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Africa is becoming the fastest-growing continent despite significant challenges to accessing finance and the use of technology. This paper aims to examine the direct effect of mobile money adoption on firm performance and its moderation effect by examining how it moderates the effect of access to finance on firm performance.

Quantitative data were obtained from the World Bank Enterprise Survey for Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe. A series of hierarchical regression analyses were done to test the hypotheses.

The main findings show a negative significant relationship between mobile money adoption and firm performance, while access to finance had a positive relationship. The moderation effect though positive was not significant. Research examining the effect of mobile money adoption in Africa on firm performance is limited, and existing studies have focused on the determinants of mobile money usage. By examining the direct and contingency effect on other determinants of firm performance, this research makes both theoretical and practical contributions. Theoretically, this research shows that not all strategic resources are valuable in improving firm performance. Practically, this research provides insights into how technology could be embedded into business processes for firms to benefit from such technology.

This research has complemented by the extant literature by assessing the role of mobile money adoption in moderating the influence of access to finance on firm performance.

This study aims to investigate the factors contributing to the low adoption rate of mobile money services (MMS) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region compared to other regions. The study focussed on socio-demographic factors and macro-level determinants in several selected MENA and Sub-Saharan African (SSA) regions where MMS have been successful.

This study analysed 23 countries across MENA and SSA to establish the correlation between socio and macroeconomic factors and MMS adoption using a quantitative approach. The analysis used the generalized least square (GLS) method.

The study revealed that gender and income are factors that positively influence the adoption of MMS in MENA and SSA regions. Additionally, the study found that the affordability index, which measures macroeconomic indicators, correlates with MMS adoption in both regions but in an inversed way. On the other hand, political stability appears to have a positive correlation with MMS adoption in the MENA region. The correlation between the regulatory index and MMS adoption positively impacts the entire study group, although it is insignificant in the SSA region.

Future studies should assess market competition among MMS providers and the psychological aspect of user adoption behaviour. Additionally, conducting a focus group discussion with stakeholders in the MMS industry can assist in uncovering potential factors contributing to low MMS adoption in the MENA region.

This study contributes to understanding the role of the socio-demographic and macroeconomic determinants in promoting digital transformation through adopting MMS.

This paper aims to measure the extent of digital financial inclusion (DFI) and examine the effect of socioeconomic characteristics on using government remittances and the adoption of digital financial services (DFS) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The World Bank Global Financial Inclusion (Global Findex) database 2021 is used in this study, with a sample size of 3,000 Indian individuals. The study measured the demand-side analysis of DFI, namely, accessibility and usage of DFS with selected socioeconomic characteristics such as gender, age, income, education, being in the workforce and residential status of respondents. The dependent variable is binary in nature; therefore, the logistic regression model is used for the data analysis.

The results of the study reveal that individuals’ socioeconomic factors, such as female, all the age groups, tertiary education, third- and fourth-income quintile and workforce, are found to have a significant association with “accessibility,” an exogenous variable of DFS. Besides, respondents’ socioeconomic attributes, namely, female, tertiary education, income for all quintiles and workforce, are more likely to use DFSs in the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also finds the residential status of individuals is influencing the accessibility and usage of DFS.

The findings of the study provide valuable insights to the service providers and policymakers regarding the rapid expansion of DFS by digital infrastructure, simplifying the banking procedures and highlighting the importance of digital financial literacy to accomplish government goals through serving the unbanked population and also design strategies for achieving the objectives of Digital India: “Faceless, Paperless, and Cashless” of DFI across the country.

Notable studies used World Bank Findex survey data to explore the determinants of financial inclusion in general. This research is one among the few studies to explore the determinants of India’s DFI. Moreover, this study measured the effect of individual socioeconomic attributes on the adoption of DFSs during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has not been included in prior studies. Therefore, this study has added value to the existing literature on financial technology innovation and DFS for the sustainable development of emerging nations.

In the global migration crisis COVID 19 had devastating consequences. Workers were confined to their locations due to travel restrictions and working from home became “working away from home” for millions of migrant workers. Mobile financial services emerged as key to livelihood of the mobile remittance recipients. It is essential for service providers to gain insights of users' motives to use mobile remittance services.

This study proposed the model by extending unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model and integrating by perceived cost (PC) and perceived security (PS). Based on the survey data (n = 344) the proposed model was tested using analysis of variance (ANOVA) analysis.

The findings reveal that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, PC and PS affect the users' behavioral intention (BI) to use mobile remittance applications. Social influence nonsignificantly affects the BI and there is no significant influence of facilitating conditions on user behavior.

The volume of migrant workers preCOVID 19 reached 3.5% of the global population, the shear number of unprotected workers plunged into devastation by the COVID-19 impact is huge to cause an economic meltdown. Under the pandemic crisis conditions, the findings provide several practical implications on how service providers could improve their products and services to increase mobile remittance applications usage.

The purpose of this study is to use the structural model to determine the influence of mobile telecommunication on Egypt’s economic growth from 2000 to 2009. By focusing on mobile unique subscribers and mobile broadband-capable device penetration as indicators of telecommunications adoption, the authors seek to understand their overarching effects on the nation’s economic landscape.

The paper uses quarterly time-series data set over the period 2000–2019 and uses a structural econometric model based on an aggregate production function, a demand function, a supply function and an infrastructure function to detect causality and examine long-run relationships between variables.

The findings of the structural model reveal that both mobile unique subscribers and mobile broadband-capable device penetration significantly contributed to Egypt’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth from 2000 to 2019. Specifically, a 1% increase in mobile unique subscriber penetration and mobile broadband-capable device adoption is estimated to result in an average annual contribution to GDP growth of 0.172% and 0.016%, respectively.

The scarcity of panel data is the main research limitation for comparative study with other Middle East and North African Region (MENA) countries. Research extensions would include testing the significance of complementarities such as improving governance measures and building human capacity for both households and firms, which are necessary to boost the impact of telecommunication on economic growth in the MENA region.

Based on these findings, the study puts forth policy recommendations aimed at maximizing investment in network utilization, including mobile and internet services, as well as fixed broadband subscriptions. It highlights the crucial role of these investments in promoting social and economic development, not only in Egypt but also across the MENA region as a whole.

The findings of this research emphasize the importance of strategic investments in network utilization, encompassing mobile, internet services and fixed broadband subscriptions. Such investments are pivotal for fostering social and financial inclusion. The study underscores the potential of these investments to drive social and economic progress, not just within Egypt but throughout the entire MENA region.

Overall, existing literature generally supports the notion that the telecommunications sector has a positive economic impact. However, there is a gap in the literature when it comes to understanding the specific effects of the Egyptian telecommunications sector on the country’s economy, particularly in relation to the Egypt Vision 2030. The study aims to fill this gap by focusing specifically on Egypt and providing additional insights into the direct and indirect effects of the Egyptian telecommunications sector on the economy. By conducting a thorough analysis of the sector’s role, the authors aim to contribute to the existing literature by providing context-specific findings and recommendations.

The main purpose of this study is to test for the interaction effect of digital literacy in the relationship between financial technologies (FinTechs) of biometrics and mobile money and digital financial inclusion among the unbanked poor women, youth and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in rural Uganda.

Covariance-based structural equation modeling was used to construct the interaction effect using data collected from the unbanked poor women, youth and PWDs located in the four regions in Uganda as prescribed by Hair et al. (2022).

The findings from this study are threefold: first; the results revealed a positive interaction effect of digital literacy between FinTechs of biometrics and mobile money and digital financial inclusion. Second; the results also confirmed that biometrics identification positively promotes digital financial inclusion. Lastly; the results showed that mobile money positively promotes digital financial inclusion. A combination of FinTechs of biometrics and mobile money together with digital literacy explain 29% variation in digital financial inclusion among the unbanked poor women, youth and PWDs in rural Uganda.

The data for this study were collected mainly from the unbanked poor women, youth and PWDs. Further studies may look at data from other sections of the vulnerable population in under developed financial markets. Additionally, the data for this study were collected only from Uganda as a developing country. Thus, more data may be obtained from other developing countries to draw conclusive and generalized empirical evidence. Besides, the current study used cross sectional design to collect the data. Therefore, future studies may adopt longitudinal research design to investigate the impact of FinTechs on digital financial inclusion in the presence of digital literacy across different time range.

The governments in developing countries like Uganda should support women, youth, PWDs and other equally vulnerable groups, especially in the rural communities to understand and use FinTechs. This can be achieved through digital literacy that can help them to embrace digital financial services and competently navigate and perform digital transactions over digital platforms like mobile money without making errors. Besides, governments in developing countries like Uganda can use this finding to advocate for the design of appropriate digital infrastructures to reach remote areas and ensure “last mile connectivity for digital financial services' users.” The use of off-line solutions can complement the absence or loss of on-line network connectivity for biometrics and mobile money to close the huge digital divide gap in rural areas. This can scale-up access to and use of financial services by the unbanked rural population.

This paper sheds more light on the importance of digital literacy in the ever complex and dynamic global FinTech ecosystem in the presence of rampant cyber risks. To the best of the authors' knowledge, limited studies currently exist that integrate digital literacy as a moderator in the relationship between FinTechs and digital financial inclusion, especially among vulnerable groups in under-developed digital financial markets in developing countries. This is the novelty of the paper with data obtained from the unbanked poor women, youth and PWDs in rural Uganda.

This study aims to assess how corporate telecommunication (telecom) policies follow telecom sector regulation in mobile money innovation for financial inclusion in developing countries.

Telecom policies are understood in terms of mobile subscriptions, mobile connectivity coverage and mobile connectivity performance, whereas mobile money innovations represent mobile money accounts, the mobile used to send money and the mobile used to receive money. The empirical evidence is based on Tobit regressions.

Telecom sector regulation positively influences mobile money innovations. From net influences, mobile subscriptions and connectivity policies moderate telecom sector regulation to positively influence mobile money innovations, exclusively within the remit of mobile money accounts because the corresponding net influences on the mobile used to send money and the mobile used to receive money are negative. The interactive influences are consistently negative, and hence, thresholds for complementary policies are provided to maintain the positive influence of telecom sector regulation on mobile money innovations.

This study has complemented the extant literature by assessing how corporate telecommunication policies follow telecommunication sector regulation in mobile money innovations for financial inclusion.

This study aims to examine the comparative link between mobile money (MoMo) and entrepreneurship in East Africa. Apart from analysing the data to examine locational, gender and age heterogeneities in the MoMo–entrepreneurship nexus, the authors explore the potential roles of digital savings and access to digital credit in serving as transmission channels in the link between MoMo adoption and entrepreneurship.

This paper uses nationally representative samples from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda which were extracted from the fifth wave of the InterMedia Financial Inclusion Insights (FII) Program. The authors employ a suite of quasi-experimental microeconometric techniques—standard instrumental variable estimation, Lewbel two-stage least squares (2SLS) and propensity score matching.

Overall, the authors’ preferred endogeneity-corrected result suggests that adopters of MoMo are 24.4 percentage points more likely to engage in entrepreneurship. This result is robust to alternative ways of conceptualising MoMo adoption and different methods used in resolving endogeneity. The association between MoMo and entrepreneurship is stronger in Kenya compared to Uganda and not significant in Tanzania. The significant positive association between MoMo and entrepreneurship is observed among women and rural residents and not for their male and urban-located counterparts. MoMo significantly enhances entrepreneurship among the youth and adults but not the elderly. Digital savings and access to digital credit serve as important channels through which FinTech adoption influences entrepreneurship.

The entrepreneurship-enhancing effect of MoMo adoption can be extended to discuss the possibility of employing MoMo as a policy tool to contribute to the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal (SGD) 8 which seeks to ensure full and productive employment and decent work for all. Incomes that accrue from entrepreneurial activities can also increase households' purchasing power to decrease poverty (SDG 1), reduce food insecurity (SDG 2) and provide resources needed to purchase clean and modern cooking and lighting fuels (SGD 7).

The growing rate of unemployment and vulnerable employment in Africa has been an issue of concern to policy makers. These problems have been caused by the inability of policy makers to create adequate jobs. The study’s findings show that policies geared towards enhancing the diffusion of MoMo can augment efforts being made by governments to decrease the unemployment rate in Africa through increased entrepreneurship. The employment effect of MoMo can also be realised through the emergence of digital entrepreneurship which has been identified as having the potential to transform African economies to knowledge-based economies for sustainable development.

This study contributes to the MoMo literature by deviating from the focus of existing studies which have emphasised more on the intermediate outcome (performance) and less on the immediate (i.e. entrepreneurship or small business venturing). This helps to highlight the entrepreneurship effect of MoMo which has evolved from a simple peer-to-peer payment system to a complex one that provides savings, credit, insurance and other products.

This study aims to determine the impact of health-related views on mobile payment adoption in Sri Lanka from a broader viewpoint. The scale used to quantify each construct was based on earlier research, with modest alterations to fit the pandemic situation. First, an online survey was administered to undergraduates using convenience sampling to acquire appropriate replies. Eliminating incomplete and unusable questionnaires, 266 responses were gathered with an 88.7% response rate. Finally, after removing incomplete and ineffective questionnaires, 243 responses were selected for the analysis. Health consciousness, perceived ease of use, and usefulness have a significant positive relationship between attitude and behavioural intention to mobile payments. Moreover, the attitude has a significant positive relationship with mobile payment usage. As the health consciousness increases the usefulness and intention to use mobile payments, bank managers can focus on this new customer segment. Accordingly, they can use their promotional campaigns to highlight the importance of shifting towards m-payments during the pandemic times. This is the first study that investigates the role of health-related perceptions on the mobile payment adoption in Sri Lanka to the best of the authors’ knowledge.

Recently, the Government of India has emphasized digital financial inclusion for promoting cashless transactions with a vision to transform India from a traditional cash-based economy into a cashless economy. Technology-driven payment apps are facilitated greater access to cashless financial services and improve the speed, efficiency, accuracy and effectiveness of financial transactions. This study aims to explore the determinants of quick response (QR) code mobile payment (m-payment) adoption intention among marginalized street vendors in India.

The proposed research model was tested using 320 responses from QR code m-payment users. An interview schedule was performed using the structured questionnaire from marginalized street vendors by adopting a purposive sampling technique. The proposed research framework of this study developed on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). In addition to the existing variables proposed in the UTAUT model, three more variables have been added, namely, digital financial literacy (DFL), personal innovativeness (PI) and perceived trust (PT). Besides, the study used confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling techniques to analyze the data.

This study confirms that factors such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, PT and customers’ DFL are significant determinants of street vendors’ intention to use QR code m-payment services. However, social influence and PI have shown an insignificant relationship with adopting a QR code m-payment system.

The results provide insights for policymakers and service providers. Specifically, government and bankers design promotional campaigns emphasizing the ease of use, perceived benefits, security and faster business transactions to accept and use the QR code m-payment system to encourage prospective users to achieve a cashless economy.

Many prior studies have widely concentrated on m-payment adoption intention in India. However, only a few studies have attempted to examine the factors influencing the adoption of QR code m-payment services among merchants from emerging economies. There is a dearth of studies on QR code adoption from an unorganized sector perspective, specifically marginalized street vendors. Therefore, this study explicitly examines the extent to which the determinants of adoption intention toward QR code-based m-payment services among marginalized street vendors within the framework of the extended UTAUT model by incorporating DFL, PI and PT. The findings of this study contribute, theoretically and practically, to the existing literature.