Examining mobile banking in developing nations from pro‐poor “context, culture, and community” perspective
Devendra Dilip Potnis · Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology · 2014
ABSTRACT The mobile phone is the most widely used information and communication technology (ICT) among poor communities in developing nations. Mobile banking lies at the intersection of digital and financial inclusion of these bottom billions. Mobile banking is a social informatics phenomenon embedded in social context; its adoption and ongoing use depends on the ability of the poor to address the barriers to using mobile phones and financial services. Hence, the author critically examines the phenomenon using a pro‐poor perspective. Cultural and contextual characteristics of communities significantly influence the adoption and continued usage of ICT (World Bank, 2012). To examine the challenges faced by the poor in adopting and continuing to use mobile banking services, the newly proposed pro‐poor perspective focuses on three dimensions, context, culture, and communities. Qualitative analysis of studies on the adoption of mobile banking informs the interdisciplinary discussion on financial and digital inclusion in social informatics, and provides insights to researchers and practitioners for better serving the poor using mobile technologies in developing nations.