Mobile Money Usage Research Articles

Mobile Banking Adoption and Financial Credit Accessibility in Wote Sub – County, Makueni County, Kenya

Although the financial system is a vital component of the socio-economic development of any nation, most Kenyans lack access to formal financial credit services. This arises due to the cause of putting up bank branches in the rural areas is deemed not economically viable. Most banks have partnered with Mobile Network Operators to help mitigate this problem by introducing the use of Mobile banking (M-banking) technology in accessing vital banking services such as financial credit. However, this effort may not attain success if the factors inhibiting the use of M-banking technology have not been assessed. The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of Mobile banking adoption on financial credit accessibility by residents in Wote sub-county. This study was necessitated by the current emerging trend of accessing financial credit through the Mobile banking system. This study adopted a technology acceptance model to establish the effects of adopting mobile banking and its application in use of banking services among residents of Wote sub-county. The study was guided by the following objectives: To establish the effect of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived risk of using mobile banking technology and financial credit accessibility in Wote sub-county, Makueni county, Kenya. Descriptive research design was employed in which the study population comprised the residents of Wote sub-county. The target population of the study consisted of 137,944 mobile money users across both banked and non-banked population in Wote sub-county and the sample size comprised of 138 participants who were selected through the use of simple random sampling technique. Data was collected using a questionnaire whose reliability was established by use of Cronbach’s Alpha. All items in the questionnaire had a score of above 0.7 which was deemed to be the acceptable threshold. The questionnaires were administered through drop and pick later method. The data collected was processed and analysed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics such as percentages, frequencies, standard deviation and mean scores were used. Afterwards, the research findings were presented using frequency tables, pie charts and bar graphs. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyse and draw inferences from the research data. The results indicated that perceived usefulness of mobile banking technology perceived ease of use of mobile banking technology, and perceived risk of using mobile banking technology were statistically significant in accessing of financial credit. The intervening variable- customers’ attitude- was found to be non-significant. This study recommended that both the banks and MNO’s to continuously invest in product improvement of mobile banking systems to ensure the uptake of mobile credit is enhanced. The study also recommended that the financial service providers should engage in education and extensive customer awareness on use of mobile applications to access mobile credit as well as draw up strategies to reduce the mobile phone operational costs such as the interest charged on mobile loans which are a major hindrance. Further, the banks and MNO’s should increase extra security features in their systems to increase trust in accessing mobile credit. Finally, the service providers should make mobile banking more user friendly for ease of financial credit access by incorporating graphics interface.

Extended Technology Acceptance Model to Predict Mobile-Based Money Acceptance and Sustainability: A Multi-Analytical Structural Equation Modeling and Neural Network Approach

This research is a pioneering study into the adoption of mobile-based money services for financial inclusion and sustainability in developing countries like Togo. Owing to their differences from more usual mobile-based banking and payment services, such technology is being aggressively promoted by providers of network telecommunication companies. However, the factors influencing its sustainable acceptance remain largely unknown. This paper extends the original Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), by integrating self-efficacy (SEMM), technology anxiety (TAMM), and personal innovativeness (PIMM). The research model is assessed with survey data of 539 actual and prospective mobile money users employing structural equation modeling–artificial neural networks (SEM–ANN) approach. A feed-forward-back-propagation (FFBP) multi-layer perceptron (MLP) ANN with significant predictors obtained from SEM as the input units and the root mean square of errors (RMSE) indicated that the ANN method achieves high prediction accuracy. The results present conclusive evidence that perceived ease-of-use (PEMM) is the most significant factor affecting consumers’ attitudes to mobile-based money. While perceived usefulness (PUMM) and PIMM affect adoption decisions, their impact is much lower. Consumer attitudes and intentions were found to have a significant relationship with TAM. SEMM and TAMM; however, they showed mixed results. These findings will be useful to retain prevailing users and attract new ones.

Determinants of Continuous Use of Mobile Money Payment Systems in Ghana.

This study examines the effect of user’s satisfaction on post-acceptance behaviour of mobile money users. Specifically, the paper identifies satisfactory factors and further examines the relationship between satisfaction and continuous use of mobile money application at the post-acceptance phase. Data was collected from 696 mobile phone users who had subscribed to mobile money services. Partial least squares (PLS) (Smart PLS 3.0) were used to analyse the collected data to test proposed hypotheses. This study revealed that users’ satisfaction is a significant factor that influences their intentions to continue to use mobile money services. The results indicated that users’ satisfaction is strongly influenced by confirmation and perceived usefulness which in turn significantly impact on continuous use of mobile money applications. Also, perceived security and privacy exert significant impact on users satisfaction. It was noted that charges and fees were insignificant but positively related to users’ intentions to continue to use mobile money applications. The findings have implications on both telecommunication firms and policy makers as they offer practical guidelines in developing strategies to ensure continuous use of mobile money applications/ services as we improve upon financial inclusion in Ghana in particular and Africa in general. This study therefore fills the gap in the post-adoption stage of mobile money usage and further use in Ghana.

A Semi-Systematic Review of the Perceived Cost of Mobile Payment in Sub-Sahara Africa

Mobile payment has gain popularity worldwide due to the offer of convenience. In the sub-Sahara Africa, mobile money is the flagship offer with the highest diffusion rate in the mobile payment segment. Nonetheless, recent complaints from customers about the high cost associated with mobile money usage in the sub-region have gone under the radar of empirical studies simply due to the perceived ability of the mobile money to bring many out of poverty. Using a semi-systematic review of news articles and blogs in a content analysis, we explore the perceived cost of mobile money usage in the sub-region. Results from our study indicate that governments, businesses, individuals and other stakeholders in the sub-region all find mobile money charges to be high. Again, tax imposition by governments and the regressive structure of mobile money charges affect mostly the poor in society. These we believe are caused by the oligopolistic nature of the financial technology (FinTech) market dominated by foreign-owned telecos.

Comment on Apiors, E.K.; Suzuki, A. Mobile Money, Individuals’ Payments, Remittances, and Investments: Evidence from the Ashanti Region, Ghana. Sustainability 2018, 10, 1409

Using primary, individual-level survey data for Ghana, Apiors and Suzuki find, among other things, that mobile money use is not dependent on financial status and that mobile money users save more. This note argues that both conclusions have validity issues.

Health insurance, a friend in need? Impacts of formal insurance and crowding out of informal insurance

Abstract Health insurance can improve health-seeking behaviors and protect consumption from health shocks but may also crowd out informal insurance. This paper therefore examines whether impacts of health insurance depend on households’ access to informal insurance, as proxied for by mobile money usage. Based on high-frequency financial diaries data collected in rural Kenya, we find that households with weaker access to informal insurance cope with uninsured health shocks by lowering subsequent non-health expenditures by approximately 25 percent. These same households are able to smooth consumption when health shocks are insured, due to lower out-of-pocket health expenditures. In contrast, households with access to informal insurance are able to smooth consumption even in the absence of formal health insurance. For this latter group, health insurance increases healthcare utilization at formal clinics and does not crowd out gifts and remittances during weeks with health shocks. These findings provide guidance for insurance schemes aiming to target the most vulnerable populations.

Moderating the Service Quality-Customer Loyalty Relation through Customer Satisfaction, Gender and Banking Status: Evidence from Mobile Money Users in University Of Cape Coast, Ghana

The study was conducted to assess the impact of service quality on customer loyalty for mobile money services among university students when the effect of customer satisfaction, gender and banking status are statistically controlled for. The study targeted first degree students who were offering different programs in University of Cape Coast, Ghana. A total of 18498 students were targeted. Through the explanatory research design, structured questionnaires were personally administered to 377 participants who provided the primary data. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the primary data analysis. Internal consistency of 0.759 was obtained for the instrument. Multiple regression, correlation and moderation analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses in the study. It was discovered that service quality predicted a significant positive variance in customer loyalty. Again, foreign remittance, ease of mobile money registration, interest on savings and airtime purchases made a significant contribution to the 17% variance in customer loyalty. The study proved that, gender and customer satisfaction, significantly moderated the predictive relation between service quality and customer loyalty whilst banking status did not. Security threats, high service charges, low interest on savings, and network failure were major challenges associated with mobile money services.

Mobile Money, Individuals’ Payments, Remittances, and Investments: Evidence from the Ashanti Region, Ghana

While many studies that are focused on mobile money concern the effects of mobile money on consumption and informal risk-sharing, little evidence is provided on how mobile money influences payments and microbusiness investment for low-income people. We estimate the effects of access to mobile money on individuals’ payments and income-generating activities by using data from the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Based on propensity-score matching and propensity-score weighted regression, we find that participation in mobile money is not dependent on individuals’ financial status. We also observe that mobile-money users are likely to send and receive larger volumes of payments and remittances. We further find that mobile-money users are more likely to save higher amounts, invest more in education, microbusinesses, land, and buildings, and also consume more relative to non-users.

Preventing Customer Churn in the Mobile Telecommunication Industry: Is Mobile Money Usage the Missing Link?

ABSTRACTThe paper examines the influence of mobile money usage on customer continuance intention (CCI). The study conveniently sampled 507 mobile money users to test the research model using PLS-SEM. Satisfaction, trust and active usage of mobile money were found to influence CCI. Active usage of mobile money was also confirmed as a mediator in the relationship between satisfaction and trust, on customer continuance. The study thus validated a theoretical model of customer continuance intention as it relates to mobile money usage. It has also provided a new perspective on managing customer churn in an emerging market.

Mobile Money Users' Functionings and Freedoms: Amartya Sen's Capability Approach

Over the last decade Amartya Sen's Capability Approach has emerged as the leading alternative to standard economic frameworks for thinking about poverty, inequality and human development generally. Professor Sen has developed, refined and defended a framework that is directly concerned with human capability and freedom [1]. This framework as it looks at peoples' freedoms and the means that enable them attain such freedoms, was found suitable for this study. This study therefore looked at mobile money users' functionings and freedoms in both rural and urban settings. The framework was therefore established to be suitable in studying societal development that focuses on the people, the development being yearned for and the means to attain such development.

Mobile money adoption and spending behaviour: the case of students in Ghana

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how the use of the mobile money technology among students affects their spending behaviour.Design/methodology/approachThe study reports interesting findings by using a random sample of 506 students from the University of Ghana and applying ordinary least squares regression technique.FindingsThe findings suggest that active use of mobile money services has significant influence on students spending behaviour. On a monthly basis, students who use mobile money spend on the average 20 Ghana Cedis more than their colleagues who do not use mobile money. Students who use both mobile money and ATMs jointly spend nearly 13 Ghana Cedis more than their counterparts who use either of them.Social implicationsThe implication of this finding is that mobile money technology which provides easy access to money can increase spending behaviour of students and reduce the tendency of savings. The authors therefore conclude that although technological growth should not be curtailed given the numerous benefits technology accrues to society, its use must be controlled, in particular, when it comes to using it as a medium of exchange so as to minimize the negative influences (such as indiscriminate spending).Originality/valueThis paper studies the post-adoption behavioural responses of mobile money users particularly among students in Africa which is rare in the literature.

Mobile Money and Financial Inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa: the Moderating Role of Social Networks

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this article is to test the moderating effect of social networks in the relationship between mobile money usage and financial inclusion in rural Uganda. The results revealed that there is a significant and positive moderating effect of social networks in the relationship between mobile money usage and financial inclusion in rural Uganda. Besides, mobile money usage and social networks have direct and significant effects on financial inclusion in rural Uganda. Thus, the findings suggest that existence of social networks of strong and weak ties among mobile money users promote financial inclusion in rural Uganda. Previous studies have concentrated only on investigating the impact of mobile money in promoting financial inclusion in developing economies, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, this particular study introduces the moderating effect of social networks in the relationship between mobile money usage and financial inclusion in rural Uganda, which seems to be sparse and lacking in literature.

Examining Trust and Risk in Mobile Money Acceptance in Uganda

Mobile money adoption can contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goals in Uganda but the factors affecting its sustainable adoption remain largely unknown. This paper explores the extent to which mobile money users’ trust and risk perceptions affect mobile money services adoption of in Uganda. A survey was conducted with 438 mobile money users from Uganda and data was analyzed using Partial Least Squares (PLS) Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). From the results, we obtained new empirical evidence for applying trust and risk perceptions for analyzing mobile money acceptance. We found that mobile money users rely on the structural soundness of mobile money services providers and their ability to provide mobile money services with low perceived risk. Performance expectancy, perceived risk and structural assurance significantly influenced behavioral intention to adopt mobile money. Trust belief did not significantly influence behavioral intention. These results help us to understand and promote mobile banking services in underdeveloped countries, which is of practical and scientific interests. We finally provide practical implications for mobile money services providers, commercial banks and central banks in Africa.

Does Mobile Money Affect Saving Behavior? Evidence from a Developing Country

We investigate whether the use of mobile money can help individuals build savings to face predictable and unpredictable life events. Studying the case of Burkina Faso, we use hand-collected data from individual responses to a survey we designed and conducted between May and June 2014. Our main results show that, although using mobile money services has no impact on saving for predictable events, it increases the propensity of individuals to save for health emergencies. We also find evidence that using mobile money increases the propensity of disadvantaged groups such as rural, female, less educated individuals and individuals with irregular income to save for health emergencies. In our further investigations, we address the mechanisms underlying individual saving behavior. We find that safety and the possibility to transfer money within the sub-region associated with mobile money may be factors that increase the propensity of mobile money users to save for health emergencies. Overall, our results are in line with policymakers' agenda worldwide to increase financial outreach and improve financial inclusion by using mobile technologies.

Policies, Regulations and Procedures and their Effects on Mobile Money Systems in Uganda

AbstractThe introduction of mobile money systems in emerging economies has enabled the would‐be unbanked population to gain access to financial services. The number of mobile money users and value of transactions is on the increase. This rapid growth of mobile money services and value transactions in emerging economies is attributed to the light‐touch regulatory framework which allows minimal limitations on who should operate mobile money system and few restrictions on who can function as an agent. These increases both in services and transactions indicate that mobile money systems hold a lot of valuable customer financial information that needs to be jealously protected against information breaches and abuse by the various stakeholders in the mobile money ecosystem.Taking an interpretive qualitative approach, Activity Theory (AT) has been used to analyse the mobile money management activities focusing on information security policies, regulations and procedures. In order to comprehend the aspects revealed by the Activity Theory analysis that raise information security management concerns in mobile money operations, Mobile Network Operator (MNO) management issues, in terms of the security of mobile money operations, are detailed.Our findings look at the reasons given by various stakeholders for information security management gaps in mobile money operations in emerging economies. Our findings disclose the roles of MNO staff, who are not information security experts, in the development and compliance monitoring of policies, regulations and procedures related to the safety of financial information in mobile money systems.

Does Mobile Money Affect Saving Behaviour? Evidence from a Developing Country

We investigate whether the use of mobile money can help individuals build savings to face predictable and unpredictable life events. Studying the case of Burkina Faso, we use hand-collected data from individual responses to a survey we designed and conducted between May and June 2014. Our main results show that, although it is not possible to detect any correlation between using mobile money and saving for predictable events, it seems to increase the propensity of individuals to save for health emergencies. We also found robust evidence suggestive that using mobile money increases the propensity of disadvantaged groups such as rural, female, less educated individuals and individuals with irregular income to save for health emergencies. In our further investigations, we address the mechanisms underlying individual saving behaviour. We found that safety and the possibility to transfer money within the sub-region associated with mobile money may be factors that increase the propensity of mobile money users to save for health emergencies. Overall, our results are in line with policymakers’ agenda worldwide to increase financial outreach and improve financial inclusion by using mobile technologies.

Mobile Money Landscape in the 12 SADC Countries using FinScope Survey Data

There is no doubt that mobile money is bringing the under-served and the excluded population into the main stream financial services corridors. Based on the FinScope surveys, mobile money is becoming one of the enablers of financial inclusion. In an increasing number of developing countries, a number of poor people are using basic mobile phones to transfer money, paying for goods and accessing some basic financial services. According to the World Bank, mobile financial services are amongst the most promising mobile applications in the developing world. Although FinScope results show that mobile money usage is relatively low (23%) in the SADC region, the trend of usage is coming up fast. FinScope results show that close to 7 in 10 mobile money users are using it as a remittances/money transfer vehicle while 54% for buying airtime. It is encouraging that about 7 million adults (24% of mobile money) store value or save money in their mobile money accounts. Some barriers to mobile money relate to: affordability, perceived cost of mobile money, lack of understanding of mobile money/lack of awareness and no access to cell phones. Besides these barriers, mobile money is becoming a game changer for the landscape of financial inclusion in the SADC region.

Mobile Money Use In Ghana: An Assessment Of Its Relevance In The Financial Inclusion Of Rural Communities

Mobile money offers new possibilities for making financial services more inclusive in Africa, especially in rural Africa. Unlike conventional banking and financial services, mobile network operators (MNOs) have made huge investments to create networks that reach further and deeper into rural areas historically marginalized in an effort to satisfy their demand to communicate. Infrastructure changes in rural areas are external factors that may force new models for the mobile services. Since 2005, a new technology—mobile money—has become available in over eighty (80) countries worldwide. Mobile money (m-money) is a product that allows clients to use text messages to store value in an account accessible by the handset, convert cash in and out of the stored value account, and transfer value between users. As compared with the traditional means of sending and receiving money within many developing countries, such as Western Union and MoneyGram, the postal service or delivery by friends or family, m-money substantially reduces the costs of transferring money. M-money offers a new potential mechanism for increasing the financial inclusion of the world’s poor. The main objective of this investigation is to critically examine mobile money usage and its relevance in the financial inclusion of rural communities. The generally attained educational level by the participants is Junior high school/Middle school qualification. Deposits, withdrawals (cash-in and cash-out), fund transfers and airtime purchase were the most patronised services. Results from the focused group discussion (FGDs) also showed that participants had used the mobile money services and the most used services were the funds transfer (receiving remittances) and buying airtime. The study also found that most of the participant sent and received mobile money compared to those that had either only sent or only received. Mobile money service has improved the financial inclusion of rural folk as demonstrated by the access and use of mobile money by the rural people. The researchers recommend that mobile money service providers should educate rural people to save through mobile money service.

UTAUT Model in Explaining the Adoption of Mobile Money Usage by MSMEs' Customers in Uganda

Technology advancement has always been part of organizational efficiency and organizations take investment in technology as part and parcel of their annual plans. The increase in mobile telephone penetration in the emerging economies has presented new frontiers for technology to enhance Micro Small and Medium Enterprises' (MSMES) operations. Combining technological advancement in mobile connectivity with the low coverage of financial institutions/ services, has given rise to the phenomenon of mobile money which has in a way affected the MSMEs both positively and negatively. This paper uses both Meta-analysis and primary data to test to try and determine the extent to which the Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (Venkatesh et al. 2003) can be used to explain the adoption of Mobile money services by the customers of Micro, small and medium enterprises in Uganda.

Why Mobile Money Users Keep Increasing? Investigating the Continuance Usage of Mobile Money Services in Tanzania

Why Mobile Money Users Keep Increasing? Investigating the Continuance Usage of Mobile Money Services in Tanzania