 Informal Firms' Adoption and Use of Mobile Money Under Uncertain Times: Evidence From Burkina FasoSerge Stéphane Ky and Clovis Rugemintwari Review of Development Economics, 2026, vol. 30, issue 3, 1533-1564 Abstract: This paper investigates how uncertainty affects mobile money adoption and use by informal businesses. Despite the prevalence of the informal sector in developing countries and the recognized potential of mobile money for financial inclusion, empirical research on its adoption and usage among unregistered businesses is limited. Therefore, our study aims at filling this gap by taking into account the impact of the COVID‐19 shocks as well as recent political turmoil in Burkina Faso. We consider three waves of business survey data from a quasi‐experimental introduction of mobile money merchant accounts in March 2021. Using linear probability and random effects models, our findings indicate that security is a critical factor driving merchant account adoption and usage after accounting for business and owner characteristics. However, temporary business closures during COVID‐19 negatively affect merchant account adoption while positively affecting its usage. Overall, this study supports global policy efforts to enhance financial inclusion among private sector businesses through mobile technology. Date: 2026 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:rdevec:v:30:y:2026:i:3:p:1533-1564 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from Access Statistics for this article Review of Development Economics is currently edited by E. Kwan Choi More articles in Review of Development Economics from Wiley Blackwell |
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