Does mobile money promote financial inclusion in Eswatini?

Myeni, Siphesihle; Makate, Marshall; Mahonye, Nyasha

doi:10.1108/ijse-05-2019-0310

Cited by 29 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The results confirm the significant role of financial inclusion and mobile money use in alleviating poverty and increasing individuals' well-being. Myeni et al (2020) examined how mobile banking promotes financial inclusion based on data from the "FinScope" consumption survey conducted in Eswatini, 2014 edition. The authors found that having a high educational attainment, entrepreneurial skills and living in urban areas are the determinants of mobile money use.…”

Section: Financial Inclusion and Mobile Bankingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Financial inclusion, mobile banking, informal finance and financial exclusion: micro-level evidence from Morocco

Ezzahid

Elouaourti

2021

IJSE

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PurposeThis study has a dual purpose. The first is constructing a financial inclusion index to investigate if the reforms implemented during the last decades at the macroeconomic and sectoral levels have contributed to increase the financial inclusion level in Morocco. The second is to deepen the investigation to explore the impact of these reforms at the microeconomic level, by focusing on six major issues: determinants of financial inclusion, links between individual characteristics and barriers to financial inclusion, determinants of mobile banking use, motivations for saving, credit objectives and determinants of resorting to informal finance.Design/methodology/approachFirst, the principal component analysis methodology is mobilized to construct a financial inclusion index for Morocco. Second, the probit model methodology on a micro-level database of 5,110 Moroccan adults is used.FindingsFirst, the financial inclusion index shows that financial inclusion in Morocco over the last two decades has followed different trends. The first period (1999–2004) was characterized by a slight upswing in the level of financial inclusion. In the second period (2004–2012), the level of financial inclusion increased significantly. During the third period (2012–2019), the financial inclusion maintained almost the same level. Second, empirical results showed that the determinants of formal finance and mobile banking are different from those of informal finance. Having a high educational attainment and being a participant in the labor market fosters financial inclusion. Concerning financial exclusion determinants, the results emphasized that a high educational attainment reduces the barriers leading to voluntary exclusion. As income level increases, barriers of involuntary exclusion such as “lack of money” become surmountable. Although "remoteness" and "high cost" are the major barriers to financial inclusion of all Moroccan social classes, the development of mobile banking allows to eliminate, smoothen and/or loosen all barriers sources of involuntary exclusion. As for the barriers causing voluntary exclusion, the Islamic finance model constitutes a lever for the inclusion of population segments excluded for religious reasons. As for the determinants of the recourse to informal finance, being a woman, an older person and having a low educational level (no more than secondary education) increase the probability to turn to informal finance.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitation of this study is the non-availability of data on the two dimensions (quality and welfare) of financial inclusion. The composite index is constructed on the basis of two dimensions (access and use) for which data are available.Practical implicationsThis study has three main implications. In practice, with the launching of the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion, this work provides empirical grounded evidence that contributes to design financial inclusion policies in Morocco. In research, while the debate on financial inclusion, mobile banking and informal finance has been raging in recent years, Morocco, like many other African countries, has not received coverage on these topics at the household level.Social implicationsFor society, this study provides considerable insight about the segments of population that are financially excluded and the main reasons for their exclusion.Originality/valueThis study enriches the existing literature with four essential contributions. First, it analyzes the evolution of the level of financial inclusion in the Moroccan economy through the development of a synthetic index. Second, it is the first to study the Moroccan population's financial behavior on the basis of micro-level data, which will help understand more precisely their financial behavior and the main obstacles to their inclusion. Third, this study explores the determinants of the use of mobile banking. Fourth, it sheds some light on the main determinants of the recourse to informal finance.

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Section: Financial Inclusion and Mobile Bankingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Financial inclusion, mobile banking, informal finance and financial exclusion: micro-level evidence from Morocco

Ezzahid

Elouaourti

2021

IJSE

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“…This system offers various services to users, such as making payments with the mobile phone, sending and receiving money between users (and non-users), withdrawing cash at ATMs. G-Cash in the Philippines (Pelletier et al, 2020), Nequi in Colombia (Agidi, 2018), Swazi MTN in Eswatini (Myeni et al, 2020), WIZZIT and MTN Mobile Money in South Africa, and CELPAY in Zambia (Andrianaivo and Kpodar, 2012) are also considered successful implementations of mobile money in low-income countries. However, it is important to highlight the fact that while similar m-payment systems and technology initiatives can be found in various developing countries, only a few have achieved high adoption rates capable of supporting the scale required for extensive use Potnis et al (2020).…”

Section: Bottom Of the Pyramidmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acceptance of mobile commerce in low-income consumers: evidence from an emerging economy

Dakduk

Santalla-Banderali

Siqueira

2020

Heliyon

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“…There is a convergence between banking and mobile money channels (Myeni et al 2020). Partnerships that bring together banks and MNOs carry advantages for both categories of partners and allows for both partners to benefit from the strengths of each.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Factors that drive financial inclusion arising from the adoption and usage of mobile money include age, digital literacy and availability of associated services such as phone credit recharge, education, and income (Amoah et al 2020). Further, entrepreneurship, gender, living in urban or rural areas all positively influence the probability to adopt and use mobile money (Myeni et al 2020). Also, the density of registered mobile money agents per 100,000 adults led to an increase in the total number of people using the financial services per 100,000 adults in Sub-Sahara Africa and the relationship between the registered mobile money agents per 100,000 adults and the total number of people using financial services was proven to be significant (Nyimbiri 2021).…”

Section: Banking Mobile Money and Implications For Financial Inclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the case of mobile banking, banking services are used in combination with mobile money, and this effectively increases the uptake of both mobile money and banking services. Individuals who use mobile money are 19% more likely to own a bank account at a formal financial institution with a higher probability estimate observed amongst rural residents (Myeni et al 2020). The pace of increase in adoption of mobile money (Aron 2018), the high rate of adoption of mobile money in payments and remittances (Ahmad et al 2020), the requirement for digital literacy in the usage of digital services (Amoah et al 2020), and the standardization of IT-enabled services (Vidyashree and Rathod 2018) pose an implication for the consideration of consumer protection.…”

Section: Banking Mobile Money and Implications For Financial Inclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Financial Inclusion through Digital Financial Services (DFS): A Study in Uganda

Ebong¹,

George

2021

JRFM

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This study unravels trends and momentum in banking and mobile money channels and uptake of select services and thereafter draws implications for enhancing financial inclusion through Digital Financial Services (DFS). The Rate of Change (ROC) approach was applied to analyze the growth momentum in banking and mobile money channels in Uganda. Implications for growth momentum in banking and mobile money channels for DFS and financial inclusion was drawn from observing and making informed interpretation of such observed trends and momentum. The findings of this study imply that banks must innovate to increase their contribution towards enhancing financial inclusion. Additional channel innovations, which may infuse banking and mobile money channels, are needed for banking to leverage on growth of mobile money and regain its role in enhancing financial inclusion. Leveraging the application of digital innovations in services such as payments and digitizing alternative channels such as agent banking are likely to increase efficiencies in physical channels and the provision of banking services and thereby increase overall reach and penetration of banking. The fast pace of mobile money penetration is good for speeding up financial inclusion. However, this calls for better regulatory approaches for DFS risk reduction, consumer protection, and protecting mobile money against integrity and financial crimes.

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Does mobile money promote financial inclusion in Eswatini?

Cited by 29 publications

References 37 publications

Financial inclusion, mobile banking, informal finance and financial exclusion: micro-level evidence from Morocco

Financial inclusion, mobile banking, informal finance and financial exclusion: micro-level evidence from Morocco

Acceptance of mobile commerce in low-income consumers: evidence from an emerging economy

Financial Inclusion through Digital Financial Services (DFS): A Study in Uganda

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