Abstract:
Over the years, financial inclusion has gained interest in both economic and financial
discourse and it has a development policy especially in developing economies.
Developing countries such as Ghana are developing various policies and regulatory
framework to ensure they reach all those excluded financially especially the rural
dwellers. Mobile phone technology has served as an option for rural populace to embark
on financial transaction such as payment, transfers, savings and mobile banking. The
study therefore examines the role of Mobile phone technology in providing financial
inclusion among rural population of Upper Denkyira West District. Using structured
questionnaire for a sample size of 400 respondents, the study used both probit and
multinomial regression as an estimation technique. It was found that, the usage of
mobile phone technology have a positive effect on financial inclusion among rural
population of Upper Denkyira West District. The study further found age, average
income, household size, perceived trust and employment as the factors that influence
the usage of mobile phone technology in providing financial inclusion. Also, the study
found transaction cost, distance to bank, trust, volume of transaction, income, age,
household size and employment as the factors that determine the usage of bank account,
mobile phone and both for making transaction. In other to ensure inclusive finance in
rural Upper Denkyira West District, the study recommends that, the Ministry of Finance
through Ghana revenue authority should reduce taxes for mobile network Operators.
Bank of Ghana should charge financial sectors such as microfinance institutions to
build branches in these areas and also implement policies that aim at restoring
individual’s confidence in the usage of financial institutions.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Economics Education,
Faculty of Social Sciences, submitted to the School of
Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Philosophy
(Economics)
in the University of Education, Winneba
2019