Assessment of the Practices and Operational Barriers of Mobile money Service in the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia: The Case of CBE Birr in East Addis District
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Date
2018-09-18
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The study was about the practices and operational barriers associated with Mobile Money (CBEBirr) services in the commercial bank of Ethiopia. The focal point of the study was to point out barriers and reveal practices currently undertaken by the bank’s administrative branches and CBEBirr agents. It also assessed on current performance on activities of various CBEBirr Products like Airtime, cash in, cash out, send money, and buy goods and the total trust account transaction. The research was based on both primary and secondary data sources. Primary data was collected using a survey done in East Addis district through questionnaires and from the project office by interview. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics. The research findings reveal that the barriers in CBEBirr project are technological, legal, business and customer related. Specific barriers identified are lack of IT infrastructure, unfriendly mobile interface design, weak agent network, complex procedures and formalities, lack of legal support for noncash transaction, lack of product awareness, low level of literacy, lack of technical support by the bank, lack of engagement by branches and agents, and lack of sufficient training. From the survey, it was understood that many branches did not give adequate training and support to agents. There is insufficient training given to branch staffs about CBEBirr project implementation. Branches considered CBEBirr activities as extra burdens on their functional assignments. These were some of the factors for performance variations among branches. In terms of CBEBirr products, also, performance varies among cash in, cash out, airtime, send money and buy goods. Cash-in (57%) and airtime (32%) have the first and second largest amount of transaction in Birr. Cash-out (7.9%) and send-money (2.4%) have the third and fourth largest shares of transaction
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Keywords
Barrier, Transaction, Mobile money, CBEBirr