Financial Inclusion Through Mobile Money: An Examination of the Decision to Use Mobile Money Accounts in WAEMU Countries

This study examines whether due to the influence of the penetration of financial intermediaries in West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries, the characteristics of individuals who hold mobile money accounts solely, are comparable to the characteristics of individuals who hold official bank accounts and also to the characteristics of individuals who use both types of accounts concurrently. In order to do so, this empirical analysis uses data from a survey undertaken in 2014 by Global Findex and aggregated data related to the penetration of Financial Institutions. The estimation of data has been undertaken through a Heckman (1979) selection model and the multinomial probit model. The collected results are similar in regard to those who use official accounts solely those who use both types of accounts. They show that the use of mobile money is higher among men, older people, individuals with higher levels of income, those with the highest levels of education and those with easy access to mobile payment agencies. The study recommends encouraging intense sensitisation of adults aged between 25-64 on the use of mobile money, a rise in the levels of individual income which could be realised by an increase in the minimum wage, the introduction of incentives in the education system that would encourage the attainment of the highest levels of education by the largest number of people, the localisation of mobile payment services in a way that they would be accessible to a large number of people due to proximity.