Microfinance institutions and the provision of mobile financial services: First empirical evidence

Gregor Dorfleitner, Quynh Anh Nguyen and Michaela Röhe

Finance Research Letters, 2019, vol. 31, issue C

Abstract: This study empirically investigates the factors driving the provision of mobile financial services (MFS) by microfinance institutions (MFIs). Using a worldwide data set on 999 MFIs and employing a probit regression, we find a positive relationship between the financial expenses of an institution and MFS adoption. Our results also show that the share of deposits is positively related to the probability of offering MFS. Moreover, larger institutions and MFIs of the bank type are more likely to adopt mobile technology in providing financial services. Furthermore, the depth of outreach is weakly positively related to the provision of MFS, suggesting that the social mission of MFIs is not impaired by the provision of MFS.

Keywords: Microfinance institutions; Mobile financial services; Outreach; Operational efficiency; Digitization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G10 G21 G23 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:finlet:v:31:y:2019:i:c:s1544612318302368

DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2018.12.002

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