Financial exclusion is a major developmental problem. Perception has it that financial
exclusion emanates from the lack of access to banking and financial services, and the
general understanding is that ICT-based access to such services is the solution. In this
research, which was undertaken in Ghana, Critical Realism (CR) revealed deeper
causes (generative mechanisms) that underlie financial exclusion. The research
followed a mixed-method approach. The CR approach guided the research to create an
initial model from which hypotheses were deduced and tested; the design science
approach, guided the research to create the design theory and an instantiation of an
application that uses the design theory; and the quantitative method, was used to
evaluate the hypotheses.
CR revealed how, in a credit economy, people have a need for credit to pursue
business or education opportunities. The generative mechanisms identified have
revealed how the credit market for the unbanked includes the reality that a wellfunctioning
credit market is self-sustaining with two mechanisms: signalling and
adoption. The signalling mechanism facilitates users’ access to credit, which they in turn
are able to spend on more services. On the other hand, the adoption mechanism
enables the development of more services making the market more valuable, thus
attracting more users in a self-feeding loop. The key findings suggest that being banked
does not necessarily lead to financial inclusion and financial wellbeing. Transactional
banking only serves as an "enrichment agenda for the banks", with minimal benefit to
the people. There are also other non-financial technologies such as sharing and social
technologies that have an effect on the provision of credit; in addition to their main
purpose of saving and/or earning income, for the unbanked, by sharing resources. In
Ghana, despite having bank accounts, most of the banked do not use them, because of
cost and inappropriate services. This research reveals that the unexamined notion of
being banked as a fundamental requirement for financial inclusion may require further
investigation. The research has found that the unbanked keeping to themselves and the
use of cash creates anonymity and makes them invisible to formal financial institutions,
who prefer identity over anonymity, thus contributing to their financial exclusion.
The following design needs were identified: inexpensive credit and value-added
services such as saving groups, financial accounting services, service to report
delinquent customers and education. The research offers a conceptualization of a
financial inclusion ICT artefact to draw attention to the multifaceted and complex
environment financial inclusion effort is immersed. This calls for an integrated approach
since the issues with financial exclusion extend beyond financials and have an effect on
the broader society. The research, therefore, proposes a substantive framework for
improving the design and development of financial inclusive systems, which helps build
trust using obligation transactions. It offers an approach to computing an individual’s
financial inclusiveness, which also helps safeguard his/her financial wellbeing.
The thesis makes a contribution to Information Systems theory in proposing a
framework on financial inclusion using ICT. The contribution to practice is the design of
an ICT artefact. / School of Computing / Ph. D. (Computer Science)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/25350 |
| Date | 02 1900 |
| Creators | Agyepong, Stephen |
| Contributors | Twinomurinzi, H. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (225 leaves) : illustrations (some color) |
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