Resource

Use of Mobile Financial Services Among Poor Women

These studies aim to understand how mobile phone technology and its usability is impacting poor women’s ability to access and benefit from mobile financial services. Many players assume that if a poor person owns a mobile phone, they are able to use it. We have found that this is a faulty assumption, and believe that usability and “mobile phone literacy” are big issues that are preventing poor women in particular to benefit from mobile-enabled solutions.

Our intention is to demonstrate the specific challenges and constraints women, in particular, face in using/accessing a mobile delivery channel for financial services. These findings will be used to influence commercial players (mobile money operators, banks, technology service providers, agent network managers) as well as back-end technology and hardware designers to address usability issues that are preventing poor women from benefiting from mobile financial services.

Studies:

Use of Mobile Financial Services among Poor Women in Rural India & The Philippines

Usability Research: India

Usability Research: The Philippines Usability Research: Uganda

Usability Session Videos:

India

The Philippines