The Impact Of Mobile Money Services On Financial Inclusion In South Africa
What Is Financial Inclusion?
Financial inclusion means that individuals and businesses have access to convenient and affordable financial products and services that meet their transaction, payment, savings, credit, and insurance needs, delivered in a responsible and sustainable manner.
Access to trading accounts is the first step towards broader financial inclusion as it allows people to store money and send and receive payments. A trading account acts as a gateway to other financial services. As such, ensuring that people around the world can access their trading accounts remains a priority for the World Bank Group (WBG).
In South Africa, the FSR Act aims to ensure financial inclusion for all individuals in a timely and equitable
- Fair and affordable financial products and services. Department of the Treasury Financial Inclusion Policy
- Inclusion by these segments of society as the provision and use of regulated, affordable, and appropriate financial services
- You need financial services that are not provided or are poorly provided.
The World Of Mobile Money
Mobile money refers to financial transactions and services that can be carried out using mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablets. These services may or may not be directly linked to your bank account
The Fear Of Mobile Money and Mobile Banking
Here are the top 6 reasons why South Africans do not use mobile banking. That is why Glow App has come up with a solution that answers these problems step by step.
The Glow App Features
- Currently in development, Glow mobile App is on track to offer the following features for beta testing within Q2 of 2023:
- Open a free digital wallet account (no monthly account fee) in under 1 minute
- Cash top-up options: transfer funds, link your bank account, or at a wide network of retail stores and ATMs
- Cash withdrawal options:
- Bank transfers from within the app
- Includes a ‘Pay and Clear Now’ option
- Cardless withdrawal at retail stores or ATMs
- Free P2P transfers between Glow App users: Users signing up during the pre-launch period are being offered a guarantee of lifelong free in-app transactions
- Domestic remittance: Generate an SMS code for recipients who have yet to download the app
- Multilingual support: English & Native isiZulu
- More features are under development
Glow App Security Features and fraud protection
When it comes to sending and receiving money, security is a top priority and our world-class cybersecurity experts are implementing the highest standards.
Here are some of the security features that Glow App offers to keep your transactions safe:
End-to-End Encryption
A cash transaction must be secure to the maximum level. All transactions on Glow App are secured with end-to-end encryption. This means that your personal information and financial details are protected throughout the transaction process.
PIN Protection
You can set up a PIN code to protect your account on the app. This means that only you can access your account, and your money is safe from unauthorized access, even if your phone would get stolen or lost
Biometric Authentication
Glow App also offers biometric authentication, which means that you can use your fingerprint or face recognition to access your account. This adds an extra layer of security to your transactions.
24/7 Fraud Monitoring
Glow App has fraud detection protocols that monitor all transactions around the clock. This means that any suspicious activity can be quickly identified and addressed.
The Current State of Mobile Money in South Africa
Research shows that mobile money services such as the Glow app have high potential in the African Market. South Africa has 68 % internet users as a share of the population and only 21% of internet users use mobile payments. This is to show the amount of potential for mobile money services and financial inclusion in South Africa. Mobile money can improve financial inclusion in South Africa.
From the above, we conclude that mobile payment services can achieve the following strategic goals. Increase financial inclusion and reduce the number of financially excluded. Finally, increasing the amount of cash in the banking sector increases the potential for economic growth.
Are Our Financial Services Meeting Our Expectations?
It is no secret that South Africa has some of the best banks in Africa. Though the common trend is that its customers are constantly unhappy with their services. Here are some account complaints. Account complaints consist of complaints about fraud, fees, and charges. Complaints about banks failing to give advance notice of account closures were also a major reason for complaints. Taken together, these concerns account for 80% of checking account concerns.
In 2018 and 2019, these complaints accounted for 10% and 12% of the complaints received respectively. 2020 saw an additional 7% increase from 2019 complaints. In 2020, a total of 1,338 current account complaints were filed, of which 465 (35%) were decided in favor of plaintiffs.
How To Get A Mobile Money Account
To register, customers must go to their local mobile money agent and bring their Identification document. A valid passport, driver’s license, or government-issued identification. For more information on registering a mobile money account, visit her website for your local mobile money provider. Visit our website and join the Glow app waitlist to be the first to be notified when the Glow app launches.
Pranab Bhandari is an Editor of the Financial Blog “Financebuzz”. Apart from writing informative financial articles for his blog, he is a regular contributor to many national and international publications namely Tweak Your Biz, Growth Rocks ETC.
