Mobile payment system usage among tertiary students. A case study of Kumasi Metropolitan

Abstract

The primary purpose of the study was to examine mobile payment system usage among tertiary students in Ghana. The study employed a descriptive research design for the conduct of the study. Tertiary students from the University of Education Winneba-Kumasi and the Kumasi Technical University were considered as the population. Using the quota sampling technique, a total of 297 participants were sampled from the two institutions to participate in the study. Questionnaires were adopted as the main data collection instrument and the study discovered that tertiary students feel comfortable in using mobile payment systems on their own and are also able to initiate transactions on their own even if there was no one available to help them do so. Also, the study discovered that network challenges, easiness of sending money to the wrong person, too many transactional charges as well as the high probability of being defrauded while using the system, forgetting your PIN and the limitations on the amount one can conveniently cash out from a merchant are the major challenges confronting the use of mobile payment systems. It was then recommended that the benefits of educating students regarding mobile payment systems and services are that the knowledge of the system will be readily available to the students and most significantly the level of understanding will be high compared to the current situation. Also, it was recommended that mobile payment service providers strive to address promptly the challenges student faced by students while using the service to ensure that the services students feel safe and secured while using the service.