MOBILE MONEY TRANSFER: A FOCUS ON THE IMPACT AND USAGE

MOBILE MONEY TRANSFER: A FOCUS ON THE IMPACT AND USAGE. A RESEARCH PROJECT TOPIC ON BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

ABSTRACT

Mobile money transfer services emerged in Kenya sometime in the past decade but in 2007 with Safaricom’s M-pesa service and M-kesho in 2010. The usage of the service is common in the country among subscribers and also among the unbanked populations in the rural areas.

The purpose of this study was to look into mobile money transfer, its emergence, impact and delve more into the usage among ordinary users. The theoretical part of the study focuses on banking in general in the world and other related services that include mobile money trans-fers which emerged with trends in mobile telephony.

The relevance of the information presented is to pave way for further studies on topics relat-ed to mobile money transfers and its economic significance to the developing nations using the service. Additionally, to give ideas for future studies related to the topic.

The main goal was to get firsthand information from selected respondents representing sub-scribers who are using Safaricom’s mobile money transfer services and their thoughts on the pros and cons of the services.

This was done by issuing a questionnaire with 12 questions to potential respondents and ana-lyzing the data presented. Collecting information related to the topic involved reading past articles, journals and periodicals to lay a foundation for carrying out the study.

The results of the study show that 89% of the respondents prefer using the mobile money transfer service M-pesa while the other 11% prefer using formal banks to carry out their finan-cial activities. They all gave their reasons for their preferences which give insight on the posi-tive and negative sides of mobile money transfers.

In conclusion, the results of this study have potential to be generalized but would have been better if more information was collected from more respondents. The impact of mobile mon-ey transfer services has mostly been positive and the usage of the services promote financial aptitude among ordinary users.

MOBILE MONEY TRANSFER: A FOCUS ON THE IMPACT AND USAGE. A RESEARCH PROJECT TOPIC ON BUSINESS MANAGEMENT