The impact of cell-phone banking on the lives of the low income population in South Africa.
Date
2016
Authors
Maharaj, Roshan
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Abstract
Branchless banking is appealing to banks within South Africa as it presents an opportunity for greater reach and lower cost of service delivery. Cell-phone technology is one of the media through which branchless banking is delivered to customers in South Africa. Due to certain embedded technology and SMSes (short message system) being available on all cell-phones, this form of banking can be accessed with any cell-phone.
Cell-phone penetration in South Africa is very high and the majority of the low income population of South Africa have adopted this technology as their means of communication.
With the push from government for financial inclusion of the masses and the push from the banks to increase profits, cell-phone technology presents an opportunity to enable the delivery of banking to the poor.
This study is aimed at identifying the impacts that cell-phone banking has on the low income population within South Africa, both positive and negative, by means of a qualitative study that was designed to illicit a deeper understanding of those impacts. A total of 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with respondents from LSM groups 1 to 4.
The impact themes and discussions provide a basis from which banks and mobile network operators can consider certain marketing campaigns to increase adoption. The government of South Africa can also gain insight from this study regarding the relevance of the policies governing cell-phone technology and banks.
The study finds that there is a strong bias to cell-phone banking having a positive impact on the low income population of South Africa. It further finds that education and limit restrictions are probably required to sustainably embed this technology as a vehicle to branchless banking, whilst protecting the users from others and themselves.
Description
MBA
Keywords
Banks and banking, Mobile -- South Africa.Mobile commerce -- South Africa.Mobile communication systems -- South Africa. Cell phones -- South Africa.Low-income consumers -- South Africa.