SSRN-金融科技与普惠金融：实证论文综述

CenterforLawandSocialScience

FintechandFinancialInclusion:

AReviewoftheEmpiricalLiterature

(SouthernCaliforniaLawReview(2023)

CarterFaust

UniversityofSouthernCaliforniaMarshallSchoolofBusiness

AnthonyJ.Dukes

UniversityofSouthernCaliforniaMarshallSchoolofBusiness

and

D.DanielSokol

UniversityofSouthernCaliforniaGouldSchoolofLaw;

UniversityofSouthernCaliforniaMarshallSchoolofBusiness

CenterforLawandSocialScience

ResearchPaperSeriesNo.23-16

May7,2023

Electroniccopyavailableat:

/abstract=4440600

FINTECHANDFINANCIALINCLUSION:

AREVIEWOFTHEEMPIRICAL

LITERATURE

CARTERFAUST,*ANTHONYDUKES†&D.DANIELSOKOL‡

INTRODUCTION

Thefinancialtechnologyindustry,or“fintech,”hasexperiencedrapidgrowthwithinrecentyears.Between2015and2019,globalfintechadoptionamongconsumersrosefrom16%to64%.1AdoptionoffintechserviceshascontinuedtoriseandfurtheracceleratedduringtheCOVID-19pandemic.2

Anemergingfieldofresearchhighlightstheimportantrolethatfintechcanplayinpromotingfinancialinclusion—theavailabilityandequalityofopportunitiestoaccessfinancialservices.The2017GlobalFindexDatabasenotedthat1.7billionadultsworldwideareunbanked,meaningtheylackanaccountwithafinancialinstitutionormobilemoneyprovider;nearlyallunbankedadultsliveinthedevelopingworld.3

Accesstofinancialservicesisakeyenablerforfinancialinclusionand,onabroaderscale,reducingworldwidepoverty.Financialaccountsencouragepersonalsavingsandinvestment,provideinsuranceagainstrisks

*UniversityofSouthernCaliforniaMarshallSchoolofBusinessIDCFellow2021–22.

†RobertE.BrookerChairinMarketingandProfessor,UniversityofSouthernCalifornia

MarshallSchoolofBusiness.

‡CarolynCraigFranklinChairinLawandProfessorofLawandBusiness,USCGouldSchoolofLaw;SeniorAdvisor,White&CaseLLP.

1.SHARONCHENG&DOINACHISELITA,ERNST&YOUNGLLP,GLOBALFINTECHADOPTIONINDEX20196(2019),

/content/dam/ey

-sites/ey-com/en_gl/topics/banking-and-capital-markets/ey-global-fintech-adoption-index.pdf[

http://perma.cc/BYD8

-X6CX].

2.JonathanFu&MrinalMishra,FintechintheTimeofCOVID–19:TechnologicalAdoptionDuringCrises,J.FIN.INTERMEDIATION,Apr.2022,at1,17.

3.ASLIDEMIRGÜÇ-KUNT,LEORAKLAPPER,DOROTHESINGER,SANIYAANSAR&JAKEHESS,WORLDBANKGRP.,THEGLOBALFINDEXDATABASE2017:MEASURINGFINANCIALINCLUSIONANDTHEFINTECHREVOLUTION4(2018),

/curated/en/3328815258731

82837/pdf/126033-PUB-PUBLIC-pubdate-4-19-2018.pdf[

https://perma.cc/3HFP

-EV3Y].

136

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andshocks,andpromoteeconomicmobility.4Thus,theimportanceofbringingfinancialservicestotheunbankedhascapturedtheattentionofmanyresearchers.

Onlineplatformshaveanimportantroletoplayinfinancialinclusion.Numerousstudieshavedemonstratedthatfintechservices,suchasmobilemoney,digitalpaymentsolutions,anddigitallendingplatforms,havethepotentialtoenableaccountownershipamongtheunbanked.5Furtherresearchhasshownthatcountrywidefintechadoptioncandecreaseincomeinequalitybyupto23%.6Overall,researchpointstothefactthatfintechcanhaveapositiveimpactonfinancialinclusion,yetthemagnitudeofitseffectsaredependentonrelevantinfrastructureandpolicies.7

Recently,governmentsandglobalorganizationshavebeguntorecognizetheneedforharnessingthepoweroffintechtopromotefinancialinclusion.Forexample,theGroupofTwenty(“G20”)High-LevelPrinciplesforDigitalFinancialInclusionemphasizetheimportanceofutilizingfintechtoachievefinancialinclusionandreduceglobalincomeinequality.8Additionally,theUnitedNations(“U.N.”)2030AgendaforSustainableDevelopmentcallsforinnovationanddevelopmentoffintechtospureconomicgrowthamongemerginganddevelopingcountries.9

Thisresearchcommentarysurveyskeyresearchrelatedtofintechanditsimplicationsforglobalfinancialinclusion.Specifically,itprovidesanoverviewofstudiesregardingdigitallending,digitalpayment,andmobilemoneyplatformsandhowtheseservicescanbridgethefinancialgapfortraditionallyunbankedandunderservedcommunities.Intermsofthelegalrolethroughpublicandprivatelaw,italsoidentifiescommonconcernsandchallengesassociatedwiththeadoptionoffintech,aswellasrelevantpoliciestomitigatetheseconcernsandfosterfinancialinclusion.

4.Seeid.at1–14.

5.See,e.g.,CAMBRIDGECTR.FORALT.FIN.,WORLDBANKGRP.&WORLDECON.F.,THEGLOBALCOVID-19FINTECHMARKETRAPIDASSESSMENTSTUDY8(2020),

/

docs/WEF_The_Global_Covid19_FinTech_Market_Rapid_Assessment_Study_2020.pdf[https://perma.cc/M8HN-GXFP].

6.SeeAyseDemir,VanesaPesqué-Cela,YenerAltunbas&VictorMurinde,Fintech,FinancialInclusion,andIncomeInequality:AQuantileRegressionApproach,28EUR.J.FIN.86,95(2020).

7.SeePurvaKhera,StephanieNg,SumikoOgawa&RatnaSahay,MeasuringDigitalFinancialInclusioninEmergingMarketandDevelopingEconomies:ANewIndex16–17(Int’lMonetaryFund,WorkingPaperNo.21/90,2021).

8.GLOB.P’SHIPFORFIN.INCLUSION(“GPFI”),G20HIGH-LEVELPRINCIPLESFORDIGITALFINANCIALINCLUSION(2016),

/sites/gpfi/files/documents/G20

-HLP-Summary_0.pdf[

http://perma.cc/UY3D

-HC28].

9.U.N.Inter-AgencyTaskForceonFin.forDev.,UnitedNationsSecretaryGeneral’sRoadmapforFinancingthe2030AgendaforSustainableDevelopment2019–2021,at9(2020),http://www./sustainabledevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/EXEC.SUM_SG-Roadmap-Financing-SDGs-July-2019.pdf[

http://perma.cc/GJ66

-CCRF].

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I.DIGITALCREDIT

A.HOWDOESFINTECHFILLTHECREDITGAP?

1.ExpandingCredittoUnderservedBorrowers

Limitedaccesstocreditisoneofthelargestbarrierstofinancialinclusion.Manystudieshaveshownthatdigitallendingplatformsfillthecreditgapbyexpandingcreditservicestotraditionallyunderservedborrowers.Recentresearchcomparedaccount-leveldatabetweendigitallendingplatformLendingClubandU.S.bankstoexaminewhetherfintechfillscreditgapsinregionsunderservedbytraditionalbanks.TheresultsshowedthatLendingClubincreasedcreditavailabilityinareasthatcouldbenefitfromadditionalcreditsupply,includingbothhighlyconcentratedandunderservedbankmarkets.10Economistsbuiltuponthisresearchbystudyingmarketplacelendingatthebusinessandconsumerlevelsacross109countriesfrom2015to2017.Theyfoundthatmarketplacelendingwasmoreprevalentinlower-incomeeconomiesandfilledthecreditgapwhenaccesstotraditionalbanksandlendersdecreased.11

2.ProvidingAlternativeSourcesofData

Fintechlendingplatformsoftenusealternativedatasourcestoevaluatecustomercreditworthiness,ascomparedtotraditionallendersthatusestandardmeasuressuchascreditscore.Commonsourcesofalternativedataincludeutilitybills,banktransactions,onlinefootprints,andpersonaldatasuchasoccupationandeducationinformation.Thesealternativeinformationsourcescanaddressinformationasymmetriesandthusbenefitborrowerswhowouldtypicallybeclassifiedassubprimebytraditionallenders.12Furthermore,theuseofdataandmachinelearningbyfintechplatformscanincreaseefficiencyandthusdecreasecost,asopposedtotraditionallenders.Fintechlenderscanprocessmortgageapplications20%fasterthantraditionallenderswithoutcompromisingondefaultpredictionaccuracy.13

Numerousstudiesexaminetheaccuracyofloanpredictionbyfintech

10.JulapaJagtiani&CatharineLemieux,DoFintechLendersPenetrateAreasthatAreUnderservedbyTraditionalBanks?,100J.ECONS.&BUS.43,53(2018).

11.MajidBazarbash&KimberlyBeaton,FillingtheGap:DigitalCreditandFinancialInclusion19–20(Int’lMonetaryFund,WorkingPaperNo.20/150,2020).

12.JulapaJagtiani&CatharineLemieux,FintechLending:FinancialInclusion,RiskPricing,andAlternativeInformation34–37(Fed.Rsrv.BankofPhila.,WorkingPaperNo.17-17,2017).

13.OECD,DIGITALDISRUPTIONINBANKINGANDITSIMPACTONCOMPETITION12(2020)

/competition/digital

-disruption-in-banking-and-its-impact-on-competition-2020.pdf[

http://perma.cc/DG5U

-ZS47].

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lenders.AlthoughthecorrelationbetweenFair,IsaacandCompany(“FICO”)scores(usedbytraditionalbanks)andratinggrades(usedbyfintechplatformLendingClub)decreasedfrom80%in2007to35%in2015,ratinggradescontinuedtoserveasanaccuratepredictorforloandefault.14Thishighlightshowalternativedatasourcesandmachinelearningusedtoassignratinggradeswithinfintechplatformscanserveasaccuratepredictorsofloandelinquency,evenforborrowerswholacktraditionalindicatorsofcreditworthinesslikecreditscores.Furtherresearchdemonstratedthatapplyingbigdatamethodstocreditscreenerssignificantlystrengthenedthelender’saccuracyofloandefaultprediction.Predicteddefaultprobabilitiesdecreasedmostamongsmallbusinessesandlower-tiercitiesthatpreviouslyfacedinformationdisadvantagesduringriskassessmentbytraditionalfirms.15Giventhatlowerriskofdefaultincreasesthelikelihoodofobtainingloans,theirworksuggeststhattheinformationadvantageprovidedbyfintechcanplayakeyroleinexpandingcreditaccesstounderservedborrowers.

B.BIASINFINTECHLENDING

1.EvidenceofDiscriminatoryLending

Inrecentyears,therehasbeenincreaseddebateastowhetherdiscriminatorylendingexistswithinfintech.Whiledigitallendingplatformshavebeenshowntoincreasecreditaccessibility,thereisalonghistoryofdiscriminationinthelendingindustry.Fair-lendinglawsinmanycountriesaredesignedtoprohibitbiasedlending,yetthereisstillsignificantevidencethatsomelendersdiscriminateonthebasisofcharacteristicssuchasgenderandrace.16

Researcherscomparedlendingdiscriminationamongfintechandtraditionallenders.Theymergeddataongovernment-sponsoredenterprise(“GSE”)andFederalHousingAdministration(“FHA”)loanswithinformationonborrowers’raceandethnicity.TheresultsshowedthatfintechlenderschargedBlackandLatinxborrowershigherratesforFHAandGSEpurchaseloans,aswellasGSErefinanceloans,highlightingsimilarratedisparitiesforminorityborrowersamongtraditionalandfintechlenders.17Asimilarstudyanalyzedcrowdfundingprojectslaunchedontheplatform

14.JulapaJagtiani&CatharineLemieux,TheRolesofAlternativeDataandMachineLearninginFintechLending:EvidencefromTheLendingClubConsumerPlatform26(Fed.Rsrv.BankofPhila.,WorkingPaperNo.18-15,2019).

15.YipingHuang,LongmeiZhang,ZhenhuaLi,HanQiu,TaoSun&XueWang,FintechCreditRiskAssessmentforSMEs:EvidencefromChina33–35(Int’lMonetaryFund,WorkingPaperNo.20/193,2020).

16.See,e.g.,RobertBartlett,AdairMorse,RichardStanton&NancyWallace,Consumer-LendingDiscriminationintheFintechEra,143J.FIN.ECONS.30,55–56(2022).

17.Seeid.

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Kickstartertotestforbiasagainstminorityfounders.Theanalysisprovedthat,comparedtonon-Blackfounders,Blackfoundersraisedonaverage86.1%lessfortheirprojects,andprospectivesupportersheldanunconsciousbiasagainstBlackfounders.18

Evenwhensensitiveattributeslikeraceandgenderarenotexplicitlyusedasinputsformachinelearningalgorithms,theycanbecorrelatedwithotherinputfeatureswhichaffectthepredictionoutcomes.19Factorssuchaseducationlevel,gender,andincomecaninfluenceperceptionsofborrowertrustworthinessandthusbiaslendingdecisions.Ananalysisof247,115loansonRenrendai,oneofthelargestdebtcrowdfundingplatformsinChina,revealedthatborrowers’regionalsocialcapitalhadapositiverelationshipwithfundingsuccessandloansize.20Thefindingsdemonstratehowfintechlendersutilizealternativesoftinformationandpersonalperceptionstoinformtheirlendingdecisionsandthatthesefactorscanbeusedtobiaslending.

2.DebiasingwithArtificialIntelligence

Improvementsinmachinelearningthatremovepotentialforbiaseddecision-makingholdpromiseinincreasingcreditopportunitiesforhistoricallydisadvantagedborrowersandcontributetofinancialinclusion.Evidenceoflendingdiscriminationhasinspiredresearcherstoexaminewaysinwhichmachinelearningalgorithmscanbedesignedtocorrectforbias.Arecentstudyproposedadebiasingalgorithmthatmakesinputfeaturesindependentofsensitiveattributesandappliedittoapreviouslybiasedmachinelearningalgorithmforapeer-to-peerlendingplatform.Theresultsshowedthatthedifferencesintheprobabilityofbeingfundedbetweenmaleandfemale,aswellasnon-BlackandBlackborrowers,werestatisticallyinsignificant,indicatingthedebiasingalgorithmeffectivelyremovedpreviousbiases.21

Likewise,fintechlendingplatformsmayonlybeharmfultominoritygroupsifthealgorithmincludesbothaproxyforgroupmembershipandexplicitlycontainsprejudiceagainstthegroup.Researchfoundthatremovingtheseproxiesanddevelopingdebiasingalgorithmscanmitigatebiasifitexistsandultimatelybenefitminoritygroupsthatarehistorically

18.PeterYounkin&VenkatKuppuswamy,TheColorblindCrowd?FounderRaceandPerformanceinCrowdfunding,64MGMT.SCI.3269,3273–74(2018).

19.RunshanFu,YanHuang&ParamVirSingh,Crowds,Lending,Machine,andBias,32INFO.SYS.RSCH.72,88–89(2021).

20.IftekharHasan,QingHe&HaitianLu,SocialCapital,Trusting,andTrustworthiness:EvidencefromPeer-to-PeerLending,57J.FIN.&QUANTITATIVEANALYSIS1409,1449(2022).

21.SeeFuetal.,supranote19,at72–74.

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harmedbybiasintraditionallending.22Asimilarstudyrevealedthatbycorrectingforsoftinformationbiasandusinghardinformationmoreeffectively,machinelearningalgorithmscanbefairerfordisadvantagedborrowersthantraditionallenders.23

II.DIGITALPAYMENTS

Alargebodyofliteratureexaminesthewaysinwhichdigitalpaymentservicesenablefinancialinclusion.Digitalpaymenttechnologiessupportservicessuchassalarydisbursements,billpayments,peer-to-peertransfers,creditpayments,andconsumer-goodpayments.Quasi-experimentalresearchontheimpactsofglobalmobilemoneyserviceshasshownthatdigitizingpaymentshaspositiveeffectsonthevaluechainandcanbenefitdisadvantagedgroups.24

A.THEROLEOFGOVERNMENTSINDIGITIZINGPAYMENTS

Severalstudieshaveexaminedtheeffectsofdigitizationofgovernmentpayments.Digitalgovernmentpaymentshaveparticularlylargeimplicationsforoverallfintechadoption,asagovernmentshifttowarddigitalfinancecouldpushprivatesectorstodothesame.Onabroaderscale,transitioningtodigitalgovernment-to-person(“G2P”)paymentscanhavelargeeffectsonincorporatingtheunbankedintothefinancialsystem.DigitalG2Ppaymentsmayfacilitateaccountownershipamong160millioncurrentlyunbankedadultswhoreceivegovernmentpaymentsexclusivelyincash.25

DigitizingG2Ppaymentshasbeenshowntobenefitbothgovernmentsandrecipientsbydecreasingcostsandincreasingefficiency.Forexample,theMexicangovernmentdecreaseditsspendingonG2Ppaymentsby3.3%annuallybyshiftingtodigitalpayments.26Similarly,analysisofasocialtransferprograminNigerfoundmobiletransfersdecreasedvariablecostby20%.27Digitalpaymentsalsobenefitrecipientsbydecreasingtraveltimetocollectpayments,whichtranslatestosavedmoneyintermsoftravel

22.SeeThomasPhilippon,OnFintechandFinancialInclusion17(Nat’lBureauofEcon.Rsch.,WorkingPaperNo.26330,2019).

23.SeePrasannaTantri,FintechforthePoor:FinancialIntermediationWithoutDiscrimination,25REV.FIN.561,590(2021).

24.YanDong,MoonwonChung,ChenZhou&SriramVenkataraman,BankingonMobileMoney:TheImplicationsofMobileMoneyServicesontheValueChain,21MFG.&SERV.OPERATIONSMGMT.290,305–06(2019).

25.LeoraKlapper&DorotheSinger,TheOpportunitiesandChallengesofDigitizingGovernment-to-PersonPayments,32WORLDBANKRSCH.OBSERVER211,217(2017).

26.Id.at213.

27.JennyC.Aker,RachidBoumnijel,AmandaMcCelland&NiallTierney,PaymentMechanismsandAntipovertyPrograms:EvidencefromaMobileMoneyCashTransferExperimentinNiger,65ECON.DEV.&CULTURALCHANGE1,5(2016).

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expensesandlostwages.Researchersfurtherexaminedthesebenefitsbyanalyzingagovernment-sponsoreddebit-cardprograminMexico.In2009,thegovernmentissueddebitcardstomembersofProspera,acash-transferprogramforunderservedpopulations.Analysisshowedthatpriortoreceivingthedebitcards,84%ofrecipientswereforcedtoforgoimportantactivities,suchasworkandchildcare,totraveltothebankandaccessthetransfer.28Afterreceivingthedebitcards,thisnumberfellto25%.Thisreductionintraveltimeandforegoneactivitiesledtoanaverageincreaseofninety-eightpesosinhouseholdnetsavings.29

III.CASESTUDIESOFMOBILEMONEY

Manystudiesregardingdigitalpaymentsarespecificallyfocusedonmobilemoney.Mobilemoneyisdefinedasaserviceinwhichcustomerscanstore,send,andreceivemoneyviamobilephones.30UserscashinandcashoutmoneyfromtheiraccountsthroughanetworkofagentsthatserveaslocalATMs.31Giventhatnearly80%ofadultsindevelopingcountriesownmobilephones,adoptionlevelsofmobile-moneyserviceshavebeenhighandarecontinuingtorise.32Asof2020,therewere1.21billionregisteredmobile-moneyaccountsglobally.33

AlargeportionofthecasestudiesconcerningmobilemoneyadoptionhavebeenconcentratedinAfrica,whichhashistoricallyfacedhighlevelsoffinancialexclusionduetoinsufficientbankingservicesandlackoffinancialinfrastructure.Mobile-moneytransactionsinAfricaaccountfornearlytwo-thirdsofmobile-moneytransactionsmadeworldwide.34Low-techmobilemoneyservices,suchasM-PESA,haveachievedremarkablesuccess,astheysimplyrequireuserstohaveabasicphonewithSMStext-messagingservicesasopposedtomoreadvancedsmartphones.35Forexample,90%ofKenyanadultspaywithM-PESA,andM-PESAtransfersamounttonearly

28.SeePierreBachas,PaulGertler,SeanHiggins&EnriqueSeira,DigitalFinancialServicesGoaLongWay:TransactionCostsandFinancialInclusion,108AM.ECON.ASS’NPAPERS&PROC.444,444(2018).

29.Seeid.

30.SeeSIMONK.ANDERSSON-MANJANG&NIKANAGHAVI,GSMA,STATEOFTHEINDUSTRYREPORTONMOBILEMONEY2021,at78(2021)

/mobilefordevelopment/wp

-content/uploads/2021/03/GSMA_State-of-the-Industry-Report-on-Mobile-Money-2021_Full-report.pdf[

http://perma.cc/MK2Y

-ZZ62].

31.NicholasEconomides&PrzemyslawJeziorski,MobileMoneyinTanzania,36MKTG.SCI.815,816(2017).

32.SeeDEMIRGÜÇ-KUNT,KLAPPER,SINGER,ANSAR&HESS,supranote3,at86–87.

33.ANDERSSON-MANJANG&NAGHAVI,supranote30,at14.

34.Seeid.

35.DavidYermack,FintechinSub-SaharanAfrica:WhatHasWorkedWell,andWhatHasn’t18–19(Nat’lBureauofEcon.Rsch.,WorkingPaper25007,2018).

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halfofKenya’sgrossdomesticproduct(“GDP”).36

A.SELF-TRANSPORTATION

Withoutmobilemoneyoraccesstoformalbankingsystems,unbankedindividualstendtorelyonsendingmoneyviatransportationservices,friendsandfamily,orphysicallycarryingthecashtotheirrecipient.37Theseinformaltransportationmethodsarenotonlyinconvenientandinefficient,butalsoincurahighriskoftheft.ArecentstudyexaminedtransactiondatafromTigo,thesecondlargestmobilenetworkinTanzania,tounderstandtheroleofself-transportationinmobilemoney.Self-transportationmakesup13%ofmobilemoneytransactionsinTanzaniaandservesasasecuremethodtocarrymoneyovershortdistancesofuptotenkilometers;customersdepositmoneyintotheirmobilemoneyaccountwithalocalagent,travelashortdistance,andthenwithdrawmoneyatanotherlocationwithinthesameday.38Theauthorsarguethatahighwillingnesstopaythewithdrawalfeeof7.3%suggeststhatalternativemethodsoftransportingphysicalcashareriskyandfurtherestimatethatwalkinganextrakilometerwhilecarryingcashincreasesthelikelihoodofbeingrobbedby124%.39Thesefindingsareconsistentwiththehighstreet-crimerateinTanzaniacitedbytheU.N.OfficeonDrugsandCrime.40Overall,thestudyhighlightshowmobilemoneycanmitigatethehighcrimeriskassociatedwithtransportingmoneyindevelopingeconomies.

B.INFORMATIONNETWORKSANDREMITTANCES

EconomistsstudiedM-PESAusageinSub-SaharanAfrica,arguingthatmobilemoneycreatesasortofinformalinformationinsurancenetworkthatpromotesmorefrequentremittances.41SimilarresearchonM-PESAusageinKenyalinkedmobile-moneywithinformalinsurance-liketransactions.HouseholdsusingM-PESAinKenyaexperiencedmorefrequenttransfersofgreatervaluecomparedtohouseholdswithoutaccesstoanM-PESAaccount.Inparticular,M-PESAuserswerefoundtobeover34%morelikelytosendandreceiveremittanceswithinpersonalnetworksascomparedtonon-users.42Researchersbuiltuponthisworkbystudyingtheeffectof

36.TobiasAdrian&TommasoManciniGriffoli,TheRiseofDigitalMoney,13ANN.REV.FIN.ECON.55,66(2021).

37.SeeJennyAker&IsaacMbiti,MobilePhonesandEconomicDevelopmentinAfrica,J.ECON.PERSPS.,Summer2010,at221.

38.Economides&Jeziorski,supranote31,at815.

39.Id.

40.Seeid.at818.

41.Aker&Mbiti,supranote37,at222.

42.WilliamJack,AdamRay&TavneetSuri,TransactionNetworks:EvidencefromMobile

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mobilemoneyonurban-to-ruralremittancesinBangladesh.TheyexperimentallyintroducedbKash,thelargestmobilebankingserviceinBangladesh,toextremelyimpoverishedruralhouseholdsandtheirfamilymemberswhohadmigratedtothecity.Resultsrevealedthatafteroneyear,urban-to-ruralremittancesincreasedby26%amongactivemobilebanking

43

users.

C.ECONOMICMOBILITY

Researchhasshownthattheinconspicuousnatureofmobilemoney,ascomparedtophysicalchecksorcurrency,canbecrucialtonarrowingthegendergapamongtheunbanked.44The2017GlobalFindexDatabaseestimatesthatwomenaccountfor56%ofallunbankedadults,amountingtonearly980millionunbankedwomenglobally.45Thisgendergaptendstobeevenlargerindevelopingeconomieswherewomenaretraditionallyexcludedfromfinancialservicesandmencontrolaccesstofinances.46Digitalpaymentsofferawayforwomentoconcealpaymentinformationandmakeitmoredifficultforotherstoaccesstheirfunds.Casestudiesindicatethatmobilemoneyenableswomentoincreasepersonalsavingswithoutdrawingattentionfromfamilyandfriends.47Similarly,researchhassuggestedthattheprivacyprovidedbymobilemoneyservicessuchasM-PESAcouldempowertraditionallyoppressedwomeninthefinancialsystem.48Researchersbuiltuponthistheorybystudyingthelong-termeffectsofM-PESAontheeconomicstandingofKenyans.Theirdatarevealedthatthespreadofmobilemoneyreducedextremepovertyamongfemale-headedhouseholdsby22%andenabled185,000womentotransitionfromfarmingintobusinessorretail.49Empoweringwomeninthefinancialsystemcangeneratebenefitsthatextendbeyondwomenthemselves.Previousstudiesonintra-householddecision-makingsuggestthatwhenwomenhavecontrolofincome,asopposedtomen,theytendtofocusmoreofthehouseholdspendingonfood,healthcare,andhousing,leadingto

MoneyinKenya,103AMER.ECON.REV.(PAPERS&PROC.)356,357(2013).

43.SeeJeanN.Lee,JonathanMorduch,SaravanaRavindran,AbuShonchoy&HassanZaman,PovertyandMigrationintheDigitalAge:ExperimentalEvidenceonMobileBankinginBangladesh,13AM.ECON.J.:APPLIEDECON.38,67–69(2021).

44.SeeTavneetSuri&WilliamJack,TheLong-RunPovertyandGenderImpactsofMobileMoney,354SCI.1288,1291(2016)[hereinafterPovertyandGenderImpacts].

45.DEMIRGÜÇ-KUNTETAL.,supranote3,at36.

46.SeeKlapper&Singer,supranote25,at217–18.

47.SeeAker&Mbiti,supranote37,at222.

48.SeeWilliamJack&TavneetSuri,MobileMoney:TheEconomicsofM-Pesa11–12(Nat’lBureauofEcon.Rsch.,WorkingPaperNo.16721,2011)[hereinafterEconomicsofM-Pesa].

49.SeePovertyandGenderImpacts,supranote44,at1292.

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improvementsintheirchildren’swelfare.50

Moregenerally,casestudieshaveshownthatmobilemoneyadoptioncanenablefinancialmobilityamongusers.M-PESAusersreportedhigherannualexp