Kenya ' s mobile revolution and the promise of mobile savings, Vol. 1 of 1

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Kenya's mobile revolution and the promise of mobile savings

Author:	Demombynes, Gabriel; Thegeya, Aaron;	Collection Title:	Policy Research working paper ; no. WPS 5988
Country:	Kenya;	Date Stored:	2012/03/06
Document Date:	2012/03/01	Document Type:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English	Region:	Africa
Report Number:	WPS5988	SubTopics:	Emerging Markets; Economic Theory & Research; Banks & Banking Reform; E-Finance and E-Security; E-Business
Volume No:	1 of 1

Summary: The mobile revolution has transformed the lives of Kenyans, providing not just communications but also basic financial access in the form of phone-based money transfer and storage, led by the M-PESA system introduced in 2007. Currently, 93 percent of Kenyans are mobile phone users and 73 percent are mobile money customers. Additionally, 23 percent use mobile money at least once a day. New potential for mobile money has come with the rise of interest-earning bank-integrated mobile savings systems, beginning with the launch of the M-KESHO system in March 2010. The authors examine the mobile savings phenomenon, using data collected in a special survey in late 2010. They show that the usage of bank-integrated mobile savings systems like M-KESHO remains limited and largely restricted to better-off Kenyans. However, what the authors term "basic mobile savings" -- the use of simple mobile money systems as a repository for funds -- is widespread, including among those who are otherwise unlikely to have any savings. Holding other characteristics constant, those who are registered for M-PESA are 32 percent more likely to report having some savings.


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