Assessing the Impact and Challenges of Mobile Money A Case Study of University of Ghana

Abstract

The significant role technology plays in boosting societies’ development cannot be overlooked. Mobile phone has been recognized as an important technology that has an impact on the lives of its users and the country at large. Mobile money service is one of the innovative products available to users of mobile phones. Accordingly, students find joy in using mobile phones due to its usefulness when it comes to retrieving information, and recently, the usage of mobile money. Against this background, this study analyzed the impact and challenges of mobile money use among students in the University of Ghana. The study obtained data solely from primary sources using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to capture information from four hundred (400) students. Both descriptive analysis and the Person’s Moment Correlation Analysis were carried out to analyze the data. The result revealed that “perceived ease of use” of the mobile money service is the key factor that drives the use of the service among students in the University of Ghana. Thus, saving some money on your mobile money wallet is not only safe, but very convenient as well. Also, it has been shown that all the correlation coefficients on the impact of mobile phone use on savings, expenditure and safety were positive and significant, with savings having the greatest impact. Furthermore, majority of the students think that the main challenge with the mobile money service is the individuals’ preference in using cash for the payment of goods and services instead of mobile money. Finally, the findings from this study have managerial implications: network service providers need to sensitize their public education activities on how mobile money technology operates and its usefulness. Also, a system upgrade can ensure that their mobile money system is reliable for subscribers and make using the system convenient.