Role of Mobile Applications in Mitigating Challenges Faced by Informal Saving Groups

Abstract

Existing literature shows that even though governments in developing countries have continued in their efforts with reforms and other actions to expand financial access and inclusion among citizens, a segment of the population remains excluded. This comprises of low income and middle-class people who end up relying on informal saving groups for their financial needs. Despite their prevalence and importance, the informal saving groups such as Rotating Saving and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) and Accumulating Savings and Credit Association (ASCAs) continue to face a myriad of challenges with many of them collapsing. The aim of this study is to explore the usage of mobile apps to overcome the challenges faced by the ROSCAs and ASCAs. Agile software methodology was used to develop a robust mobile application for use by informal saving groups. Adoption of mobile apps technologies is important to the informal financial sector and the formal financial sector that is linked to these informal saving groups such as banks and microfinance institutions. The study reveals that the use of mobile apps was a plausible solution to the challenges experienced by the members of the informal savings groups while handling monetary transactions.