Snags in mobile money in developing economies

Abstract

Lessening snags in the management of mobile money systems is a fundamental prerequisite. The study was motivated by the continuous mobile money management snags. Previous studies in developing economies focused mainly on technological algorithm for mobile money systems with untraceable attention given to management matters. The study aimed at lessening snags in the management of mobile money system. Underpinned by activity theory and guided by an interpretive paradigm, a qualitative inquiry was conducted. Semi-structured interviews and internal document review formed the key data instruments. Expert purposive sampling was adopted, data thematically analyzed and themes mapped on activity theory nodes.The study revealed inadequate monitoring of the mobile money agents, insufficient confidentiality and privacy in financial transactions; use of general accounts for financial transactions, use of generic guidelines and polices, third party involvement in sensitive mobile money activities and weak staff recruitment policies as the key findings. Managerial implications for the study include online registration of customers, introduction of online transaction monitoring, online categorization of mobile money accounts, digital financial crime checks, digital validation of customer identities and continuous review and updates of mobile money guidelines.activity theory, developing economies, mobile money, mobile money management | Introduction and backgroundShrinking snags in the management of mobile money systems is central to their success, total acceptance and usage in developing economies where, for decades, the majority population has lacked access to conventional financial services. The trust, confidence and customer royalty to mobile money services can only be warranted if there are no snags in mobile money systems. Therefore, the snags in mobile money management can easily thwart people's trust to access and use of these services. Mobile money is described differently across various regions depending on the region's level of technological and economic development. For instance, the understanding and use of mobile money in developed economies differ from developing economies. Mobile money is defined as an electronic wallet that lets users store, send and receive money using their phones (Olayinkaet al. 2019;Gutierrez & Choi, 2014;Yakub & Adenuga, 2013). In this paper, mobile money has been termed as the use of mobile phone to initiate, authorize or approve electronic financial transactions or remittance using money accounts stored on a mobile phone SIM card.The key activities of the mobile money services as per this definition are mobile network operator (MNO)-centric and the most common in developing economies.

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