 of these advertisements in Spain from a qualitative and critical perspective in order to explore how they represent migrant management of family relationships at a distance. For this purpose, I articulate transnational family studies with social semiotics of visual communication. My analysis identified the predominance of promises of virtual co-presence through at least two different strategies – which I called ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ representations of co-presence – and its conceptual implications for both migrant and non-migrant subjects.

Challenges Facing Penetration of New Mobile Money Transfer Services In Nairobi

The study sought to explore the challenges mobile network operators face in penetrating the Mobile Money Transfer (MMT) in Kenya which is dominated by one player. The study assumes that there are challenges and constraints that limit the involvement of competitive MMT services which are attributed to the internal and external environment of the Mobile Network Operator (MNO). The study is significant as it seeks to unearth knowledge and provide insight to competing firms to enter into the MMT services market which has been experiencing significant growth over the recent years. The study was guided by four specific objectives which include; To identify the factors influencing the adoption of mobile money transfer services; To determine the influence of product positioning on adoption of mobile money transfer; To identify determinants influencing customer migration in adoption of mobile money transfer services and To determine barriers facing consumers in adoption of mobile money transfer services. The study adopts the descriptive research design. The design was perceived to be the most appropriate as it allows the researcher to collect data from respondents and make inferences from this information. The researcher proposes to use the questionnaire as the primary tool for data collection. The researcher performed descriptive and inferential statistics to make sense of the data and presented the information in tables, charts and graphs complemented by the researchers own interpretation.

Use of the Dempster–Shafer theory to detect account takeovers in mobile money transfer services

Advanced cyber-threats, specifically targeted to financial institutions, are growing in frequency and sophistication, both globally and in individual countries. To counter this trend, effective solutions are needed that are able to reliably and timely detect frauds across multiple channels that process millions of transactions per day. These security solutions are required to process logs produced by different systems and correlate massive amounts of information in real-time. In this paper, we propose an approach based on the Dempster–Shafer (DS) theory, that results in high performance of the detection process, i.e. high detection rates and low false positive rates. The approach is based on combining multiple (and heterogeneous) data feeds to get to a degree of belief that takes into account all the available evidence. The proposed approach has been validated with respect to a challenging demonstration case, specifically the detection of frauds performed against a mobile money transfer (MMT) service. An extensive experimental campaign has been conducted, using synthetic data generated by a simulator which closely mimics the behavior of a real system, from a major MMT service operator.

Modeling Adoption and Usage of Mobile Money Transfer Services in Kenya Using Structural Equations

Mobile Money Transfer services have eased the means of transferring money from one mobile phone user to another in Kenya. Since the introduction of the services there is disparity in adoption of different mobile money transfer platforms in Kenya. In this study Structural Equation Modeling was used to create a model of factors that influence the adoption and usage of Mobile Money Transfer services in Kenya. The findings in this study provide useful information to Mobile Network Operators that they can use in implementation of their Mobile Money Transfer service. The study was conducted in Juja Township. The study established that the independent variable namely, Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy and Social Influence had significant influence on Behavioral Intention towards the use of a given Mobile Money Transfer service. This means that the MMT’s users would continue to use a given Mobile Money Transfer service they have chosen. Facilitating Conditions was found to be a significant factor in predicting adoption and use of Mobile Money Transfer for males and females where gender was used as moderating factor. Also Behavioral intention was a significant determinant of Use Behavior of Mobile Money Transfer services. In conclusion the research model was found to be important in determining factors that influence the adoption and use of a given Mobile Money Transfer service.

Interactive Multi-View Visualization for Fraud Detection in Mobile Money Transfer Services

Mobile money transfer services (MMTS) have gained a solid market segment and are widely used for domestic and international money transfers. Like traditional financial systems they can be used to conduct illegal financial activity including money laundering or usage of malicious software to gain access to mobile money. The paper considers an interactive multi-view approach for detection of the fraudulent activity in the MMTS. It considers a set of visualization techniques enabling comprehensive analysis of the behavior of the MMTS subscriber according to his/her transaction activity. The authors suggest a metaphoric visualization of the MMTS users' behavior based on RadViz visualization that is able to identify groups with similar behavior and outliers. They demonstrate how the proposed approach can be used to reveal money laundering scenarios, behavior frauds, present and discuss the results of the efficiency evaluation of the visualization techniques used to detect fraudulent activity.