FinTech in Sub-Saharan African Countries

Mobile money and regional financial integration: Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa

“…Given the regional interconnectedness of African countries through migrant movement, increased access to financial services through mobile money should result in a corresponding rise in cross-border remittance flows and, in turn, improve regional financial links between countries. However, despite improvements in financial inclusion, Villasenor et al (2015) claimed usage of these financial services is still low, whilst Sy et al (2019) had evidence to the contrary. This brings into question the impact of mobile money in improving cross-borders remittance flows and, in turn, enhancing regional links in sub-Saharan Africa.…”

“…With the adoption of disruptive technology being a global phenomenon, sub-Saharan Africa has not been spurred. Of the various forms of Fintech on offer, mobile money has come up as the most preferred technological innovation in the region, evidenced by a 40% adoption rate, the highest in the world (Pasti 2017;Sy et al 2019). According to UNCTAD (2018), interregional migration is a key feature in Africa, with 80% of migrants in Eastern, Middle and Western Africa having originated from the same region and the Ivory Coast, Kenya and South Africa serving as the migration hubs.…”

“…Mobile money represents a fintech innovation that uses mobile phones to provide financial services. Globally, the sub-Saharan African region has been identified as the leader in mobile money usage and adoption (Sy et al 2019). The GSMA (2019a) agreed with this assertion placing sub-Saharan Africa's adoption of mobile money at 45%, followed by South Asia at 33%.…”

Readiness to the FinTech Industry in Developing Countries

“…In fact, the central banks and regulators could acquire benefits in considering FinTechs as a leap-frogging opportunity to step into economic growth and development regarding weaknesses concerning bank competition, financial inclusion, and also macrofinancial linkages in Sub-Saharan Africa compared to other African regions. Nevertheless, FinTech may present a new risk that must be driven, at the same time, with the most suitable and appropriate regulatory frameworks (Sy et al 2019).…”

“…The distribution of financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa has been significantly reinforced by radical change with the technology of mobile money. Consequently, nearly 40 of 45 Sub-Saharan African countries are currently using this new financial technology (FinTech); this region has, in fact, become the global leader of mobile money innovation, adoption, and usage (Sy et al 2019).…”