Mobile information systems architecture for everyday money practice
Woldmariam F. Mesfin · 2012
Most previous studies about mobile money are based on secondary data focusing on technical issues, bank-centric, considered payment function of money and overlooked how individuals store digital value, and are based on financial practice of individuals in developed nations. But for the development of cashless societies, end-to-end digital transactions, and digital currency value storage etc, it is important to understand individuals' everyday financial practices and behavior. This research intends to explore, analyze, and develop mobile money information system architecture in the context of everyday money practices. The data for this research will be collected from two contexts (1) from rural Ethiopians who cannot read and write even their names and who identify currency notes and coins based on size and color, and (2) from a big open air market in Ethiopia, called Merkato, located at the center of the capital, Addis Ababa. In this context, the purpose of this study is threefold (1) to investigate the different use cases of money (as related to social, religious, economic, and cultural practices) by rural Ethiopians and business people in Merkato so as to come up with comprehensive architecture, and (2) to investigate how to map those design concepts (money practices) into their technical features, and (3) to investigate how complex will such architecture be for rural people who cannot read and write.