Incentives and endorsement for technology adoption: Evidence from mobile banking in Ghana

Emma Riley, Abu S. Shonchoy and Robert Darko Osei

Journal of Development Economics, 2025, vol. 176, issue C

Abstract: How can we encourage the adoption of digital financial services? We use an RCT with 115 microfinance groups in Ghana to understand the respective roles of individual incentives to adopt a technology and endorsement of the technology by a peer. We study mobile banking services, a technology which allows deposits and withdrawals between a mobile phone and bank account, dramatically lowering the transaction costs of saving in the bank account. We find that while individual incentives increase adoption of mobile banking services by 60% (6 percentage points) over 6 months, adding endorsement by a peer doubles the impact of the incentives alone. Peer endorsement significantly enhances confidence in dealing with fraud and increases peer support in using mobile banking. Those encouraged to adopt mobile banking by a peer save 30% ($4) more in the linked bank account 6 months later. Our study highlights the power of peers in encouraging technology adoption and facilitating formal financial inclusion.

Keywords: Saving; Technology adoption; Mobile banking; Microfinance; Ghana; Peer Effects (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:176:y:2025:i:c:s0304387825000628

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103511

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