Building blocks of financial inclusion through customer experience value at financial touchpoints in Southern Africa

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to examine customer experience value orchestrated by non-banks' financial touchpoints to understand how they enhance the financial inclusion of low-income consumers.Design/methodology/approachTwo independent but related studies were conducted using qualitative comparative analyses (QCA) research design with semi-structured interviews to compare and contrast customer experience value at two rural locations in Southern Africa. The interview transcripts were analysed using ATLAS.ti, which is a powerful operating system for analysing qualitative data.FindingsThe results indicate that non-banks in the two countries design financial services that include functional, economic, humanic, social and mechanic customer experience value dimensions.Research limitations/implicationsThe data for this study was collected from financial services customers of retailers and mobile phone network operators in only one research setting in each country. Further research could extend the comparative context for qualitative studies across similar markets. Other limitations are discussed in the paper.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the body of knowledge by highlighting the salient and germane dimensions and components found to be important in understanding financial inclusion using customer experience value. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that incorporates customer experience value dimensions in understanding the financial inclusion of low-income consumers at the base of the social and economic pyramid in emerging markets.

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

“…The literature has mainly observed negative influences of NSI on BI (Lee and Yang, 2013;Lian, 2018). Users may actually value interactions with kiosk agents and their assistance during transactions (Sithole et al, 2021), especially in a context like Senegal, which is characterized by a high rate of illiteracy.…”

“…Consumers who prefer face-to-face interaction with cashier agents have high NSI and may evaluate SST (Lee and Yang, 2013), MMT (Sithole et al, 2021) and related experiences negatively. Furthermore, NSI significantly, negatively influences SST behavioral intentions at adoption and thereafter (Lian, 2018) and NSI can negatively affect technological service experience (Lee and Yang, 2013).…”

Financial Inclusion Through Technology: A Review of Trends in Emerging Markets

“…Financial inclusion is a critical aspect of economic development, particularly in emerging markets, as it aims to provide access to financial services for all members of the economy. Sarma and Pais (2008) define financial inclusion as "the process of ensuring ease of access, usage, and availability, of financial services" (Sithole et al, 2021). This definition emphasizes the importance of unbiased access to financial services for all individuals.…”

Digital Financial Inclusion to Accelerate the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals

“…Вплив фінансової інклюзії на подолання проблем бідності та нерівності в суспільстві ґрунтовно дослідили такі зарубіжні вчені, як Е. Деміргуч-Кунт, Л. Клаппер, Д. Сингер [14]. Фінансова інклюзія також досліджується у площині підвищення фінансової грамотності та обізнаності населення, забезпечення фінансової стабільності, захисту прав споживачів [11,21,22]. Інтенсивність використання електронних і мобільних грошей у різних країнах світу та в Україні, зокрема, не лише прискорює відкриття "шлюзу фінансової доступності", але суттєво підвищує ризики фінансових установ [9, с.…”